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Iskandar in the Land of Darkness, from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Firdausi

Title	Iskandar in the Land of Darkness, from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Firdausi
Publication Date:	1655 (1066H)
Type	Document
Language	Persian
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	359 mm x 225 mm (height x width)
Library:	Chester Beatty
Record ID	Per 270.80
Library Location	Persian collection
Date	1655 (1066H)
Notes	Iskandar in the Land of Gloom, from the Book of Kings (Shahnama) by Firdausi. One of the kings in Firdausi’s epic Book of Kings is Iskandar, or the historic Alexander III of Macedon (died 323 BC). He is known in European tradition as Alexander the Great. Firdausi tells the stories of Iskandar’s many military conquests, but this scene shows a more spiritual adventure. Iskandar rides with his companions to the west, looking for the Water of Life that will make him immortal. His group includes a man in a tall white turban that is Ottoman in fashion: the Isfahan-based painter has placed him as a marker for all regions west of Safavid Iran. Iskandar’s guide through the Land of Darkness is Khidr, who is a saintly figure in Islam. Travelling through the dark, Iskandar and his entourage lose sight of Khidr, and so the world conqueror misses the miraculous water source. This is one of ten folios detached from its codex (also in the Chester Beatty collection, Per 270, dated 1066H (1655) on fol. 223r), the second volume in a two-volume set of this text, illustrated by the Isfahan painter Mu`in Musavvir. Volume one is in the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (Ms22): its colophon is dated Jumada II 1064H (April 1654), with four of its paintings dated 1065H or 1067H (1654-1657). All fifty-five paintings are by Mu`in Musavvir. Folio, ink, colours and gold on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with painting (on recto) and framed rubric ("Iskandar takes the route to Gog and Magog" in white, on verso), from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Abū al-Qāsim Firdausī (d. 1022), (codex CB Per 270), painting signed Mu'īn Muṣavvir (“az tawfīq sāni` raqam zad Mu`īn”, lower margin) , Isfahan, Iran, 1655
Materyal	Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold
Nesne Adı	Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)
Yazı Tipi	Nasta'liq script

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Iskandar in the Land of Darkness, from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Firdausi

Publication Date 1655 (1066H)

Type Document

Language Persian

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 359 mm x 225 mm (height x width)

Library Chester Beatty

Record ID Per 270.80

Library Location Persian collection

Date 1655 (1066H)

Notes Iskandar in the Land of Gloom, from the Book of Kings (Shahnama) by Firdausi. One of the kings in Firdausi’s epic Book of Kings is Iskandar, or the historic Alexander III of Macedon (died 323 BC). He is known in European tradition as Alexander the Great. Firdausi tells the stories of Iskandar’s many military conquests, but this scene shows a more spiritual adventure. Iskandar rides with his companions to the west, looking for the Water of Life that will make him immortal. His group includes a man in a tall white turban that is Ottoman in fashion: the Isfahan-based painter has placed him as a marker for all regions west of Safavid Iran. Iskandar’s guide through the Land of Darkness is Khidr, who is a saintly figure in Islam. Travelling through the dark, Iskandar and his entourage lose sight of Khidr, and so the world conqueror misses the miraculous water source. This is one of ten folios detached from its codex (also in the Chester Beatty collection, Per 270, dated 1066H (1655) on fol. 223r), the second volume in a two-volume set of this text, illustrated by the Isfahan painter Mu`in Musavvir. Volume one is in the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (Ms22): its colophon is dated Jumada II 1064H (April 1654), with four of its paintings dated 1065H or 1067H (1654-1657). All fifty-five paintings are by Mu`in Musavvir. Folio, ink, colours and gold on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with painting (on recto) and framed rubric ("Iskandar takes the route to Gog and Magog" in white, on verso), from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Abū al-Qāsim Firdausī (d. 1022), (codex CB Per 270), painting signed Mu'īn Muṣavvir (“az tawfīq sāni` raqam zad Mu`īn”, lower margin) , Isfahan, Iran, 1655

Materyal Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold

Nesne Adı Folio / Bi-Folio (Codex)

Yazı Tipi Nasta'liq script