Folio page with four columns of text, with another text box in the lower left. Below is an illustration showing a man fighting two lions, while five figures look on from behind some rocks. A tree stretches from the rocks, behind the text columns, upwards into the top margin.
AKM444, Bahram Gur Fights Two Lions to Win the Throne

© The Aga Khan Museum

Folio page with four columns of black text, with two red sub-headings. Each column and heading outlined in thin brown lines, with the whole text box bordered by several thin lines. There is a small black inscription in the lower left, and white tape marks along the top edge.
AKM444, Bahram Gur Fights Two Lions to Win the Throne, back

© The Aga Khan Museum

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Bahram Gur Fights Two Lions to Win the Throne
Folio from a manuscript of Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Firdausi (d. 1020)
  • Accession Number:AKM444
  • Creator:painting attributed to Mu‘in Musavvir
  • Place:Iran, Isfahan
  • Dimensions:35 x 21.9 cm
  • Date:1666—1667
  • Materials and Technique:opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper

  • After the death of the unjust Sasasian king Yazdegerd, the counsellors, priests, and warriors determined that none of Yazdegerd’s sons should inherit the throne. They instead elected Khosrau, a nobleman of Sasanian descent, as the new king. Bahram, one of Yazdegerd’s sons, rejected this decision. He claimed that he alone would bring peace and justice to Iran, and he proposed a challenge: the royal crown and attire should be placed between two lions, and whoever could retrieve these items should be recognized as the legitimate king. Khosrau withdrew from the challenge and Bahram won the throne by killing both lions.

References
Froom, Aimée. Spirit & Life: Masterpieces of Islamic Art from the Aga Khan Museum Collection. Geneva: Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2007, 182. ISBN: 9782940212026

Note: This online resource is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We are committed to improving this information and will revise and update knowledge about this object as it becomes available.

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