Escaping the Mongols, Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan

• Accession Number:AKM272.f187r
• Creator:Author: Ahmad b. Muhammad Ghaffari, Persian, died 1567 Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi
• Place:Iran, Shiraz (probably)
• Dimensions:38.7 cm × 25 cm × 6.4 cm
• Date:1573-74 CE/980 AH/AH 980
• Materials and Technique: Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper

• The miniature painting "Escaping the Mongols" is from an intact manuscript of Kitab-i Nigaristan, a collection of anecdotes and historical incidents written in prose by the historian and scholar Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari (1504–1567/68) of Kashan in 1551–2. This illustrated manuscript, dated 1573, was probably produced in a Shiraz workshop. 

   

  See AKM272 for more information about the manuscript and links to the other illustrations. 

    

Further Reading 

 
The miniature painting shows a landscape which is diagonally divided by a pink rock. A small river, originally coloured in silver and now oxidized, flows through it, and figures are arranged, kneeling, on opposite sides. A large blue rock mass dotted with trees rises from the upper centre of the painting and pierces the pictorial frame. 
 
The scenery seems to show a peaceful scene with two couples kneeling in a verdant landscape. However, the text sheds another light on the story: the two couples are the lone survivors of a battle between Tur ibn Firidun[1] of Transoxania and an invading army of Mongols. Their escape route brought them to a huge mountain, where they found refuge. According to the text, the mountain towers high up into the skies and rivals the firmament in solidity. Aptly, the description of the mountain is written in the upper text box, where the rock pierces the frame. This coordination of text and image occurs frequently in this manuscript of the Nigaristan.  
 
There is a long tradition of natural scenes[2] in Persian miniatures. The landscape could be a depiction of a garden with flowers and trees, or (as here) a rocky landscape dotted with flowers, depending on the context of the illustration. The figures are generally subordinate to nature, as they are in this painting in the Nigaristan.  
 
- Elika Palenzona-Djalili 
 
 
Notes 
1. A figure from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings). He was the son of Faridun, who was an Iranian mythical king.  
 
2. For more information about nature scenes, see: Eleanor Sims, Peerless Images.  
 
 
References 

Khaleghi-Motlagh, Djalal, ed. Shahnameh. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers in association with Bibliotheca Persica, 1992. OCLC: 470155433 
 
Dick Davis, ed. Shahnameh. The Persian book of the kings. New York: Viking, 2006. ISBN: 9780670034857
 
Eleanor Sims, Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780300090383