A KINGS BOOK OF KINGS The Houghton Shah-nameh The Metropolitan Museum of Art A,k A KING'S BOOK OF KINGS THE HOUGHTON SHAH-NAMEH SYNOPSES OF THE STORIES ILLUSTRATED IN THE EXHIBITION A KING'S BOOK OF KINGS May 4 - October 31, 1972 Compiled by Marie Lukens Swietochowski and Suzanne Boorsch The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Shah-nameh, Persia's Book of Kings, recounts the history of Iran's ancient empire from its legendary birth to its downfall in the middle of the seventh century at the hands of Arab armies. Around the year 975, at a time of renewed national consciousness, the poet Firdowsi of Tus began writing this great epic, a task lasting about thirty-five years. In time, it became the custom among various major and minor rulers of Iran to have their own Shah-nameh copied out and illus­ trated by the best artists their prestige could command. The Houghton Shah-nameh was commissioned for the second ruler of the Safavid Dynasty, Shah Tahmasp, early in a reign that began in 1524. It contains an unprecedented 258 miniature paintings, some as large as 11 x 14 inches, and represents a culmination of a long tradition in this art. Seventy-five miniatures from the manuscript were selected for this exhibition. The stories here are arranged in consecutive order as they appear in the Shah-nameh, with the folio number, recto or verso, indicated. The folio numbers are indicated above the miniatures in the exhibition, and the titles here correspond to those in the exhibition. /J r~ to FIRDOWSI ENCOUNTERS THE COURT POETS OF HUSHANG SLAYS THE BLACK DIV 21v GHAZNA 7r Ahriman, the devil, and his son, the ferocious wolflike Firdowsi, the author of the Shah-nameh, had recently Black Div, coveted the throne of Gayumars and plotted arrived at the court of Mahmud of Ghazna to seek against him in secret. The beloved son of Gayumars was patronage for the epic he had been working on for some foully slain by the Black Div when he set out to defend his twenty years in his native Tus. His reputation had father's throne. Gayumars' grandson, Hushang, avenged his preceded him, and when he came upon the three famous father's death by gathering an army of wild animals and court poets, Ansari, Asjadi, and Farrukhi, in a garden, peris and, in turn, slaying the Black Div. jealousy and suspicion of the newcomer led them to try to exclude him from the circle. They challenged him to complete the fourth line of a quatrain of which the first three lines were rhymed by the only three Persian words to THE FEAST OF SADEH 22v end in the syllable schen. Undeterred by this seemingly impossible task, Firdowsi brilliantly completed the In the reign of Hushang, grandson of Gayumars, the world quatrain by using the proper name Peschen, and the other came to understand the usefulness of minerals and the art poets were forced to accept his presence. of smithery, as well as agriculture and irrigation. One day Hushang spied a horrible dragon lurking behind the rocks. He hurled a stone at it, which missed the monster but hit a larger rock, causing sparks to fly up. Realizing the significance of this phenomenon, Hushang built a large fire and held a feast to celebrate its discovery, FIRDOWSI'S PARABLE ON THE SHIP OF SHI'ISM 18v known as the Feast of Sadeh. This is an illustration from that part of the prelude to the poem that praises the Prophet and his family. The poet's TAHMURAS DEFEATS THE DIVS 23v vision is of the seventy religions of the world seen as sailing ships on the sea of the world, doomed to be destroyed by Tahmuras, son of Hushang, brought further civilization to the waves so all shall drown. In the most splendid ship is the world by teaching the art of weaving and the domesti­ the Prophet and his son-in-law Ali, and in the illustration cation of animals. Ali's two sons Hasan and Husayn. The poet feels that if he The divs again rebelled, but Tahmuras, his virtue giving is faithful to this ship, when it founders the powers of him strength, defeated them. They promised, in return for salvation of the family of the Prophet, strongly believed in their lives, to teach a new and valuable art. So Tahmuras by the Shi'a sect, will be his only hope. spared them, and the divs taught him the alphabet and how to write some thirty scripts, including Greek, Persian, Arabic, Soghdian, Chinese, and Pahlavi. THE COURT OF GAYUMARS 20v THE COURT OF JAMSHID 24v Civilization began with Gayumars, first of the mythological kings. From the mountain top that