In Rostam's old age his envious brother Shaghad plotted his death. He had traps dug and set with blades in the hunting grounds round Kabol. The faithful steed Rakhsh sensed danger and hesitated, but Rostam urged him on and both of them fell into a pit. This is depicted on the left. Rostam, who has climbed out and persuaded Shaghad to bend his bow, shoots an arrow with his last strength through the tree that Shaghad is hiding behind, killing him, as seen on the right. The tree's twisted trunk mirrors the contorted figure of Rostam's treacherous brother.

Il-Khanid: Tabriz, 1314
Opaque watercolour, ink, gold and silver on paper
Edinburgh University Library, MS. Or. 20, fol. 15v
Source: The Fitzwilliam Museum.

Mahmud of Ghazni crossing the Ganges

Mahmud of Ghazni crossing the Ganges, from the history of the Ghaznawids section in the Jami‛ al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din. The painting is done in black ink with colour washes - a Chinese technique. Moreover, the paintings illustrating this section are amongst the largest and most dynamic in the book, indicating the Mongol affinity to the Turkish traditions of conquest, which the Ghaznawids represented and to which they succeeded.