Abstract
Purpose of the study: The history of gastronomy has been shaped by the nutritional needs of human beings, and food is related to biological, social, cultural, religious, political, and economic dynamic variables. This research aims to identify and evaluate the gastronomic elements in Babur-name's work, which contains the memories of Ghazi Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Babur Shah, the founder of the Mughal State and a historical figure, and sheds light on history.
Literature Background: In the creation of the conceptual framework in terms of gastronomy, the historical document Babur-name was used, taking into account the social, hierarchical, political, and cultural events and structures of the period.
Method: As the research design of the study is qualitative, document scanning was used as the data collection method, and content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. Content analysis was applied to the work, taking into account the gastronomic elements determined using the document scanning method. The elements were divided into main and sub-themes, and the frequency and percentage rates were calculated. The main and sub-themes were determined according to the theoretical and conceptual framework of gastronomy elements through the words, terms, and expressions in Babür-nâme.
Result: As a result of the document analysis applied to Babür's Babür-nâme, a total of 90 different gastronomy elements were determined. Content analysis was applied to the elements, and three main themes were determined: elements related to animal food (17 elements), elements related to plant foods (31 elements), and elements related to cuisine (42 elements).
Conclusion: In addition to the food culture he brought from Central Asia, where he originated, Babur created a new and rich cuisine that brought together Afghan and Indian food cultures influenced by Iranian cuisine. Overall, the gastronomic elements expressed in Babür-nâme contain rich findings about the gastronomy and food culture of the period.