DOCSLIB.ORG

Dost-Muhammad Preface to the Bahram Mirza Album

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dost-Muhammad Preface to the Bahram Mirza Album Dost-Muhammad Preface to the Bahram Mirza Album Dost-Muhammad (fl. 938-72/1531-64) of Gawashwan, a village near Herat, prepared in 951/1544 for Bahram Mirza (1517-1549), brother of the Safavid Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524- 76) and patron of the arts, an album of calligraphic specimens and paintings that is now in Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi Miizesi (H.2154). In the florid preface he wrote for the album he traces the history of calligraphy, master-pupil relationships in the calligraphic art, the his- tory of painting and painters, and inventories the scribes and artists who were employed in Shah Tahmasp's studio. Dost-Muhammad's "Preface," Qazi Ahmad's Gulistan-i hunar (Garden of art) and Mustafa Ali's Manaqib-i hunarwaran (Virtues of artists) are the main sixteenth-century .sources for the history of the arts of the book.! * The noblest rescript with which the what would be until Doomsday,"? the scribes of the workshop of prayer adorn coalesced forms and dispersed shapes of the album of composition and novelty, the archetypes were hidden in the re- and the most subtle picture with which cesses of the unseen in accordance with the depictors of the gallery of intrinsic the dictum, "I was a hidden treasure." meaning decorate the assemblies of cre- Then, in accordance with the words, "I ativity and invention, is praise of the Cre- wanted to be known, so I created creation ator, by whose pen are scriven sublime in order to be known,"3 he snatched with letters and exalted forms, In accordance the fingers of destiny the veil of non-ex- with the dictum, "The pen dried up with istence from the countenance of being, and with the hand of mercy and the pen, which was "the first thing God created.l'" he painted [them] masterfully on the can- vas of being. [9a] [Praise to] the Maker IQazi Ahmad's Gulistan-i hunar has been who made the totality of human form, translated into English by Minorsky as Cal- which includes the forms and intrinsic ligraphers and Painters, Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Papers (Washington: Smithsonian, 2For the hadith, "Jaffa 'l-qalam ... ," see Ba- 1959); an edition of the Persian text, more recent di'uzzaman Furuzanfarr, Ahiidith al-mathnawi than the translation, is by Ahmad Suhayli- (Tehran: Danishgah, 1334), p. 38 (97). Khwansari (Tehran: zar, 1352); Mustafa Ali, Manaqib-i hunarwaran, ed. in Ottoman Turkish 3The well-known ~adith qudsi, "Kuntu kan- by IbniiI-Emin Mahmud KemaI. Turk Tarih zan makhfiyan... " Encumeni Kulliyati, 9 (Istanbul: Matba'a-i 4A famous "primordial" hadlth, "Awwalu rna Arnica,1926). khalaqa.," 335 336 OOST-MUHAMMAD meanings of the next world, in the work- the Pure. without [nurturing] shell. by aid shop called "he created Adam in his of the words "I am going to place on the form" on the page of creation in the most earth a vicegerent.t" emerged from the beautiful way, and cleansed from the tab- ocean of nonexistence: "For God Jesus is let of his being the dust of nonexistence like unto Adam: He created him from with the polish of favor; and in the dust and said to him. 'Bel,' and he was." heights indicated by the words. "Assume the characteristics of God." he made the Hail to the Creator who, without assistance, mirror of creation a locus of manifestation clothed being with existence by the command "Be!" for names and traces. [Praise to] the Om- Neither is his destining in need of nipotent who adorned the layers of the machination nor is his depiction dependent heavenly seven. which in inimitability in upon the pen. the manner of seven copies-nay, in or- He quickened thousands of charming forms: ganization and systematization they are neither did he use a magic incantation nor exemplars of Koranic pages-with verses did he mix colors. He clothed each one in a color, a color of of beautiful stars and the tenth and fifth of God's tincture, without hesitation. the sun and moon, and made rulings with He adorned one beautifully with mole and lines of rays. and with the white ink of down: a whole worldful [of people] fell into dawn and the vermilion of sunset