Mohamad Reza Ghiasian | University of Kashan (original) (raw)

Books by Mohamad Reza Ghiasian

Miras-e Maktoob, 2024

This book aims to identify the extant manuscripts from Shāhrukh’s library. These manuscripts can ... more This book aims to identify the extant manuscripts from Shāhrukh’s library. These manuscripts can be categorized into three distinct groups: first, those produced in other libraries but bearing the seal of Shāhrukh’s library; second, the manuscripts transcribed in the fourteenth century but completed or refurbished in Shāhrukh’s library; and lastly, manuscripts entirely produced in Shāhrukh’s library. While the inventory of the first group remains incomplete and requires further investigation, only eight illustrated manuscripts that are demonstrably produced or refurbished under Shāhrukh’s patronage are known to exist. Significantly, four of these manuscripts are fourteenth-century illustrated copies of Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh, completed and refurbished by Shāhrukh’s court historian, Ḥāfiẓ-i Abrū, at his behest. This suggests that one of the primary functions of Shāhrukh’s royal library was the preservation and completion of fragmentary manuscripts of the Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh originally produced under the patronage of its author, Rashīd al-Dīn. Many of the illustrations in the present study are published for the first time, especially those from the Topkapı Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (H. 1654) and the dispersed illustrations from “Majmaʿ-Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh.” The publication and reconstruction of the paintings and illustration cycle of the dispersed manuscript represent a significant achievement of this study.

Miras-e Maktoob, 4 vols., Full colour, 980 pp., 2019

Hazine 1653 is in part the oldest surviving Persian copy of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh. It was produce... more Hazine 1653 is in part the oldest surviving Persian copy of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh. It was produced in the scriptorium of its author in 714/1314. It contains the second part of the second volume of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh, which covers the events from the time of creation up to the extinction of the ʿAbbasid dynasty and a section on the history of the non-Mongol peoples of Eurasia. In the subsequent century, Hafiz-i Abru, who was charged by the Timurid ruler Shahrukh to complete the manuscript, replaced the pre-Islamic section of the book with the first volume of his own Majmaʿ al-Tawarikh. The pre-Islamic section of the book, which is an autograph of its author, is again the oldest dated copy of the first volume of the Majmaʿ al-Tawarikh. In its current state, Hazine 1653 consists of 435 folios, of which 143 are illustrated. It is for the first time that one of the earliest copies of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh has been published in its entirety.
To order the book, please contact the publisher: info@mirasmaktoob.ir

Brill, 2018

In Lives of the Prophets: The Illustrations to Hafiz-i Abru’s “Assembly of Chronicles” Mohamad Re... more In Lives of the Prophets: The Illustrations to Hafiz-i Abru’s “Assembly of Chronicles” Mohamad Reza Ghiasian analyses two extant copies of the Majmaʿ al-tawarikh produced for the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405–1447). The first manuscript is kept in Topkapı Palace and the second is widely dispersed. Codicological analysis of these manuscripts not only allows a better understanding of Hafiz-i Abru’s contributions to rewriting earlier history, but has served to identify the existence of a previously unrecognised copy of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh produced at Rashid al-Din’s scriptorium. Through a meticulous close reading of both text and image, Mohamad Reza Ghiasian convincingly proves that numerous paintings of the dispersed manuscript were painted over the text before its dispersal in the early twentieth century.

