The Mughal dynasty (also known as the Gurkani or Gūrkānī dynasty; Persian: گورکانی), or the House of Babur, was a branch of the Timurid dynasty that reigned over the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and much of the Middle East as the sovereign house of the Mughal Empire for more than five centuries. Mughal Emperors first ruled South Asia in the 16th century following the conquest.