Many readers today may be familiar with perusing horoscopes in print media and websites. However, in the pre-modern era, the presentation of astrological readings acquired its own visual logic that organized celestial data into discrete sections for its user, thus breaking down the valuable information presented later in the prognostication. At the top of this horoscope, a chart highlights the astral-temporal alignments that most affected its subject’s fortunes, such as the zodiac signs currently at play, the changing seasons, alongside auspicious days of the week and numbers. The left column devotes itself to the choices before the subject and situations they should avoid, ranging from acts as innocuous as bird hunting to grave decisions, like destroying entire countries. Here, an illuminated header opens a central section that describes the impact of a partial lunar eclipse on these circumstances. The bottom section briefly summarizes the planetary and zodiac interactions before offering directives to the reader relating to international politics.

Although astrology was practiced among historical Islamic societies, horoscopes and almanacs seem to have been especially popular in the Ottoman empire. In this context, astrology drew from a sophisticated blend of celestial and mathematical knowledge, which practitioners readily put to use in service of the state. Annual almanac prognostications (taqwim) aided in instilling a sense of divine order, carried out through the reigning sultan. Moreover, courts regularly employed astrologers (munajjims) to deliver brief astrological memos and occasional horoscopes to numerous factions within the ruling elite. Thus, horoscopes often had an influential part in the formation of government policy.

The recipient of this horoscope, Sultan Mahmud I (r.1730-1754) presided over turbulent years for the Ottoman empire, where he instituted military reforms to restore the morale of the army, all of which met substantial opposition. This horoscope relates how the changing planetary alignments and a partial solar eclipse could impact his relations with European powers, such as the Spanish, French, English, and Austrians. It also mentions the potential impact of his actions closer to home, in areas like Iran and the Ottoman territories in Yemen, Egypt, and Damascus. Shortly after the execution of this document, in August 1737, Mahmud's army routed the Austrians near Bucharest, regaining much of the territory lost in previous years. Possibly thanks to horoscopes like the one here, Mahmud was able to further bolster his victories as divinely ordained acts.

Though the illumination on this horoscope is subdued in comparison to literary manuscripts, the significance of its prognostications may have garnered long-lasting appeal for this work as a testament to the realization of its advice. This horoscope remained preserved in royal hands until the fall of the empire. Prior to its acquisition by Edwin Binney, who subsequently gifted it to LACMA, this work it resided in the collection of Ali Vasib, one of the last princes born in the Ottoman empire.