The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA. 52.20.9a
Location History:
Victor Goloubew, Paris (in 1929); Dikran G. Kelekian (American, born Turkey), New York (by 1933–d. 1951; his estate, New York, 1951–52;sold to MMA)
This manuscript folio illustrates a conflict from the Persian national epic, the Shahnama, written by Ferdowsi. The illustrator of this particular folio was Muhammad ibn Taj al-Din Haidar Muzahhib Shirazi, commonly known as Haidar. This illustration is dense with combat, warriors and horses engaged in battle, the drums of war beating alongside the blaring horns, the banners flying, this battle rages on as the elements above create a rhythmic sense of movement across the page. The Iranian hero Rustam wears a plumed white leopard skin headdress as he neatly disposes one of his opponents. The Iranians are fighting their archenemies, the Turanians. The Turanians are wearing variations of contemporary Ottoman clothing, voluminous turbans and headdresses, while using chained artillery. The intricate gold ornamentation and refined decorative details demonstrate the Safavid court's appreciation for books as a form of art as well as literature. Broader characteristics of Safavid manuscript painting are present such as vibrant colour palettes, great attention to detail, flattened spatial arrangements and integration of text and image into a singular visual experience. Scenes of combat in Persian manuscripts often go beyond historical documentation, serving instead as symbolic representations of kingship, heroism and the perpetual struggle between order and chaos. The Turanians' clothing and military equipment associated with the contemporary Ottoman Empire, like the Ottoman-style headdresses and chained artillery suggest that the ancient conflict described in the Shahnama was reinterpreted through the political realities of the sixteenth century. Inscriptions include Persian in nast’liq script, part of a poem of the Shāhnama of Ferdowsī:
رزم رستم با شنگل (The fight of Rustam with Shangul).
There are two titles in these two pages, but in the published Shāhnama there is only the title above.
The two titles are:
رزم شنگال ... با رستم (The fight of Shangāl … with Rustam) and رزم مغلوبۀ ایران و توران (The beaten fight of Iran and Tūrān).
I understand this artwork as more than a depiction of battle. It represents the struggle between order and disorder, courage and defeat. The inclusion of Ottoman style clothing and weaponry suggests that the artist connected an ancient story with contemporary political realities. The integration of text and image strengthens the narrative and makes the viewer feel immersed in the epic world of the Shahnama. Basically, the folio is visually striking and successfully combines history and artistic refinement.