placed a error on account of its beauty. prototype of the four tablets on the azure To another he gave a seditious eye that would shed blood with blood-dripping page of the celest. Sometimes [9b] he dagger [eyelashes] makes black pens from the eyelashes of Around the lips of another he drew a novel the houris and draws the tresses of beau- design, by means of which animating down ties on the face of day from the inkpot of souls were pawned. night. and sometimes he makes a pen of For yet another he innovated a fascinating sunrays and moonbeams and draws the stature, casting calamity into the heart from the world above .... shapes of beauties with the blood of If a form is not worthy of astonishment, it lovers on the canvas of loveliness. Praise is not worth a touch of the brush. God! What am I saying? Where the per- Why are you perplexed by this master fect swiftness of 'creation and destiny is. painting when you know that it is necessary what room is there for the depiction of the to amend your conduct? If conduct is not pure and charming in pen or the pen of depiction? Where the essence, what is the use of a beautiful form? workshop of creating bodies and forms [If] in life the form of right conduct has been according to the words. "and our order is lost, what use is there for humankind to but one, like the twinkling of an eye,"5 is have been given a beautiful form? too narrow for the laborers of the upper When a man is ignorant in his being, he and lower worlds. how can there be room cannot be called human simply because of his form. for the design or mixing of water and a God, I am that handful of dust that color? Jesus the Abstract. without the aid previously was void of my form and or help of the pen. was singled out by the conduct. words. "That is Jesus. son of Mary."6 Since you gave me human form first, make and in the shell of being. by the limpidity me share intrinsically in humanity. Especially he who is the final goal of the of the breeze of the words "I breathed world: the final goal of the creative fiat is into him of my breath,"? drank the water he. of life. And the pearl of existence. Adam In form he perfected Joseph's beauty; in conduct he quickens Gabriel's soul. 5Koran 54:50. 6Koran 19:34. 7Koran 15:29, 38:72. 8Koran 2:30. PREFACE TO THE BAHRAM MIRZA ALBUM 337 That perfect human, the outline of whose If Abraham was the honor of the noble-fruited tree was the first form to community, he wore the crown of divine appear from the pure light of existence on friendship because of him. If the building of the Ka 'ba was completed [lOa] the page of being, and whose sap- by [Abraham], [Muhammad] bound the ling was watered by mercy and beauty, pilgrim's garb before it was built. from each twig of which a thousand flowers of saintliness and guidance blos- Seal [of prophets] whose ring of power som, the beautiful one, in witnessing is decorated with the legend, "I was a whose beauty admirers of Joseph's prophet while Adam was between water countenance cry out alas and alack in as- and clay." From the beginning the words tonishment and perplexity. "we have given you Kawthar,' which breathe an aroma of his angelic offspring, By Joseph was much agony created, but this proclaimed the good news of his end. beauty has stirred up a different tumult Divine legislation was completed for the inhabitants of the earth by his holy chil- The chain of his musk-scented locks has dren, love for whom is incumbent upon placed shackles of the Night of Power all who have faith and certainty in the around the sun, and his God-seeing eye way of guidance, through the words, has opened the gates of paradise to his "Say I do not ask you a fee for it except community through intercession: affection in kinship," [lOb] and in ac- The eternal painter who drew that black line, cordance with the true saying, "I leave o Lord, what marvelous shapes are in his among you the people God's book and pen! my family." After paying respects to the Word of The unlettered one who has drawn, with- the omniscient necessarily existent [One], out aid of the pen, a line of abrogation it is an obligation upon each individual in through a thousand books-the unread Islam to take an immaculate handhold one who, without the assistance of pen onto the strong rope of following