  About the Artwork
  
  
  The Shahnama, The Book of Kings, was written in the eleventh century by the Persian poet Firdausi. It extols the valor of the ancient kings of Iran. The richly colored painting here depicts the historic hero Ardashir (on the right) as he battles Bahman (on the left), the son of his enemy, for the crown of Persia.
 
This copy of the Shahnama was probably commissioned between 1335 and 1336 by the Vizier (prime minister) Ghiyath al-Din in the Mongol capital city of Tabriz. Persian painting was born there, with the development of a Mongol style influenced by the Baghdad school and Chinese art. The Persian aesthetic integrates a sense of drama with an expanded use of color.
  
  
  Title
  Folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama: Ardashir Battles Bahman, Son of Ardavan
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1335
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Iranian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
  
  
  Dimensions
  Image: 6 3/4 × 11 5/8 inches (17.1 × 29.5 cm)
  Sheet: 23 1/4 × 15 13/16 inches (59.1 × 40.2 cm)
  Page (Page within sheet): 16 1/16 × 11 5/8 inches (40.8 × 29.5 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Manuscripts
  
  
  Department
  Islamic Art
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Edsel B. Ford Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  35.54
  
  
  Copyright
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