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• 1 media/Object_6_thumbnail.jpg 2022-03-03T14:01:41-08:00 The Shāhnāmeh 5 plain 2022-03-04T13:12:00-08:00 Shāhnāmeh or the Book of Kings is an Iranian epic poem that recounts the history of ancient Iran. Of the many settings for the work, the one written by Ferdowsi in 1010 is the most famous, as it offers a cohesive narrative structure to encompass both mythological and historically based stories in some sixty thousand couplets. In the fifteenth century, a Timurid prince named Bāysonghor (1397–1433) commissioned illustrations to accompany Ferdowsi’s setting of the Shāhnāmeh in what came to be known as the Bāysonghori Manuscript, now in the Gulistan Museum in Tehran [1].  If we consider this Shāhnāmeh as a reflection of Persian society in the fifteenth century, we can likewise interpret it as a product of the influences from other cultures along  the Silk Road that helped define Persia at that time. Literary historians have already noted the striking similarities in narrative structure that stories in Shāhnāmeh shares with those in Homer’s Iliad, pointing to common Indo-European sources in both works [2]. Pictorial illustrations in the Bāysonghori Manuscript provide another viable venue to examine the cultural interconnections that it exemplifies. Significantly, the Bāysonghori Manuscript boasts illustrations of superior quality, which has made it a masterpiece in the Herat school of miniature painting that is known for its refined brushwork, brilliant colors, and unique spatial perspective.
  
  Evidence of cultural exchange is present in many illustrations that fall under the two major themes in the Shāhnāmeh: the enthronement and battle scenes. Two plates (Object 6A and 6B) best represent the former, whereas Object 6C is a standout of the latter. These three examples show that cross-cultural  influences were present during both times of war and of peace.
  
  Object 6A (Plate XXXIII) depicts a Persian ruler watching two people play a game of chess. According to the manuscript, the Shah was challenged by the Raja of India to learn chess. If the  Shah did not comply, India would no longer pay tribute to the Shah [3]. One of the Shah’s advisors figured out how to play chess and then challenged the Raja to a new game, backgammon. The cross-cultural dialogue is explicit here: Persia was exchanging games with India. Beyond the scene’s main storyline, there are pictorial details that also demonstrate cross-cultural trade and influence. For one, there are turbans atop every subject’s head. This is in contrast to other scenes that feature the ruler on the throne, in which many people wear Mongol-style hats instead of turbans. The turbans themselves are suggestive of Islamic and South Asian influence at the time. Additionally, there is a person with a darker complexion in the upper right part of the  chess audience, who most likely represents the messenger sent by the Raja to the Shah. While the presence of a chess set and a person with darker complexion represent active cross-cultural dialogue, the turbans on many of the subjects’ heads suggest that the practice of wearing them had become mainstream in Persia. Altogether, there were evidently different levels of integration of foreign cultural practices and objects into Persian society at the time.
  
  If Object 6A encapsulates intercultural dialogues between Persia and India, Object 6B (Plate XIX) represents those with East Asia. The scene depicts the legendary ruler Key-Kāvus on a throne enjoying an outdoor gathering full of music, food, and lively conversations. Interestingly, there is a golden Chinese-style table in the foreground of the painting with three Chinese porcelain vases on top. Basil Gray believes that the designs found on these vases such as the two lions playing with streamers on the central vase was based on blue-and-white porcelains of the Ming Emperor Xuande’s reign (1416–1435), which was contemporaneous with the Bāysonghori Manuscript [4]. Since the thirteenth century, trade between Persian and China had increased under the Mongol rule in both countries. Porcelains made in Jingdezhen soon their way into the residences of Persian royalties and aristocrats as tangible symbols of prestige and wealth.
  
  Designs and objects from China are featured equally prominently in battle scenes in the Bāysonghori Manuscript. Object 6C (Plate XXV) depicts another legendary Persian king Key-Khosrow in a clash with Afrasiyab, one of the recurring villains in the Shāhnāmeh who sought to invade ancient Iran on multiple occasions. In this epic battle, a large military banner is hoisted above Key-Khosrow’s army on the left displaying what appears to be Chinese dragons. The design seems to represent the integration of Chinese mythology and its imagery into Iranian culture. The banner is perhaps even a stronger symbol of Chinese influence in Iran than the Chinese vases shown in Object 6B. While the ruler’s possession of  these luxury objects represents an association of opulence with Chinese goods, military use    of Chinese designs represents their integration into the Persian identity. The depiction of this Chinese-style banner is significant because its association with this foundational  story in Persian history suggests that Persians prized the Chinese-style designs enough to identify themselves with them on the battlefield.
  
  In addition to Chinese influences, Object 6C also includes explicit references to European military traditions. Both armies in the composition are utilizing some sort of brass horn, which  is more characteristic of battles in Western Europe than in East Asia. Additionally, the shape of the swords appears to be more western. The swords have a cross-shaped hilt, unlike the katanas and other swords of East Asia. The horns resemble early trumpets, which were often used in warfare in Europe. The presence of both the early trumpets and the cross-shaped hilt suggests trade and travel along the Silk Road, as these objects and military technologies they exemplify originated in Europe.
  
  The Bāysonghori Manuscript is both a literary masterpiece and a work of art. Not only does it tell vivid stories about mythical and historical characters in ancient Persia, but it also reveals that people in fifteenth-century Timurid society embraced cultural influences from India, China, and Europe. With a wealth of visual evidence in the illustrations, this manuscript of The Shāhnāmeh  of Ferdowsi can be seen as a prized product of the Silk Road and its legacy.
  
  -Koji Sakano and Jayne Hoagbin

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  [1] Robert Hillenbrand, “Exploring a Neglected Masterpiece: The Gulistan Shahnama of Baysunghur,” Iranian Studies 43, no. 1 (February 2010), 99.
  
  [2] One such example is the story of Hojir in the Shāhnāmeh and that of Helen in the Iliad. See Dick Davis, “In the Enemy’s Camp: Homer’s Helen and Ferdowsi’s Hojir,” Iranian Studies 25, no. ¾ (1992), 17–26.
  
  [3] Gray, An Album of Miniatures and Illuminations from the Bāysonghori Manuscript of the Shāhnāmeh of Ferdowsi, 104–105.
  
  [4] Ibid, 75.
  
  Further Reading:
  
  B. W. Robinson, The Persian Book of Kings: An Epitome of the Shahnama of Firdawsi (London: Routledge, 2013).