abridgment of the book of kings (shahnama), walters art museum ms. w.597

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcodePublished 2009

The Walters Art Museum600 N. Charles StreetBaltimore, Maryland

21201http://www.thewalters.org/

This document is a digital facsimile of a manuscript belonging to the Walters Art Museum, inBaltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of a number of manuscripts that have beendigitized as part of a project generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities,and by an anonymous donor to the Walters Art Museum. More details about the manuscripts atthe Walters can be found by visiting The Walters Art Museum's website www.thewalters.org. Forfurther information about this book, and online resources for Walters manuscripts, please contactus through the Walters Website by email, and ask for your message to be directed to the Departmentof Manuscripts.

NOTE: The pages in this book are ordered from right to left. This means that to view the pages inorder, you should go the last page of the document and read what would be from “back-to-front”for a Western manuscript.

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Acquisition Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Binding The binding is original.

Lacquer boards (no flap); floral motifs with a bird in thecentral panel and inscriptions in the outer frame

Bibliography Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris:Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), no. 99A.

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fol. 135b:Title: Isfandiyār kills a dragon (the third exploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 136b:Title: Isfandiyār kills the witch (the fourth exploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 137b:Title: Isfandiyār kills the sīmurgh (the fifth exploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 138b:Title: Isfandiyār prays to stop a blizzard (the sixthexploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 140a:Title: Isfandiyār kills Gurgsār (the seventh exploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 142b:Title: Isfandiyār kills ArjāspForm: Illustration

fol. 154b:Title: Rustam kills ShaghādForm: Illustration

fol. 157a:Title: Rustam shoots IsfandiyārForm: Illustration

fol. 165b:Title: Alexander the Great mourns the dying DariusForm: Illustration

fol. 169b:Title: Alexander the Great fights Fūr, the king of IndiaForm: Illustration

Provenance Gift note from Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn Marāghī, knownas Ṣanī al-Dawlah, to Nuṣrat Pāshā Mushīr, 18 Shaʿbān 1303AH / 1885 CE (fol. 2a, left margin)

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Form: Illustration

fol. 74b:Title: The execution of SiyāvushForm: Illustration

fol. 80b:Title: Gīv captures PīrānForm: Illustration

fol. 89b:Title: Persians fighting TuraniansForm: Illustration

fol. 96b:Title: Rustam brings the body of the demon Akvānbefore Kay KhusrawForm: Illustration

fol. 105b:Title: Rustam fights his grandson BarzūForm: Illustration

fol. 112a:Title: Barzū receives permission from Kay Khusraw tofight AfrāsiyābForm: Illustration

fol. 120b:Title: Luhrāsp enthronedForm: Illustration

fol. 129b:Title: Isfandiyār chained on the order of GushtāspForm: Illustration

fol. 134a:Title: Isfandiyār and his brother Bishūtan kill twowolves (the first exploit)Form: Illustration

fol. 134b:Title: Isfandiyār kills a lion (the second exploit)Form: Illustration

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Label: The subject of this scene, described in rednastaʿlīq script, is the killing of the legendary favoriteson Īraj by his brother Tūr.

fol. 30b:Title: Rustam kills the inhabitants of the fortress on themountain SipandānForm: Illustration

fol. 42b:Title: Rakhsh, Rustam’s horse, kills a lion (the first feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 43b:Title: Rustam kills a dragon (the second feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 44b:Title: Rustam kills the witch who came to deceive him(the third feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 45b:Title: Rustam fights Avlād (the fourth feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 46b:Title: Avlād leads Rustam to Māzandarān (the fifth feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 47b:Title: Rustam cuts off the head of Arzhang Dīv (thesixth feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 48b:Title: Rustam kills the White Dīv (the seventh feat)Form: Illustration

fol. 62b:Title: Rustam stabs his son SuhrābForm: Illustration

fol. 67a:Title: Sūrdābah kisses Siyāvush

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Collation Catchwords: Written obliquely on versos

Dimensions 20.5 cm wide by 33.0 cm high

Written surface 15.0 cm wide by 28.5 cm high

Layout Columns: 1Ruled lines: 17

Contents fols. 1b - 176b:Title: Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi ShamshīrkhānīIncipit:

Hand note: Written in nastaʿlīq script in black and redinkDecoration note: Thirty-three illustrations; incipit page

Decoration Upper board outside:Title: BindingForm: BindingLabel: This lacquer binding, decorated with floralmotifs, a bird, and inscriptions around the outer frame,dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.

fol. 1b:Title: Incipit page with illuminated headpieceForm: IncipitLabel: This incipit page with illuminated headpiece isinscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah) inthe central cartouche.

fol. 6b:Title: Zaḥḥāk after Satan kissed his shoulder and twosnakes aroseForm: Illustration

fol. 12b:Title: Jamshīd halved before ZaḥḥākForm: Illustration

fol. 22b:Title: Tūr kills his brother ĪrajForm: Illustration

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Shelf mark Walters Art Museum Ms. W.597

Descriptive Title Abridgment of the Book of kings (Shahnama)

Text title Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi ShamshīrkhānīVernacular:

Note: Title given in the colophon as Kitāb-i Shāhnāmahmawsūm bi-Shamshīrkhānī; composed for Shamshīr KhānShamshīr Khān Ḥākim-i Ghaznīn (fol. 2a)

Author As-written name: Tavakkul Bīk (Beg) valad Tūlak Bīk (Beg)ḤusaynīName, in vernacular:

Note: Author's name given on fol. 2a, line 2

Abstract This is an illuminated and illustrated copy of an abridgmentof Firdawsī's Shāhnāmah (Book of kings) entitled Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi Shamshīrkhānī. It was composed in prose byTavakkul Beg Ḥusaynī (fl. eleventh century AH / seventeenthCE) for Shamshīr Khān of Ghaznīn (Ghaznī or Ghaznahin present-day Afghanistan). Completed in the thirteenthcentury AH / nineteenth CE in India, possibly Lahore, thetext is written in nastaʿlīq script and illustrated by thirty-threepaintings.

Date 13th century AH / 19th CE

Origin Northwest India

Form Book

Genre Historical

Genre Literary -- Prose

Language The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.

Support material Paper

Laid paper

Extent Foliation: 176+iFirst folio mounted on green cloth

This document is a digital facsimile of a manuscript belonging to the Walters Art Museum, inBaltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of a number of manuscripts that have beendigitized as part of a project generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities,and by an anonymous donor to the Walters Art Museum. More details about the manuscripts atthe Walters can be found by visiting The Walters Art Museum's website www.thewalters.org. Forfurther information about this book, and online resources for Walters manuscripts, please contactus through the Walters Website by email, and ask for your message to be directed to the Departmentof Manuscripts.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcodePublished 2011

A digital facsimile of Walters Ms. W.597,Abridgment of the Book of kings (Shahnama)

Title: Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi Shamshīrkhānī

Published by: The Walters Art Museum600 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21201

http://www.thewalters.org/