this and ink, has changed the laws and rules group, respect for whom is necessary, of the past through his legislation of firm especially the prides of humanity, by root and exalted branch. whom I mean the Twelve Imams, for were the hand of destiny to reopen the Through knowledge he changed the precepts gate of prophecy, it would be opened to of religions; through his own action he none other than their prophet-like beauty. made the law. He had no script apparent, but he was favored by instruction from the Preserved Praise God for such a unique group, who Tablet were signs of God's Apostle, However, on his finger he had a [fingernail] Each one a sun at the zenith of justice, each like a pen, sharpened to abrogate religions.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE MAKING of the ARTIST in LATE TIMURID PAINTING Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art Series Editor: Professor Robert Hillenbrand
    EDINBURGH STUDIES IN ISLAMIC A RT EDINBURGH STUDIES IN ISLAMIC A RT S E RIES E DITOR:ROBE RT HILLE NBRAND Painting Timurid late in Artist the of Making The S E RIES E DITOR:ROBE RT HILLE NBRAND This series offers readers easy access to the most up-to-date research across the whole range of Islamic art, representing various parts of the Islamic world, media and approaches. Books in the series are academic monographs of intellectual distinction that mark a significant advance in the field. Isfahan and its Palaces Statecraft, Shi ’ ism and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran Sussan Babaie This beautifully illustrated history of Safavid Isfahan (1501–1722) explores the architectural and urban forms and networks of socio-cultural action that reflected a distinctly early modern and Perso-Shi ’ i practice of kingship. An immense building campaign, initiated in 1590/1, transformed Isfahan from a provincial, medieval and largely Sunni city into an urban-centered representation of the first Imami Shi ’ i empire in the history of Islam. The historical process of Shi ’ ification of Safavid Iran, and the deployment of the arts in situating the shifts in the politico-religious agenda of the imperial household, informs Sussan Babaie’s study of palatial architecture and urban environments of Isfahan and the earlier capitals of Tabriz and Qazvin. Babaie argues that, since the Safavid claim presumed the inheritance both of the charisma of the Shi ’ i Imams and of the aura of royal splendor integral to ancient Persian notions of kingship, a ceremonial regime was gradually devised in which access and proximity to the shah assumed the contours of an institutionalized form of feasting.
    [Show full text]
  • Tadhkirat Al-Sh.U Lara
    Mir Dawlatshah Samarqandi Tadhkirat al-sh.u lara Mir Dawlatshah Samarqandi was the son of Amir Ala'uddawla Bakhtishah Isfarayini, one of Shahrukh's courtiers, and nephew of the powerful Amir Firozshah. Unlike his fore- bears, who "passed their time as aristocrats in ostentatiousness and opulence," Mir Dawlatshah, who was of a dervish bent and had some poetic talent, "sought seclusion and contented himself with a life of spiritual poverty and rustication to acquire learning and perfection."! At the age of fifty he began his Tadhkirat al-shu'ara (Memorial of poets), anecdotes about and short biographies of 150 Persian poets, ancient and modern, which he completed in 892/1487. The judgment of Mir Ali-Sher Nawa'i, to whom the work was dedicated, was that "anyone who reads it will realize the merit and talent of the compiler." Although the book deals primarily with poets, since poets generally were inextricably bound to royal patrons, it contains valuable anecdotal information on many pre- Timurid, Timurid and Turcoman rulers. The synopses of rulers' careers and anecdotes illustrative of their characters included by Dawlatshah are translated and given here. * SULTANUWAYS JALAYIR2 out of a greedy poet's house is a difficult task," and gave him the candlestick. That [po288] It is said that one night Khwaja is how rulers rewarded poets in bygone Salman [Sawaji] was drinking in Sultan times.... Uways's assembly. As he departed, the sultan ordered a servant to light the way Dilshad Khatun was the noblest and for him with a candle in a golden candle- most beautiful lady of her time.
