Baysunghur Shahnameh

A battle scene from the Baysonghori Shahnameh, the battle of Kai Khosrow and Afrasiab

The Baysunghur Shahnameh (Persian: شاهنامه بایسنقری) is an illustrated manuscript of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. The work on this manuscript was started in 1426 at the order of Baysunghur Mirza, the Timurid prince, and was completed on 5 Jumada 833, (January 31, 1430). It is now in the museum of The Golestan Palace, in Tehran, Iran, and regarded as a key masterpiece of the Persian miniature.

According to the preface, apparently written by Baysunghur himself for this volume, and usually copied in later manuscripts,[1] it was not a copy of a previous manuscript, but instead it was prepared by comparing several older manuscripts. The purpose of this comparison was not to achieve greater fidelity to Ferdowsi's original Shahnameh, it was to modernize the language of the text and to add verses to it. Because of this, the Baysunghur Shahnameh is one of the most voluminous manuscripts of Shahnameh, consisting of some 58,000 verses (today's version of Shahnameh consists of about 50,000 verses). The value of this manuscript is not because of its text, but in its artistry. Written in Nastaʿlīq script by Jafar Tabrizi, it has 31 lines per page, 346 folios, and 21 manuscript paintings in the Herat School style and is one of the most important works to be identified with this school. The script is set in 6 columns, which is a nod to tradition. The script of contemporaneous Shahnamehs in the "modern" style were set in 4 columns. Earlier Shahnamehs have had cramped spreads with less pages and more illustrations. The Baysunghur atelier also produced a Shahnameh without any illustrations before this one. With the production of this earlier Shahnameh and the Baysunghur Shahnameh, new horizons were being explored in book design within the Timurid period.[2] Beside the so-called Demotte Shahnameh and the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, the Baysunghur Shahnameh is one of the most important and famous manuscripts of the Shahnameh.[3] It was shown in London in 1931, and at the exhibition Masterpieces of Persian Painting at the Museum of Tehran in 2005.

It is included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register of cultural heritage items.[4]

  1. ^ Titley, 54
  2. ^ Hillenbrand, Robert. "Exploring a Neglected Masterpiece: The Gulistan Shahnama of Baysunghur". Iranian Studies. 43 (Special Issue: Millennium Of The Shahnama Of Firdausi).
  3. ^ "BĀYSONḠORĪ ŠĀH-NĀMA". Iranica. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. ^ ""Bayasanghori Shâhnâmeh" (Prince Bayasanghor's Book of the Kings)". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 May 2012.