Papers by Mohamad Reza Ghiasian

The mosque and Imamzada of Murcha-Khurt castle were tiled during the reign of Fath‘Ali Shah. Afte... more The mosque and Imamzada of Murcha-Khurt castle were tiled during the reign of Fath‘Ali Shah. After the flood of 1956, some of the tiles of both buildings were destroyed. During the repairs in 1991, almost all the tiles of Imamzada were removed. Sixty-four pieces of them were installed irregularly on the walls of the iwan, about 250 pieces were kept in storage, and at least 130 pieces were transported to the mosque for completion of the walls. Their tiles fell, and some were destroyed. Based on the field study, this article tries to answer questions such as the tiles’ themes, stylistic features, and identification of patron and tile makers. The importance of this article is not only in the publication of Imamzada tiles for the first time but also in the fact that some of them were destroyed after the completion of this research. The findings reveal that the tiling of the mosque and Imamzada was done in 1232 AH by the patronage of Haji Sulayman ibn Haji Ibrahim, who may have been the patron of the tiles of the Qajar iwan of Imamzada Harun Vilayat in Isfahan. Abulhasan ibn Ustad Mahdi Sabbaj made the mosque tiles, and their painting subject is limited to vegetal and floral motifs. The Imamzada tiles are the work of his brother Hassan ‘Ali and contain a wide range of vegetal, human, animal, and architectural motifs. They can be considered as a real example of popular art.

Journal of Visual and Applied Arts, 2021

The story of the giant ʿUj, which was rooted in Israʾiliyyat, has penetrated into the works of Mu... more The story of the giant ʿUj, which was rooted in Israʾiliyyat, has penetrated into the works of Muslim authors since the early Islamic period. The earliest sources of these legends were a group of mostly converted Jews. In Islamic texts, ʿUj is regarded as an infidel confronted with the prophets, and thus symbolises the adversaries of the true religion throughout history. He was so tall that at the time of the Flood, the water only reached up to his knee. When he was hungry, he plunged his hand into the sea and brought out fish which he could roast by holding them in front of the sun. He was killed by a strike of Moses’ staff to his ankle bone.
This legend received much attention from the Persian artists of the medieval period. Images of ʿUj beside Noah’s ark, and especially his combat with Moses can be found in books on history, Qisas al-anbiya, Ajaʾib al-makhluqat and Falnama. This paper surveys the origins and development of ʿUj’s legend in Islamic culture, and on the other hand, analyses the evolution of the iconography of ʿUj in Persian art. What have been penetrated into the Islamic texts are those narratives which are rooted in the Talmud not the Bible. In the Bible, ʿUj, who was left of the remaining Rephaim, is described as a giant of realistic dimensions, while in the Talmud he became a figure of monstrous proportions.
The oldest known illustration of ʿUj in Islamic art, which dates to 1280, shows a bearded giant, wearing short trousers, while striding to the left. In the early fourteenth century, a part of the sun was added to the iconography of ʿUj that indicates the attempt of the artist to represent his stature comparable with the height of the sun. It seems that the most important epoch in establishing the iconography of ʿUj was the Jalayirid period. For the first time, the Jalayirid artist depicted the half-naked ʿUj with a short skirt, black beard and an oval rock around his neck. This icon was frequently utilized in the Persian painting of the following centuries. The depiction of ʿUj, who wears a short skirt, is reminiscent of the traditional representation of demons in Central Asian art.
The interest of the Timurid artists in depicting the giant ʿUj is evident from the fact that they added his figure into the iconography of Noah’s Ark. They portrayed ʿUj standing beside the ship with a fish in his hand. Most of the Timurid images to the combat between Moses and ʿUj follow the iconography that was established under the Jalayirids. In the sixteenth-century paintings, the gestures of ʿUj are based on those of the earlier centuries, and the height of ʿUj is still four time larger than Moses. However, the exception is the Falnama paintings, which show Moses’ stature approximately half that of ʿUj. Based on Safavid aesthetic, in the background of these illustrations, an urban landscape or a group of onlookers was added to the paintings.

