Walters Ms. W.597, Abridgment of the Book of kings (Shahnama)Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi Shamshīrkhānīتاريخ دلكشاى شمشيرخانى<note type="title" xml:id="n256.010453">Title given in the colophon as Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah mawsūm bi-Shamshīrkhānī; composed for Shamshīr Khān Shamshīr Khān Ḥākim-i Ghaznīn (fol. 2a)</note>Tavakkul Bīk (Beg) valad Tūlak Bīk (Beg) Ḥusaynīتوكل بيک ولد تولك بيک حسينىAuthor's name given on fol. 2a, line 2Principal catalogerGacek, AdamCatalogerLandau, AmyCatalogerSmith, SitaEditorBockrath, DianeContributorBarrera, ChristinaContributorEmery, DougContributorHerbert, LynleyContributorNoel, WilliamContributorSimpson, ShreveContributorTabritha, ArielContributorToth, Michael B.ContributorValle, ChiaraConservatorJewell, StephanieConservatorQuandt, AbigailThe Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

This is an illuminated and illustrated copy of an abridgment of Firdawsī's Shāhnāmah (Book of kings) entitled Tārīkh-i dilgushā-yi Shamshīrkhānī. It was composed in prose by Tavakkul Beg Ḥusaynī (fl. eleventh century AH / seventeenth CE) for Shamshīr Khān of Ghaznīn (Ghaznī or Ghaznah in present-day Afghanistan). Completed in the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE in India, possibly Lahore, the text is written in nastaʿlīq script and illustrated by thirty-three paintings.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.597The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. 1b - 176bTārīkh-i dilgushā-yi Shamshīrkhānīتاريخ دلكشاى شمشيرخانى<note type="title" xml:id="n256.010503">Title given in the colophon as Kitāb-i Shāhnāmah mawsūm bi-Shamshīrkhānī; composed for Shamshīr Khān Shamshīr Khān Ḥākim-i Ghaznīn (fol. 2a)</note>حمد بيغايت وثناى بى نهايت...

Laid paper

Foliation: 176+i33.020.528.515.0First folio mounted on green cloth

Written obliquely on versos

Written in nastaʿlīq script in black and red inkThirty-three illustrations; incipit pageBindingBindingThis lacquer binding, decorated with floral motifs, a bird, and inscriptions around the outer frame, dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE.Incipit page with illuminated headpieceIncipitThis incipit page with illuminated headpiece is inscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah) in the central cartouche.Zaḥḥāk after Satan kissed his shoulder and two snakes aroseIllustrationJamshīd halved before ZaḥḥākIllustrationTūr kills his brother ĪrajIllustrationThe subject of this scene, described in red nastaʿlīq script, is the killing of the legendary favorite son Īraj by his brother Tūr.Rustam kills the inhabitants of the fortress on the mountain SipandānIllustrationRakhsh, Rustam’s horse, kills a lion (the first feat)IllustrationRustam kills a dragon (the second feat)IllustrationRustam kills the witch who came to deceive him (the third feat)IllustrationRustam fights Avlād (the fourth feat)IllustrationAvlād leads Rustam to Māzandarān (the fifth feat)IllustrationRustam cuts off the head of Arzhang Dīv (the sixth feat)IllustrationRustam kills the White Dīv (the seventh feat)IllustrationRustam stabs his son SuhrābIllustrationSūrdābah kisses SiyāvushIllustrationThe execution of SiyāvushIllustrationGīv captures PīrānIllustrationPersians fighting TuraniansIllustrationRustam brings the body of the demon Akvān before Kay KhusrawIllustrationRustam fights his grandson BarzūIllustrationBarzū receives permission from Kay Khusraw to fight AfrāsiyābIllustrationLuhrāsp enthronedIllustrationIsfandiyār chained on the order of GushtāspIllustrationIsfandiyār and his brother Bishūtan kill two wolves (the first exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills a lion (the second exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills a dragon (the third exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills the witch (the fourth exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills the sīmurgh (the fifth exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār prays to stop a blizzard (the sixth exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills Gurgsār (the seventh exploit)IllustrationIsfandiyār kills ArjāspIllustrationRustam kills ShaghādIllustrationRustam shoots IsfandiyārIllustrationAlexander the Great mourns the dying DariusIllustrationAlexander the Great fights Fūr, the king of IndiaIllustration

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

13th century AH / 19th CENorthwest IndiaGift note from Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥusayn Marāghī, known as Ṣanī al-Dawlah, to Nuṣrat Pāshā Mushīr, 18 Shaʿbān 1303 AH / 1885 CE (fol. 2a, left margin)Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksRichard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), no. 99A.ArtMedicineMuseumPoetryScriptMuhammad, the ProphetRomaniaKashmiriHorsesWalters Art MuseumBlockbookDocumentGeneologyAstrologyDevotionHistoryLegalLiterature -- PoetryLiterature -- ProseLiturgyPhilosophyScienceScience -- MedicineScriptureSufismTheologyMineralogyLogicGeographyGeomancyCosmologyCartographyFortune-tellingKoranQur`anFirmanPalimpsestPrayerBibleGospelsPsalterMissalLectionaryBook of HoursAntiphonaryPrayerbookHomilaryProcessionalHorologionBreviaryHymnalChroniclePsalter/HoursMaghrebSub-Saharan (West) AfricaTurkeyAfghanistanCentral Arab Lands (Near East)Central AsiaEgyptEnglandIndiaIranIraqPakistanGermanyFranceAustriaNetherlandsEthiopiaArmeniaFlandersGreeceMamlukMughalOttomanOttonianArmenianByzantineAbbasidQajarRajputChristianArabicAustrianDutchEgyptianFatimidGermanIndianIslamicPersianSafavidTimuridTurkishUmayyadEnglishFrenchFlemishEthiopianCarolingianCalligraphyChartsColophonHeadpieceIlluminationIllustrationMedallionMiniatureOrnamentPainting'Kufic'Early Abbasid scriptRaginiRomanesqueGothicWatermarkTreasure BindingGrotesquesHistoriated initialInhabited initialCarolingian MinusculeGothic Book handWhite-vine letteringEnglish secretaryTexturaBatardaHumanisticUncialAccordion bookAlbumBookCodexManuscriptHeraldrySaint's LifeDrawingGrisailleOriginal BindingBindingNew Abbasid stylecharter8th Century9th Century10th Century11th Century12th Century13th Century14th Century15th Century16th Century17th Century18th Century19th Century20th CenturyLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCodexHistoryIlluminationIllustrationIndiaIranIslamicManuscriptPersianWalters Art MuseumLiterature -- ProseOriginal Binding