"Sa'd-i Vaqqas Kills the General Rustam-i Hurmuzd", folio from a Shahnama ("Book of Kings") by Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
Artist
Unknown
Date1341
Creation PlaceShiraz, Fars, Iran
MediumOpaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper.
Dimensions36.1 x 29.3 cm (14.5 x 11.5 in.)
ClassificationsNon-Western Miniatures
Credit LineJerome Wheelock Fund
Object number1935.21
DescriptionInju DynastyLabel TextThe Shahnama or “Book of Kings” is an epic penned by the Persian poet Abu’l Qasim Firdawsi (940-1020) around 1010 AD. Consisting of approximately 50,000 couplets, it recounts both the mythical and historical past of the Persian empire, from the creation of the world, to the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century. The stories within the Shahnama were intended to act as a guide for future kings, so that they can learn from past in order to improve the present, and to better shape the future. Through the trials and tribulations of their predecessors – both real and fictitious – kings and princes were to learn from the Shahnama on how to conduct themselves ethically, morally, and with bravery and integrity. Illustrated versions of the Book of Kings began to appear in the early 14th century. This folio comes from a dispersed Shahnama, commissioned by the Injuid dynasty vizier, al-Hasan Qavam al-Daula va al-Din in 1341. The painting illustrates a scene from the reign of Yazdgird, the last king of pre-Islamic Iran in Firdausi’s epic. Yazdgird ordered his general, Rustam-i Hurmuzd (not to be confused with the Shahnama’s famous hero, Rustam) to repel the forces of the Arab caliph, led by Sa’d-i Vaqqas. After three days of battle, the ill-fated Rustam was slain, marking one of the tragic, final episodes in the Persian Book of Kings. ProvenanceDemotte, New York NY
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