Walters Ms. W.609, Five poems (quintet)Khamsah-i Niẓāmīخمسه نظاميNiẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3Ilyās ibn Yūsuf Niẓāmī Ganjavīالياس بن يوسف نظامي گنجويAuthor dates preferred by cataloger: d. 605 AH / 1209 CEscribeYār Muḥammad al-Haravīيار محمد الهرويartistʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ ibn ʿAlīعبد الوهاب بن عبد الفتاح بن عليName of illuminator appears in double-page illuminated frontispiecePrincipal 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 illuminated and illustrated copy of the Khamsah (quintet) of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE) was written by Yār Muḥammad al-Haravī in 922 AH / 1516 CE. Written in four columns in black nastaʿlīq script, this manuscript opens with a double-page illuminated frontispiece signed by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ ibn ʿAlī. It contains thirty-five illustrations that were repainted in India during the twelfth century AH / eighteenth CE. The seal of Muḥammad Asharf ibn Muḥammad Khātam al-Ḥusaynī, dated 1173 AH / 1759-60 CE appears on fols. 1a and 401a. It is possible that the brown leather binding with center and side panels brushed with gold is original to the manuscript but was repaired at a later stage in the codex's history.BaltimoreThe Walters Art MuseumW.609The primary language in this manuscript is Persian.fols. 1b - 401aKhamsah-i Niẓāmīخمسه نظاميبسم الله الرحمن الرحيم هست كليد در كنج حكيم...Contains Makhzan al-asrār (fol. 1b), Khusraw va Shīrīn (fol. 33b), Laylá va Majnūn (fol. 121b), Haft paykar (fol. 185b), Iskandarnāmah (fol. 257b), and Iqbālnāmah (fol. 359a)scribeartisttammat [sic] al-kitāb al-Khamsah al-mubārak bi-ʿawn Allāh taʿālá wa-tabāraka /1/ ʿalá yad al-ʿabd al-ḍaʿīf al-mudhnib al-rājī ilá raḥmat Allāh /2/ al-ṣamad al-qawī Yār Muḥammad al-Harawī /3/ ghafara Allāh dhunūbahu /4/ m (= tamma) /5/In Arabic; gives the title of the work and the scribe's name

