"Siege of Baghdad", Folio from a Dispersed copy of the Zafarnama (Book of Victory) of Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi
This folio once illustrated a manuscript of the Zafarnama, a biography of the ruler Timur commissioned by his grandson Ibrahim Sultan. The text glorifies Timur’s many victories on the battlefield, including his 1401 siege of Baghdad, depicted here. In the painting residents of the city attempt to flee by swimming across the Tigris. The distinctively spare yet highly animated angular compositions are characteristic of manuscript painting produced in Shiraz in this period.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Siege of Baghdad", Folio from a Dispersed copy of the Zafarnama (Book of Victory) of Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi
- Author: Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi (Iranian, Yazd 1370s–1454 Yazd)
- Calligrapher: Ya'qub ibn Hasan, known as Siraj al-Husaini (active Shiraz, Iran)
- Artist: Unknown
- Date: Dhu'l Hijja 839 AH/June–July 1436 CE
- Geography: Made in Iran, Shiraz
- Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Page:
H. 13 1/8 in. (33.4 cm)
W. 9 11/16 in. (24.6 cm)
Measurements of text page with r:
H. 9 5/16 in. (23.7 cm)
W. 6 3/16 in. (15.7 cm)
Measurements of miniature withou:
H. 7 13/16 in. (19.8 cm)
W. 6 in. (15.2 cm) - Classification: Codices
- Credit Line: Louis V. Bell Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.266.1
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi
1485–86
Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi
Ya'qub ibn Hasan, known as Siraj al-Husaini
839 AH/1436 CE
Multiple artists/makers
Dhu'l Hijja 839 AH/June–July 1436 CE
Abu'l Qasim Firdausi
dated 887 AH/1482 CE
Maulana Muhammad Ibn Husam ad Din
ca. 1476–86
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