    [Show full text]
  • © in This Web Service Cambridge University
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-15346-1 - Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran Beatrice Forbes Manz Index More information Index Aba Bakr b. Amıransh ah, Mırza 18–19, 35, AbuplQasim Babur b. Baysunghur, Mırza 61, 119–20, 124–25, 127, 157 102–03, 127, 150–51, 239, 241, 246, 252, Aba Bakr b. Muh. ammad Juki, Mırza 26, 115, 262–65, 267–73, 275, 280 247, 259, 260–61 relation to religious figures 234 Aba Bakr Khazin, kotwal 159–60 Abu Muslim (Khorasani, of Marw) 122, Abarquh 29, 32, 116, 123, 124, 125, 149, 152, 185, 220 156, 163, 249, 253, 256, 268 Abu Muslimnama 122 qAbbasid revolution 185, 189 Abu Nar Mishkan (Ghaznavid vizier) 68 qAbd al-qAzız b. Ulugh Beg, Mırza 246, 248, AbuSa qıd, Ilkhan (r. 1317–35) 101 265–66 AbuSa qıd, Sult.an (r. 1451–69) 55, 58, 61, 81, qAbd al-Khaliq b. Khudayd ad H. usaynı27 99, 100, 103, 120, 127, 191–93, 204, 215, qAbd Allah b. Ibrah ım Sult.an, Mırza 46, 47, 225, 246, 265, 267, 270, 275 115, 127, 246, 249, 256, 261, 265, 266–67, relation to religious figures 215 270, 275 AbuSa qıd b. Abıpl Khayr (shrine, qAbd Allah b. Muqawiyya, also shrine of Mayhana) 209, 239 185, 189 AbuSa qıd b. Qara Yusuf Qaraqoyunlu 42 qAbd Allah Lisan, Mawlan a 213 Afghanistan 40, 45 qAbd al-Lat.ıf b. Ulugh Beg 47, 246–47, 248, afrad 186 257, 269, 275 agriculture 85, 95, 169, 171, 194 in succession struggle 246, 263–68 promotion 116 qAbd al-Muqt.ı, shaykh 236 destruction 2, 263, 275 qAbd al-Qadiriyya Madrasa, see Yazd Ah.
    [Show full text]
  • Persian Drawing, Ca. 1400-1450: Materials and Creative Procedures
    DAVID J. ROXBURGH PERSIAN DRAWING, CA. 1400-1450: MATERIALS AND CREATIVE PROCEDURES Four drawings converge on an album page (figs. 1 and these drawings were regarded as a fragile and dispens- 2) to form a meeting point of slightly overlapping and able detritus, as a processual compost, the mountain staggered paper sheets. Their rulings are abraded, of evidence preserved in albums is powerful proof that edges slightly scuffed, and paper surfaces faintly dabbed drawings had a creative currency and at some point with ink and mottled with grease. It is a confusing came to be valued for their own sake. juncture. The drawings are oriented away from the spiraling center that they form and toward the outer edges of the album page, so that each drawing can be viewed correctly from one of the album page's outer edges. The content is equally confusing. Although the drawings may have been arranged according to some notion of a homology, 1 even the single sheet, domi- nated by what we discern as a primary subject-such as the man holding a dish, or the scene of an outdoor enthronement-is in fact a mixture of subjects. Drawn in various colors of ink along axes that are different from their adjacent primary subjects, which promise our eye a rule with which to make sense of the entire page, are a running wolf and antelope in one draw- ing and a humped ox and head of a bearded man in another. In yet another drawing, mounted riders ap- pear as if mirror reversed across an invisible center, though in only one does the lance meet a target in the form of a rearing lion.