In museums and collections of Islamic art, there are silk textiles from the Safavid period that o... more In museums and collections of Islamic art, there are silk textiles from the Safavid period that often bear inscriptions featuring the name of Imam Hussain. Despite their varying dimensions and potential diverse functions, most of these works have been classified as tomb covers without being examined collectively. This paper focuses on eighteen pieces, with ten of them dated between 1545 and 1740-41, specifically exploring examples from the eighteenth century. The research aims to address questions regarding the evolution of the content of inscriptions over time, its correlation with the Safavid period's history, as well as identifying the purpose and origin of these textiles. The investigation reveals that the production of these textiles aligned with the expansion of Muharram mourning practices, the construction of Husseiniyah buildings, and the establishment of endowments for Muharram rituals during the reign of Safavid Sultan Hussain. Until around 1710, Shiite references in the textiles were mainly expressed through ṣalawat-i kabira and a focus on Imam Ali, but afterwards, the prominence shifted to Imam Hussain's name. Through written sources, book paintings, and analysis of the textile inscriptions, it can be concluded that most of these textiles, particularly mourning banners (ʿalam), were likely created by artists from Kashan.

Among the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh manuscripts produced in the Rabʿ-i Rashidi, four copies have surviv... more Among the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh manuscripts produced in the Rabʿ-i Rashidi, four copies have survived: one in Arabic and three in Persian. A century after their transcription, all these manuscripts were in the possession of the Timurid ruler, Shahrukh. Since these manuscripts were incomplete, Shahrukh ordered Hafiz-i Abru to complete the Persian copies. In the process of completion of one of these codices, considerable changes were made both in the text and the images. Since the Timurids were staunch followers of Sunnism of the Hanafite school of jurisprudence, the study of their manipulation in the section on the early Islamic history would have been of great significance. This investigation, which is a result of the examination of the original manuscripts held in the Topkapı Palace Library, was conducted with the application of comparative and codicological methods. In a textual examination, it explains the importance of codicological studies of the manuscripts, their life history and migrations for the process of their edition. This paper also compares the images added to these codices in the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. The main questions are as follows: To what extent has Hafiz-i Abru manipulated the text of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh? Among the images of the Rashidun Caliphs, which caliph was more important to the Timurids and why? Some evidence shows that the recent printed edition of the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh is in fact Hafiz-i Abru’s Majmaʿ al-Tawarikh that has been mistakenly identified as Rashid al-Din’s work. As a result, it can be stated that in the manuscripts completed by Hafiz-i Abru, there is a certain emphasis on Abu Bakr. This is evident in Hafiz-i Abru’s manipulation of the text, as well as in the images depicting the Rashidun Caliphs.

Although the history of making complicated water clocks in the Islamic world dates back to the ea... more Although the history of making complicated water clocks in the Islamic world dates back to the early centuries, the oldest known example from Iran is the observatory clock of the Rukniyeh School in Yazd, dated 1324. Afterward, around 1473, Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali Kashi built a water clock for the glorious ‘Imadi complex in Kashan. Two decades later, Muhammad Hafiz, the Isfahani inventor, innovated a clock for this complex that was one of the first mechanical clocks of its kind in the Oriental world. During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas I, with the vitiation of Muhammad Hafiz’s clock, another clock was built by Mulla ‘Inayat. These watches also had artistic values, and when an hour had elapsed, a handful of cardboard animal and human figures started to move in it. Based on primary sources, this paper analyzes the three clocks of the ‘Imadi complex in Kashan and seeks to answer such questions as the historical evolution of these watches, their typology, and the reasons for the continuation of the clocks’ prosperity for two centuries. We can say that Mulla ‘Inayat’s clock was a revival of Fakhr al-Din ‘Ali’s clock and was from one of the six types of water clocks invented by al-Jazari. When the mechanical clock of Muhammad Hafiz was disrupted, and no one could restore it, they inevitably turned to a local clock technique familiar with that, which could operate it. The survival of the clock of the complex for about two centuries was not possible except through the creation of an endowment institution, and its current costs were covered by the various estate dedicated to it.