Buff-colored laid paper

Foliation: ii+401+ii29.017.518.59.5

Written obliquely on versos

Framing lines in blue, gold, and blackWritten in black nastaʿlīq script with section headings/captions in blueThirty-five illustrations; double-page illuminated frontispiece signed by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ ibn ʿAlī; illuminated titlepieces with inscriptions in white ink on a decorated blue backgroundDouble-page illuminated frontispieceIncipit; frontispieceThis is the right side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece. This page begins the first poem.Double-page illuminated frontispieceIncipit; frontispieceThis is the left side of a double-page illuminated frontispiece containing two small medallions. One gives the name of the illuminator as ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ ibn ʿAlī.Sultan Sanjar and the old womanMakhzan al-asrārIllustrationAn old woman petitions Sultan Sanjar about the questionable behavior of his policeman. The face of Sultan Sanjar was very clearly re-painted in India.Two scholars quarrelingMakhzan al-asrārIllustrationTwo physicians are depicted quarreling in the presence of the king. The inscription over the doorway on the left reads: al-sulṭān al-ʿādil.Incipit with illuminated titlepieceKhusraw va ShīrīnIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has an illuminated titlepiece introducing the second poem of the Khamsah, Khusraw va Shīrīn, which is written in white on a blue ground.Shīrīn admiring the portrait of KhusrawKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationShīrīn is depicted in the company of her maidens admiring the portrait of Khusraw.Khusraw watching Shīrīn bathingKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationShīrīn bathes in a fountain as Khusraw, drawn by her beauty, watches.Khusraw fends off an attacking lionKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationKhusraw fends off an attacking lion.Shīrin on horseback watches FarhādKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationShīrin, on horseback, watches Farhād digging a canal for a stream of milk.Khusraw arriving at Shīrīn's palaceKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationKhusraw comes on horseback to visit Shīrīn, the Armenian princess.Khusraw and Shīrīn in their wedding chamberKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationThis image of Khusraw and Shīrīn in their wedding chamber has been erased at some point in the manuscript's history. The inscription on the right reads: al-sulṭān al-ʿādil.Shīrūyah stabbing his father, KhusrawKhusraw va ShīrīnIllustrationIncipit with illuminated titlepieceLaylá va MajnūnIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has a titlepiece introducing the third poem of the Khamsah, Laylá va Majnūn, which is written in white on a blue ground.Laylá and Majnūn at schoolLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationLaylá and Majnūn are portrayed as small children at school, when they first met.Majnūn and his father in front of the Kaʿbah in MeccaLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationMajnūn and his father, who is on the right, are depicted in front of the Kaʿbah in Mecca.Nawfal fighting with Laylá’s tribeLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationNawfal, a dedicated friend of Majnūn’s, fights with Laylá’s tribe.Majnūn, in chains, is led by the old woman to Laylá's tentLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationA shackled Majnūn is lead by an old woman in front of the encampment of Laylá’s tribe.Majnūn playing with wild animalsLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationIn the wilderness, Majnūn is comforted by wild animals.Laylá and Majnūn meeting in the palm groveLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationLaylá and Majnūn fainting at the sight of each otherLaylá va MajnūnIllustrationIncipit with illuminated titlepieceHaft paykarIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has a titlepiece introducing the fourth poem of the Khamsah, Haft paykar, which is written in white on a blue ground.Bahrām Gūr killing a lion and a wild assHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr killing two lionsHaft paykarIllustrationFitnah carrying the ox upstairs to Bahrām GūrHaft paykarIllustrationFitnah is shown carrying the ox upstairs to Bahrām Gūr. The inscription over the gate to the garden reads: Allāhu wa-lā siwāhu.Bahrām Gūr in the black pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the black pavilion. The inscription on top reads: yā mufattiḥ al-abwāb yā musabbib al-asbāb.Bahrām Gūr in the yellow pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the yellow pavilion. The inscriptions read: al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam al-khāqān al-aʿdal.Bahrām Gūr in the green pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the green pavilion.Bahrām Gūr in the red pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the red pavilion.Bahrām Gūr in the blue pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the blue pavilion.Bahrām Gūr in the sandalwood pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the sandalwood pavilion.Bahrām Gūr in the white pavilionHaft paykarIllustrationBahrām Gūr visits the princess in the white pavilion.Bahrām Gūr meeting a shepherd who hung his dog on a treeHaft paykarIllustrationIncipit with illuminated titlepieceIskandarnāmahIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has a titlepiece introducing the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, which is written in white on a blue ground.Alexandar the Great fighting the EthiopiansIskandarnāmahIllustrationThe death of King DariusIskandarnāmahIllustrationAlexander the Great admiring his portrait ordered by NūshābahIskandarnāmahIllustrationAlexander the Great hunting deerIskandarnāmahIllustrationThe figure of Alexander the Great (Iskandar), who is depicted hunting deer, is smudged.Alexander the Great fighting the Russian warriorsIskandarnāmahIllustrationIncipit with illuminated titlepieceIqbālnāmahIncipit; titlepieceThis incipit page has a titlepiece introducing the Iqbālnāmah, the second part of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, which is written in white on a blue ground.An Ethiopian warrior killing another EthiopianIqbālnāmahIllustrationAlexander the Great and the seven philosophers, including Aristotle, Socrates, and PlatoIqbālnāmahIllustrationAlexander the Great watching the sirens bathingIqbālnāmahIllustration

Brown leather with stamped center and side panels brushed with gold (no flap); inscription in upper and lower rectangles; doublures with blue dentelle-style filigree work

922 AH / 1516 CE; date given in chronosticon (fol. 401a, above colophon): rāvī khamsahPresent-day Afghanistan (?)Seal impression: Muḥammad Asharf ibn Muḥammad Khātam al-Ḥusaynī, 1173 AH / 1759-60 CE (fols. 1a and 401a)Ownership statement: Ḥusayn […?], 1308 AH / 1890-1 CE (fol. 1b)Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequestRelevant WorksGacek, Adam. Persian Manuscripts in the Libraries of McGill University: Brief Union Catalogue. (Montreal: McGill University Libraries, 2005), no. 111.Storey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 2. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 438-495.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 styleLiturgicalDevotionalScripturalTheologicalLegalHistoricalScientificScientific -- MedicalLiterary -- ProseLiterary -- PoetryPhilosophicalAstrologicalSufiEnglishBookCalligraphyCodexColophonHeadpieceIlluminationIllustrationIndiaIranIslamicManuscriptPersianSafavidWalters Art MuseumLiterature -- PoetryOriginal Binding