Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur (1483??530-1) was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and of Genghis Khan. Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Chaghatay-Turkic, while his origin, milieu, training and culture were steeped in Persian culture. He was largely responsible for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent, with brilliant literary, artistic, and historiographical results.