Ayene-ye Miras

The sixteenth century was the peak of the migration of Persian manuscripts from Iran to the Ottom... more The sixteenth century was the peak of the migration of Persian manuscripts from Iran to the Ottoman territory. The reason was, on the one hand, the interest of the Ottoman sultans in Persian literature and, on the other hand, it was partly due to the wars and extensive political relations between the Safavids and the Ottomans then. The wars led to the looting of Azerbaijan’s libraries, and the Safavid policy of peace promoted the official presentation of books to Ottoman sultans. In addition, some manuscripts were transferred to the Ottoman land by merchants, immigrants, and refugees. By applying codicological studies of the manuscripts, this paper examines the migration of Persian books to the Topkapi Palace from the late fifteenth century to the decline of the Safavids at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The most important question in this research is to show the different ways of such migration and its connection with the political relations between the Safavids and the Ottomans. It can be said that from the Battle of Chāldirān in 1514 up until the conclusion of the 1590 peace treaty that coincided with the military supremacy of the Ottomans, the largest volume of manuscripts was transferred. From the beginning of the seventeenth century, with the victories of the Safavids, the entry of Iranian manuscripts into the Ottoman Empire almost ceased, although limited wars and the occupation of some border cities by Ottomans led to the looting of libraries, including the one at the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil

Iranian Studies

This paper surveys some wood carvings belonging to four mosques in the villages of Firizhand, Quh... more This paper surveys some wood carvings belonging to four mosques in the villages of Firizhand, Quhrud, Abyana, and Barzuk. Carved between the years 700/1300-1 and 705/1305–6, they consist of architectural elements such as doors, columns, and capitals. The recently found woodwork evidence from the demolished Jamiʿ mosque of Barzuk reveals that this building and its decorations were executed by a multiskilled artist, who was most likely a descendant of Abu Zayd. Moreover, the newly discovered columns from the Masjid-i ʿAli in Quhrud show that, in contrast to what was previously thought, the current building is not contemporary with its dated door and was erected in later centuries. Interestingly, these wooden mosques were built during the last years of Ghazan Khan's rule and witness his order to construct mosques in all the villages of the country. This woodwork offers significant insight into the artistic and cultural situation of the early fourteenth century.

This paper examines cuerda seca tomb tiles from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth centur... more This paper examines cuerda seca tomb tiles from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century in the two shrines of Sultan ‘Ata-bakhsh and Sultan Mir Ahmad in Kashan. The first example belongs to a late sixteenth-century tomb, painted in two shades of cobalt blue against a white background. From the seventeenth century, at least four tombstones remain that are decorated with vegetal motifs on a yellow background, some of which interestingly lack any text. Early eighteenth-century examples include a number of tomb tablets consisting of four mud-brick tiles with a mihrabi frame. The few surviving works from the Qajar period are either made of blue and white tiles or of cuerda seca tiles with floral patterns. The main question in this research is documenting the formation and evolution of cuerda seca tomb tiles of Kashan and their difference in form and content from lustre tombstones of the early Safavid period. In terms of content, attention to Persian elegies can be seen as so significant that they replaced Arabic phrases used in previous periods. Regarding form, the investigated examples show more emphasis on decorative motifs, in contrast to text, as was used in lustre tiles.

The history of textile in Kashan dates back to the millennia BC. In the Islamic era, it was one ... more The history of textile in Kashan dates back to the millennia BC. In the Islamic era, it was one of the most important centers for the production of silk and cotton fabrics. One of the textiles that was produced in Kashan from the Safavid era onwards was called chit (i.e. chintz). Chintz is the art of block stamping on calicoes. This technique, which was a cheap way to imitate brocade and embroidery, was popularized in Iran and India from the beginning of the seventeenth century. Since these cheap goods were produced for everyday use, very few examples and historical documents have been survived. This paper with examination of a newly discovered document belonging to first Pahlavi era, surveys the characteristics of chintz production in Kashan. This research has been done by using library and documentary materials and descriptive-analytical and historical methods. One of the most important questions is the technical and artistic features, the prevalence and the reason for the decline of Kashan Chintz production. The document presented in this paper shows that in 1938, at least eighteen Chintz making workshops were active in Kashan, which indicates the widespread prosperity of this art in Kashan. This document was in fact a trade agreement for the payment of taxes, so that everyone should pay taxes based on their share in the chintz production of the city. Compared with Isfahan productions, Kashan chintz, especially those printed in two colors, can be considered as imitations of carpets. One of the main reasons for the degeneration of Kashan chintz in the second Pahlavi era was variety of items produced in the textile factories of the city.

