The Discomfiture and Death of Piroz, Page from a Manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdawsi

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The Discomfiture and Death of Piroz, Page from a Manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdawsi

Iran, probably Shiraz, circa 1485-1495
Manuscripts; folios
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
8 3/4 x 6 1/8 in. (22.23 x 15.56 cm)
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky (M.73.5.23)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes


In Firdawsi’s Persian epic of the Shahnama (Book of Kings, completed 1010), Piroz (r. 459-484) gained renown for building glorious cities during the first years of his reign....

In Firdawsi’s Persian epic of the Shahnama (Book of Kings, completed 1010), Piroz (r. 459-484) gained renown for building glorious cities during the first years of his reign. Yet he arrogantly decided to violate a treaty against the Turkic Khanate (Hephthalites) in an act of war, which brought about his demise and disaster to his kingdom. In order to avoid facing Piroz’s forces, the Khan’s son Khushnawaz dug an enormous trench around his army, which he hid from view. When Piroz advanced upon him, all his forces crashed into pit, breaking their heads and backs. None of the princes survived except for Kubad, whom Khushnawaz took as a prisoner fettered in chains. On this Shahnama folio from late fifteenth-century Shiraz, the artists have divided the infamous scene into two simultaneous registers to fully realize Piroz’s defeat. Above, Khushnawaz’s men peer down into the pit at their vanquished enemies, who are depicted piled underground, below the undulating line at the foot of the raised landscape.

Particularly by the fifteenth century, elite manuscript patrons understood the Shahnama not only as a national epic, but also as a source of wisdom and advice for rulers. Medieval Persian authors frequently cited verses from it relating to topics of ethics and political conduct, some of whom went on to pen works spanning epic cycles composed in the spirit of the Shahnama, as well as dedicated mirrors for princes. The death of Piroz makes an ideal cautionary tale for this canon as the shah upends his peaceful reign with a foolhardy and unnecessary campaign. In light of this theme, the Shahnama made a timely bestseller among manuscripts during a tumultuous period for Shiraz under Turkman rule. The tribe of the Qara Qoyunlu seized the city from the Timurids in 1452, before in-fighting paved the way for the Aq Qoyunlu to take over in 1469. Despite the magnificence of the court at Shiraz, fratricide and treason continued to plague its rulers until the Safavid takeover in 1501.

In the face of this turmoil, the city’s new Turkman rulers continued to patronize and support the local production of luxury manuscripts. In fact, the production of Shahnamas from the latter half of the century escalated so that close to fifty illustrated copies still survive today, the vast majority of which originated from the prolific workshops in Shiraz. Under the Turkmans, Shirazi artists fused Timurid and Turkmen styles to create distinctive works that would continue to develop, attracting patrons well into the sixteenth century. Illuminated motifs and compositional elements of this folio (and others likely from the same manuscript), draw on earlier Timurid examples, including the Shahnama of Ibrahim Sultan (d. 1435), the devoted princely patron of manuscripts who governed over Fars, the province encompassing the administrative center of Shiraz. Though the patrons of these Turkman manuscripts from late fifteenth-century are seldom named, their workshops may have catered towards wealthy commercial buyers or commissions from regional courts. This work marks one of five folios from the same Shahnama now residing at LACMA.
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Bibliography

  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed.  Islamic Art:  The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection.  Los Angeles:  Museum Associates, 1973.