was his Jamshid, son of Tahmuras, of all the early kings throne he taught the people how to feed themselves and contributed most to the civilizing process. He taught many clothe themselves in the skins of animals, and the wild new arts and crafts, perfected others, and introduced beasts came from all the corners of the earth to pay luxuries into the world as well. He divided people into the homage to him. classes of priest, warrior, free agriculturist, and artisan. He 185172 was the first to travel the seas by ship and even explored THE NIGHTMARE OF ZAHHAK 28v the heavens, his throne carried by divs. He discovered medicine, and death and disease were held at bay. Finally, One night, forty years before the end of his reign, as this long Golden Age came to an end through Jamshid's Zahhak lay beside one of Jamshid's daughters, he dreamed pride. When he began to equate himself with God, he was that a princely soldier struck him down with an ox-headed abandoned by God's grace. It was then that Ahriman, the mace, bound him, placed a yoke on his shoulders, covered devil, regained his power and, through Zahhak, brought his face with dust, and dragged him through jeering about Jamshid's fall. throngs up to Mount Demavend. He awoke from his nightmare with a piercing cry that echoed through the palace. THE DEATH OF KING MIRDAS 25v Mirdas was a virtuous and generous king in Arabia. His ZAHHAK IS TOLD HIS FATE 29v gallant, though hasty and easily influenced, son Zahhak was lured by Ahriman into a plot to kill the good king for Zahhak called together his priests and wise men and his throne. On a path the old king was accustomed to threatened them with death if they would not reveal the walk, Ahriman dug a dip pit and masked it with boughs, meaning of his dreadful dream. He was told he would lose and so Mirdas fell in, broke his back, and died. both fortune and throne in the manner envisioned in the Next Ahriman, disguised as a cook, brought before the nightmare to a warrior called Faridun, not yet born but new king forbidden but irresistible dishes. When Zahhak, with just claims to the crown. Faridun would be full of thoroughly ensnared, asked the cook what reward he vengeance for the death of his father at Zahhak's hand and wished, Ahriman answered that he wanted only to kiss the for the slaying of the cow Birmayeh who had nursed him. king's shoulders. The request was granted, and, where the The dreaded king, on hearing this prophecy, fell from his devil's lips had touched, two horrible black snakes grew throne in a faint. up. Nothing would rid him of them. Then Ahriman again appeared, this time as a man of medicine, and advised Zahhak that the only remedy was to feed the snakes daily with the brains of two youths. If this did not kill them at ZAHHAK SLAYS BIRMAYEH 30v least it should keep them dormant, he insisted. Ahriman's evil purpose was thus to depopulate the world. The predictions of the sayers came to pass. Faridun was born, and iris father was captured and slain at Zahhak's command. Faridun was hidden and nourished by the cow Birmayeh. Then news of Zahhak's merciless search came to Faranak, mother of Faridun, and she fled once-rrlore with the child. Zahhak wantonly killed Birmayeh and all the cattle, laying waste the land as he went and firing the ZAHHAK RECEIVES THE DAUGHTERS OF palace of Faridun when he found it empty. JAMSHID 27v When Jamshid grew proud, and God's grace abandoned him, the world became open to Ahriman's influence, and so it was that Zahhak was able to usurp the throne of Iran KAVEH TEARS ZAHHAK'S SCROLL 31v and slay Jamshid. With Zahhak's one-thousand-year reign, wickedness, sin, As Faridun grew to manhood, Zahhak grew old and ever and corruption triumphed and flourished. Jamshid's two more fearful of his destiny. Desperate to counteract his beautiful and virtuous daughters were brought to Zahhak, fate, the dragon-king summoned all his nobles to sign a only to be raised by him in the love of evil. scroll extolling his rule and his life's devotion to goodness. justice, and truth. Out of fear, they signed, but they were he had them bathed and purged the darkness from their interrupted in their cowardly act by a voice crying minds until they were wholly cleansed. They wept with "injustice!" It was Kaveh, the smith, who had lost sixteen joy and gratitude for their rescue and vowed to help sons to the insatiable serpents. Now that the last had been Faridun fulfill his destiny and destroy the dragon-king.