    [Show full text]
  • Timur's Conquests Mechanics Guide Namun 2019
    TIMUR’S CONQUESTS MECHANICS GUIDE NAMUN 2019 Note from the Crisis Manageri Dear Delegates of NAMUN 2019, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Timur’s Conquests Crisis Committee. For those of you who have never done crisis committees before, allow me to quickly summarize some of the main attributes of crisis committees: your delegation represents a historical character rather than a country, and you can enact policy changes in real time during the debate. In fact, instead of ‘debating’, you are much more likely to work together with your teammates to reach a common goal. Because of the crisis nature of the committee, every action you do, whether by yourself or as a team, will have a relatively quick response, which you will be informed about, so that the stages of the crisis may advance. Timur’s Conquests is even more special because it is a Joint Cabinet Crisis, which means that delegates are separated into smaller teams called cabinets which interact with each other. In our committee, there are three: the Timurids, the Ottomans and the Mamluks, all vying for control of the Middle East. In a Joint Cabinet Crisis, if one cabinet decides to take action, the other cabinets will react, leading to a very dynamic and constantly changing scenario. Set in the late 14th century C.E, the Timurid Empire was the last Turko-Mongolic Empire to rule the Middle East and Central Asia based on its speed. It expanded violently, securing much of the former territories of the Mongol Chagatai, Golden Horde and Ilkhanate, but it also had to contest with the rising gunpowder empires of Mamluk Egypt, the Ottomans and the Mughals.
    [Show full text]
  • The Conceptual Status of Poetry in the Illustrations of the Divan of Khwaju Kirmani
    International Journal of Arts and Commerce Vol. 5 No. 1 January, 2016 The Conceptual Status of Poetry in the Illustrations of the Divan of Khwaju Kirmani Marzieh Toraji Faculty Member of the Art and Architecture of Guilan University Rasht, Iran Email: [email protected] Abstract Literature has been always a source of inspiration for the miniaturists. Persian miniatures with unique settings that reflect imaginal world are full of poetic characteristics. Persian literature, especially poetry, has acted as a tool for expressing mystical themes in addition to its narrating function. The direct impact of Persian poetry and literature on Persian miniature painting can be traced throughout all courses of history. In Jalayirid era, important manuscripts were illustrated among which divan of Khwaju Kirmani is considered as one of the most brilliant and unique works produced during this period. This manuscript consists of beautiful imaginal illustrations painted by Junayd Sultani, who was able to display the taste of union and being drunk with happiness expressed in the poems of Khwaju Kirmani. The manuscript has nine miniature illustrations and it was scribed by Mirali Tabrizi in nasta’liq calligraphic style. It is kept in the British Museum. This paper aims to study the effects of literature on this manuscript of the divan of Khwaju Kirmani focusing on the imaginal world depicted in its miniature illustrations. For this purpose, the following objectives are sought: 1- Have access to the theme expressed by the miniature illustrations of the divan of Khwaju Kirmani. 2- Identify and analyze the miniature illustrations and talent of the artist in composition of form and content.
    [Show full text]
  • Medieval Persia 1040-1797
    MEDIEVAL PERSIA 1040–1797 Medieval Persia 1040–1797 charts the remarkable history of Persia from its conquest by the Muslim Arabs in the seventh century AD to the modern period at the end of the eighteenth century, when the impact of the west became pervasive. David Morgan argues that understanding this complex period of Persia’s history is integral to understanding modern Iran and its significant role on the international scene. The book begins with a geographical introduction and briefly summarises Persian history during the early Islamic centuries to place the country’s Middle Ages in their historical context. It then charts the arrival of the Saljūq Turks in the eleventh century and discusses in turn the major politi- cal powers of the period: Mongols, Timurids, Türkmen and Safawids. The chronological narrative enables students to identify change and consistencies under each ruling dynasty, while Persia’s rich social, cultural, religious and economic history is also woven throughout to present a complete picture of life in Medieval Persia. Despite the turbulent backdrop, which saw Persia ruled by a succession of groups who had seized power by military force, arts, painting, poetry, literature and architecture all flourished in the period. This new edition contains a new epilogue which discusses the significant literature of the last 28 years to provide students with a comprehensive over- view of the latest historiographical trends in Persian history. Concise and clear, this book is the perfect introduction for students of medieval Persia and the medieval Middle East. David Morgan is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
