1. Looking at Iran and Central Asian:
The Shahnameh

2. Shahnameh (Book of Kings)
Epic poem of mythical history of Iranian
kings, in Persian, transmitted orally
(continues today)
Recorded in written form by the poet Firdawsi
at the court of the Ghaznavid rulers in
Afghanistan, ca. 1010

3. What is the role of the Shahnameh in
(re)writing history in Iran?
How was it used by the Seljuqs,
Mongol/Ilkhanids, Timurids & Safavids

4. Simurgh (magical phoenix-like bird; symbol of royalty in
the Shahnameh) on a luster tile, ca. 1270 possibly from
the Mongol palace at Takht-i Suleyman (Throne of
Solomon) & Bahram Gur hunting with Azada, Seljuq tile

5. Beaker with the
story of Bijan and
Manijeh, early
13th C., Seljuq,
minai ware
What is the
importance of
this beaker in the
history of
Shahnameh
illustrations?

6. Like the Seljuqs, the Ilkhanids used glazed ceramics in a
number of ways - for objects and as applied architectural
decoration.
What new techniques were developed in each period? How
did the application of glazed tiles work in architecture and
how did it vary?
Consider the following uses & techniques:
luster (how did it differ from earlier periods?)
lajvardina (= lapis lazuli color with applied gold)
minai (also known as haft awrang = seven colors)
checkerboard (also known as “brick-style)
The Timurids further elaborated these uses through the
invention of cuerda secca (dry cord) technique

7. Bahram Gur & the Dragon, illustrations from Mongol (ca.
1335) & Timurid (ca. 1440) Shahnamehs.
What is the relationship between text & illustration, background &
figures? Compare color, form & space.

8. Bahram Gur & the Dragon (detail)

9. Episodes from the life of Alexander the Great
(Iskandar). Iskandar’s Iron Army (right) & Bier of
Alexander (left). Mongol Shahnameh, ca. 1335

10. Universal History (Jam’i al-Tawarikh) written
by the Ilkhanid minister Rashid al-Din
Copy of ca. 1315, Tabriz (western Iran)
How does this work reflect and represent
Mongol history?
How do the illustrations compare to those from
the Shahnameh of 1335?

11. The Buddha
Offers Fruit to
the Devil

12. Noah & the Arc

13. The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad

14. Siege of Baghdad in 1258

15. Bihzad, Yusuf &
Zulaykha, from the
Bustan of Sa’di,
Herat, 1488
Kamal al-Din Bihzad
(born ca. 1450 - died in
Tabriz, 1535-6)
worked for the Timurids in
Herat
Shaybanids in Bukhara
Brought to Tabriz by Shah
Ismail Safavid

16. Bihzad, At the Public Bath, Herat, 1494

17. Allegory of Worldy & Otherworldly
Drunkenness, from a Diwan
(Collected Poems) of Hafiz, painted
by Sultan Muhammad, ca. 1526-27,
Tabriz

18. Safavid Royal Shahnameh
for Shah Tahmasp
1525-35, Tabriz

19. Nushirvan & the Owls, from a
Khamsah (Quintet or Five
Collected Poems) of Nizami,
for Shah Tahmasp Safavi,
1539-43

20. Reza Abbasi (Court painter of Shah Abbas), Lady with Fan,
ca, 1592 & wall painting from Isfahan palace, late 17th C.
Development of single figure & Album painting and new handling of
space