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An illustration by Sayf Al-Vahedi in the 1430-1434 copy of
Jami' al-Tawarikh
by Rashid al-Din (author).

Universal History

Ğāmi‛ al-tavārīḫ. Rašīd al-Dīn Fazl-ullāh Hamadānī

The painting illustrates the siege of Baghdad by the Mongolian armies of Hulagu Khan in 1258. Caliph Al-Musta'sim crosses the bridge on the Tigris, ready to meet Hulagu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan). On the top of the walls of the city a Persan poem written by Sayf Al-Vahedi celebrates the charm of Baghdad.
The figures are dressed as Timurids of the 15th Century

Herat, Afghanistan; around 1430-1434, probably by Sayf Al-Vahedi. BnF. Supplément Persan 1113
The Jami' al-Tawarikh was commissioned by Mahmud Ghazan, begun as a history of the Mongols and their dynasty and then expanded to include history from Adam to Rashid al-Din's present day. It was completed during the reign of Oljeitu in 1307-1316. The Jami' al-Tawarikh is perhaps the single most comprehensive Persian source on the Mongol period. Sayf Al-Vahedi, who worked as painter in the workshop-library of Baysonqor (Bayasanghor, grandson of Timur), is the painter of the majority of the illustrations of this manuscript.


Back to Timurid Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers in the Jami' al-Tawarikh of c.1430AD
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