    [Show full text]
  • Europe, China and Istanbul: the Albums in a Broader Perspective
    Europe, China and Istanbul: The Albums in a Broader Perspective ⸪ Gülru Necipolu - 9789004323483 Downloaded from Brill.com03/06/2019 09:42:32PM via Harvard University Gülru Necipolu - 9789004323483 Downloaded from Brill.com03/06/2019 09:42:32PM via Harvard University Chapter 20 Persianate Images between Europe and China: The “Frankish Manner” in the Diez and Topkapı Albums, c. 1350–1450 Gülru Necipoğlu The so-called Saray albums in Berlin and system” collapsed with the fragmentation Istanbul have mainly been examined to of the Mongol empire, its artistic reper- map the transformation of the Persianate cussions would continue to be felt long artistic tradition through an infusion of thereafter, as demonstrated by the extraor- Chinese elements in the post-Mongol era. dinary contents of the Saray albums. The fascinating Europeanizing images By taking a close look at the earliest of these albums have therefore largely examples of Europeanizing images (c. 1350– escaped attention and most of them 1450) preserved in the Diez albums and remain unpublished. This state of affairs two Topkapı albums (H. 2152, H. 2153), can partly be explained by the overwhelm- this essay attempts to reframe the Berlin ing prominence of Chinese and Sinicizing and Istanbul albums anew, within a images in the albums. Nonetheless, the wider transnational framework.2 Topkapı sidestepping of works affiliated with the Western pictorial tradition has distorted 1 Janet L. Abu-Lughod, Before European Hege­ the global outlook encompassed by the mony: The World System A.D. 1250–1350, New York albums, which originated roughly between 1989; Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the West, 1250 and 1350, when Europe and China 1221–1410, Harlow, England and New York 2005; were brought into contact by the Pax Reuven Amitai-Preiss and David O.
    [Show full text]
  • Mortem Et Gloriam Army Lists Use the Army Lists to Create Your Own Customised Armies Using the Mortem Et Gloriam Army Builder
    Army Lists House of Osman Contents Islamic Persian 1245 to 1393 CE Turcoman Beyliks 1278 to 1515 CE Serbian Empire 1301 to 1489 CE Later Hungarian 1308 to 1441 CE Wallachian 1330 to 1476 CE Jalairid Sultanate 1336 to 1432 CE Albanian Principalities 1355 to 1479 CE Moldavian 1359 to 1517 CE Timurid 1360 to 1506 CE Ottoman Turkish 1362 to 1520 CE Kara Koyunlu 1378 to 1469 CE Ak Koyunlu 1387 to 1504 CE Crusade of Nicopolis 1396 CE Tatar Khanates 1430 to 1520 CE Black Army Hungarian 1442 to 1494 CE Version 2020.01: 1st January 2020 © Simon Hall Creating an army with the Mortem et Gloriam Army Lists Use the army lists to create your own customised armies using the Mortem et Gloriam Army Builder. There are few general rules to follow: 1. An army must have at least 2 generals and can have no more than 4. 2. You must take at least the minimum of any troops noted and may not go beyond the maximum of any. 3. No army may have more than two generals who are Talented or better. 4. Unless specified otherwise, all elements in a UG must be classified identically. Unless specified otherwise, if an optional characteristic is taken, it must be taken by all the elements in the UG for which that optional characteristic is available. 5. Any UGs can be downgraded by one quality grade and/or by one shooting skill representing less strong, tired or understrength troops. If any bases are downgraded all in the UG must be downgraded.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dīvān of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir and the Diez and Istanbul Albums