Studies on Kashan, 2022

The preparation of two memorial tiles in the early Safavid era for a tiled minbar in the Jami’ Mo... more The preparation of two memorial tiles in the early Safavid era for a tiled minbar in the Jami’ Mosque in Kuhpayeh, a small town near Isfahan, has raised questions and leads into ambiguities. One of these tiles is a lustre ceramic plaque which was produced in Muharram 935/September in 1528 in Kashan; the other is a blue-and-white tile that was produced eight months later in Ramadan in 1528in Qomsheh. The content of the first tile depicts radical (Ghulat) Shiism, and the second indicates a moderate Islamic tendency about Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Prophet’s Houshold. This article through an introduction of architectural and artistic elements of the Jami’ Mosque of Kuhpayeh, based on a field study, seeks to analyze the content of the tiles installed in the minbar and mihrab of the mosque. Based on the cultural and religious setting of central Iran during the reign of Shah Tahmasb, this paper proposes a new theory about the reason for the preparation of two memorial tiles for a single minbar. The findings show that the main reason for ordering the second tile is the customer’s anxiety about the phrase “Hu al-A’li al-a’la” --used for Imam Ali and some leaders of the Hurufi movement-- at the top of Kashan’s lustre tile Since it was considered an extremist and illegitimate slogan. Therefore, in Kuhpayeh, which was one of the Nuqtavi centers, and some of its elders such as Abu al-Qasim Amri were blinded by this accusation, the patron of the minbar, Haj Iskandar, ordered another tile with a moderate content. Also, these two tiles reveal the industrial and artistic relations of several cities such as Kashan, Qomsheh, and Kuhpayeh in the center of Iran that are influenced by Shiite beliefs of that time.

Culture and Folk Literature, 2022

One of the less-introduced types of the visual arts of the Qajar and Pahlavi periods is the pain... more One of the less-introduced types of the visual arts of the Qajar and Pahlavi periods is the painted ceramic beehive covers. These lids, approximately 23 cm in diameter, were installed on wicker hives of about 85 cm long and had a hole for the crossing of the swarm. This article introduced dozens of these lids that were made from the late Safavid period to the first Pahlavi era. The most important aims of this research were the identification of the place of production, a thematic classification of the paintings and inscriptions, and an analysis of their content. It can be said that these works can be classified into three general groups: non-illustrated inscribed examples, religious paintings and secular paintings. Among the inscribed works, some prayers have been written that should be considered as an amulet to ward off calamities from the products. Moreover, some prayers and Quranic verses are related to increasing the blessing of the crop and also repelling the evil eye. In addition to several Shi’ite inscriptions, all the identified religious paintings are also related to the Shi’ite beliefs. The religious paintings include images of the Duldul (prophet’s mule, which was presented to Ali ibn Abi Talib), Khamsa, and shrines of Shiite imams. Among the secular paintings, the most frequent are the images of animals, showing them in hunting scenes or in the motif of the tree of life.

