Walters Ms. W.601, Book of kings (Shahnama)ShāhnāmahشاهنامهFirdawsīAbū al-Qāsim Ḥasan ibn Isḥāq Firdawsī Ṭūsīابو القاسم حسن بن اسحاق فردوسى طوسىAuthor dates preferred by cataloger: d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CEPrincipal 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 Safavid copy of the Shāhnāmah (Book of kings) by Firdawsī (d. 411 or 416 AH / 1020-5 CE), dated 1028 AH / 1618-9 CE. The text, which is incomplete, begins with the preface (dībāchah), composed on the order of Bāysunghur. It is written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter/section headings in red. The manuscript contains fourteen illustrations that appear to be later additions, perhaps dating to the 13th century A.H./ 19th century C.E., and may have been executed in India or Iran. The black leather binding is modern.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.601The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. 1b - 398bShāhnāmahشاهنامهافتتاح سخن آن به كه كنند اهل كمال …Text begins with the preface (dībāchah), composed on the order of Bāysunghur; incomplete at the end; last page contains the beginning of Nāmah-i Gushtāsbtammat al-Dībāchah [sic] Shahnāmah [sic] bi-tawfīq Allāh /1/ taʿālá fī shuhūr sanat thamāniyah wa-ʿishrīn wa-alf /2/ tamma tamma tamma /3/At the end of the preface

Laid paper

Foliation: ii+398+ii26.016.519.511.5

Written on versos

Framing lines in blue, red, gold, and blackWritten in nastaʿlīq script in black and red inkFourteen illustrations (fols. 27b, 42b, 72a, 79b, 108b, 122a, 131b, 157a, 195b, 234a, 245b, 278b, 289b, 308b, and 354a); three illuminated headpieces (fols. 1b, 15b, and 42b); framing lines in blue, red, gold, and blackIncipit page with illuminated headpieceIncipit; headpieceIncipit page with illuminated headpieceIncipit; headpieceThis incipit page with illuminated headpiece introduces the text of the Shāhnāmah.Farīdūn and Jamshīd’s daughters Arnavāz and ShahrnavāzIllustrationIncipit page with illuminated headpieceIncipit; headpieceThis incipit page has an illuminated headpiece introducing the Story of Sām.Sām battles the dīv NihangālIllustrationSām lassos Faghfūr of ChinaIllustrationRustam kills the white elephantIllustrationRustam fights AfrāsiyābIllustrationRustam kills the White Dīv (the seventh feat)IllustrationRustam kills SuhrābIllustrationGūdarz begs Kay Khusraw to return to PersiaIllustrationRustam shoots AshkabūsIllustrationRustam drags the Khāqān of China from his elephantIllustrationRustam combats Barzū, his grandsonIllustrationRustam combats Pilsum, a Turanian warriorIllustrationRustam rescues Bīzhan from the pitIllustrationKay Khusraw kills Shīdah (Pashank)Illustration

Modern black leather (no flap)

1028 AH / 1618-9 CEIranWalters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksStorey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 1. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 112-159.Richard, Francis. Catalogue des manuscrits persans. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1989), nos. 228-9.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 stylecharterLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCodexColophonHistoryIlluminationIllustrationIndiaIranIslamicManuscriptPersianSafavidWalters Art MuseumLiterature -- Poetry