    Chapter 18 The Dīvān of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir and the Diez and Istanbul Albums Massumeh Farhad The Diez and Istanbul albums include Ranging from carefully observed figural an exceptional body of paintings and compositions to studies of Chinese motifs drawings from the latter part of the four- and European subjects, the images vary in teenth century and the early fifteenth scale, subject matter, and style. Together, century when the Jalayirid dynasty con- they offer invaluable insight into the cre- trolled much of western Iran and eastern ative imagination and artistic processes Iraq. Among these works, the large-scale of the Jalayirid period. The importance of folios from the so-called Great Jalayirid pen and ink drawings as a form of artistic Shāhnāma have received considerable expression is further attested by a series scholarly attention, while the ink draw- of marginal compositions in a Dīvān of ings (qalam siyāhī) are lesser known.1 Sultan Ahmad Jalayir (r. 1382–1410) in the Freer Gallery of Art (F1932.29–37). This 1 For a discussion of folios from the Jalayirid paper is intended as a series of preliminary Shāhnāma, see Nurhan Atasoy, “Four Istanbul observations on Jalayirid drawings in the Albums and Some Fragments from the Diez and Istanbul albums and their rela- Fourteenth Century Shahnamehs”, Ars Orientalis tionship to the images in Sultan Ahmad’s 8 (1970), pp. 19–48; Dorothea Duda, “Die Dīvān with the aim of underlining the piv- Buchmalerei der Ğalā‘riden (2. Teil) Die Malerei otal role of this body of work in the larger in Tabrīz under Sulṭān Uwais und Ḥusain”, history of the arts of the book in Iran.2 Islam 49 (1972), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Timur's Conquests Namun 2019
    TIMUR’S CONQUESTS NAMUN 2019 Table of Contents: Letter from the Chair 3 Letter from the Director 4 Introduction 5 Definitions 6 Historical Background 7 The Mongol Empire 7 Timur and the Timurids 8 Tokhtamysh and Delhi: The First Great Campaigns 9 Timur’s Enemies 10 Timeline 12 Issues 13 Task of the Committee 14 Bibliography 15 2 www.namun.org / [email protected] / @namun2019 Letter from the Chair Dear delegates, On behalf of NAMUN’s staff, welcome to NAMUN 2019 and this year’s Timur’s Conquests committee. The staff and I have working hard over the last few months to create a committee that should spark interesting debate along military, political, and religious lines and allow you to delve into an important but oft-overlooked era. Timur is, without a doubt, one of the great conquerors of history. Unfortunately, however, his reputation as a “Genghis Khan-lite” has often caused him to be overlooked in favour of his admittedly more impactful Mongol predecessors or to merely be reduced to the ancestor of the mighty Mughal empire that dominated India for centuries. Partially, this is because the Timurid empire did not long outlast Timur. But partially this is also because people have not appreciated the unique mix of characteristics that makes him such a fascinating character. He was cultured yet brutal, massacring millions of innocent civilians but always being sure to spare the intellectuals, artisans, and scholars who he would send to glorify his magnificent capital at Samarkand. Wickedly intellectual and a tactical genius, he would nevertheless retreat into drunken debauchery relatively often in between the multiyear campaigns that took his army across continents.
    [Show full text]
  • Text and Image in Medieval Persian Art Sheila S
    Text and Image in Medieval Persian Art Sheila S. Blair BBLAIRLAIR 99780748655786780748655786 PPRINT.inddRINT.indd iiiiii 225/09/20135/09/2013 009:379:37 © Sheila S. Blair, 2013 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF www.euppublishing.com Typeset in 10/12 pt Trump Medieval by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Spain by Novoprint A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 5578 6 (hardback) The right of Sheila S. Blair to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). Published in association with al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait. BBLAIRLAIR 99780748655786780748655786 PPRINT.inddRINT.indd iivv 225/09/20135/09/2013 009:379:37 Contents List of Figures vii Series Editor’s Foreword xiii Preface xiv CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 The Art of Writing: A Bowl from Samarqand 11 Provenance 17 The ceramic setting 23 Inscriptions 30 Script 35 Clientele 38 Wider horizons 42 Afterlife 48 CHAPTER 3 Perfuming the Air: A Rosewater Sprinkler from Herat 57 Provenance 61 The geographical and historical setting 67 Metalwares from Herat 78 Patronage 84 Function 88 Decoration 93 Afterlife 97 CHAPTER 4 Monumentality under the Mongols: The Tomb of Uljaytu at Sultaniyya 112 Construction and redecoration 117 Reasons for redecoration 122 The pious foundation 128 The architectural setting 136 The tomb as
    [Show full text]