Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp
[2][3] He commissioned the most prominent artists of Safavid Iran, to illustrate this manuscript as a demonstration of the shift in political landscape and as an assertion of his dominance as the Shah.A commission of the Shahnameh was a common way to assert legitimacy as a ruler because the text portrays the shah as a strong, stable individual who was to be unquestionably obeyed and respected.Most likely, the manuscript was either intended to ultimately be given as a gift to Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, or perhaps to celebrate the return of his son Tahmasp from a period as governor of Herat.[18] Houghton kept 118 miniatures for himself, donated 78 paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1972 and sold the rest to other privately and publicly owned collections around the world.Tabriz was the former capital of the Turkmen rulers, successively of the Kara Koyunlu and Ağ Qoyunlu, who had ruled much of Persia before Ismail I defeated them and began the Safavid dynasty in 1501."[29] Dust Muhammad's account also emphasizes the astonishing talents of portrait artists Aqa Mirak and Mir Musavvir, who also illustrated the Khamsa of Nizami.[30] A famous unfinished miniature showing Rostam asleep, while his horse Rakhsh fights off a lion, was probably made for the manuscript, but was never finished and bound in, perhaps because its vigorous Tabriz style did not please Tahmasp.
KayumarsAqa MirakPersianShahnamehnational epicGreater IranPersian miniatureShah Ismail IShah Tahmasp ISelim IINastaʿlīq scriptTabrizIsmail ITabriz StyleSafavid IranSuleiman the MagnificentOttoman EmpireOld TestamentBook of KingsRostamRakhshMir MusavvirTahmasp ITopkapı PalaceIstanbulEdmond James de RothschildArthur Houghton IIMetropolitan Museum of ArtOliver HoareMuseum of Contemporary Art in TehranWillem de KooningWoman IIIShahbanu FarahKhalili Collection of Islamic ArtStuart Cary WelchMir Sayyid AliSultan MohammadDust MuhammadAbd al-SamadTimuridTurkmenKara KoyunluAğ QoyunluKhamsa of NizamiKamāl ud-Dīn BehzādBritish MuseumFarrukh BegZahhakTigrisList of most expensive books and manuscriptsSussan BabaieWelch, Stuart CaryFerdowsiFerdowsi Metro StationFerdowsi Square, TehranFerdowsi StreetFerdowsi Street, TabrizFerdowsi University of MashhadTomb of FerdowsiGhazniList of places in ShahnamehZabulistanFirdeusi InstituteAbolhassan SadighiAbu-Mansur DaqiqiAsadi TusiBundariHooshang SeyhounJulius von MohlKeikhosrow ShahrokhMir Jalaleddin KazzaziMohammad-Ali Eslami NodooshanMohammad-Amin RiahiFerdowsi millennial celebrationFerdowsi millennial celebration in BerlinFirdousi (crater)A New Prologue to the ShahnamehAbu-Mansuri ShahnamehBizhan NamaBorzu NamaDerafsh KavianiKurdish ShahnamehPersian artPersian mythologyPersians and IRostam and SohrabRustam and ZohrabRustom O SohrabPishdadianKeyumarsHushangTahmurasJamshidFereydunManuchehrNowzarGarshaspKayanianKay KawādKay KāvusKay KhosrowKay LohraspGoshtasbKay BahmanHumay ChehrzadKay DarabDara IIMale charactersJamaspSiamakShahraspKayanoushQobádGostahamGershaspNarimanSohrabEsfandiyārPashotanFaramarzFariborzSiyâvashZangay-i ShavaranKashvadGoudarzBizhan