Studies on Kashan, 2021

One of the unknown artists of Kashan during the Safavid period is Mohammad Tahir Naqqash Kashani.... more One of the unknown artists of Kashan during the Safavid period is Mohammad Tahir Naqqash Kashani. Historical sources have called him a poet who trained some students and his main profession was naqshbandī (i.e. painter of textile motifs). Although some of his verses have been narrated in several texts, they have not been collected and edited. In primary sources and modern studies, five takhallus (i.e. pen name) have been mentioned for him, but in the present paper the authenticity of only one of them is confirmed. Since he was a painter, some scholars have attributed to him some mural paintings, but the accuracy of this claim is not confirmed. Moreover, an inscription in thulth script on cuerda seca tiles with his signature shows that he was also involved in calligraphy. Since no research has been done on this artist so far, various texts have mentioned different skills for him: poet, nagshband, calligrapher, painter, potter, illuminator and paper maker. However, some evidence shows that he had only the first four skills. Therefore, the most important question in this article is to identify Tahir’s works based on his signed examples and also to study and analyze their characteristics. In this article, five ghazals written by the artist himself, a list of his poems, as well as some of his art works have been published for the first time.

Journal of Islamic History and Civilisation, 2021

Although zilu production has been reflected in the historical texts of the tenth century, the sur... more Although zilu production has been reflected in the historical texts of the tenth century, the surviving examples belong to the sixteenth century onwards. Some scholars have considered a zilu woven in Maybod and dated 808/1405-6 as the earliest known zilu, but they have mistaken in reading the date and it belongs to the Safavid period. The only known pre- Safavid zilu is preserved in the Hermitage museum. Historians of Islamic art believe that this zilu bears no date and introduce it as one of the masterpieces of Ilkhanid art. This paper with careful scrutiny of both artistic style and inscriptions offers a new suggestion for its weaving date. It can be hypothesized that this zilu has been woven in 808/1405-6 in Nushabad, a small town near Kashan. Therefore, it can be considered as the earliest known Persian carpet from the Islamic period. One of the important questions concerning this zilu addresses its function. Although other scholars considered this flat-weave as a saf – carpet with repeated niche designs that may have been intended for large congregational mosques, use of Quranic inscriptions in a carpet, which would be trodden on by feet would have been disrespectful. Regarding the content of the inscriptions, this paper proposes the probable function of prayer rug and connects it to sufi circles.

Ayene-ye Miras, 2021

This article aims at examining one of the most splendid anthologies produced for the Timurid rule... more This article aims at examining one of the most splendid anthologies produced for the Timurid ruler, Iskandar b. Umar Shaykh. The three separated parts of this anthology are kept in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, the Istanbul University Library, and the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London. It contains prose and poetry texts collected, and even sometimes authored, by the scholars and learned men at Iskandar’s court.
Based on the size, page layout, contents and calligraphic styles of the book, this article provides evidence indicating that the afore-mentioned manuscripts originally belonged to a two-volume anthology. The portions in the Istanbul University and the Wellcome Institute help us gain a better understanding of the styles and functions of illuminations and paintings in the water damaged and repaired Lisbon Anthology.
In preparing this anthology, which is of particular importance among the Timurid manuscripts, there participated artisans who had earlier worked for Sultan Ahmad Jalayer in Baghdad and Tabrizi and later had remarkable impact on the art of book production in Herat.

Culture and Folk Literature, 2021

One of the main reasons of building Qadamgāhs (literally meaning the place of foot or the place o... more One of the main reasons of building Qadamgāhs (literally meaning the place of foot or the place of stepping) was the dreams a believer had of a saint. There are a large number of such buildings in Iran. In some cases, the dreams are inscribed on tablets in order to preserve the dream for future generations. This paper introduces five lustre ceramic tablets, which contain records of such dreams. The texts of two of them have been preserved completely, and significantly show astonishing similarities. The first is dated back to 1312 AD and belongs to Qadamgāh of Mehrīqābād. Its text mentions that Fakhr al-Din Hasan Tabari saw Imam Ali in a dream ordering him to build a shrine. According to the text of the second tile in Qadamgāh-i Khezr in the village of Yazdelan in 1607, someone saw Khezr in a dream who orders to reconstruct a ruined domed building. This article examines the differences and similarities between these two tablets from the Ilkhanid and Safavid periods, and analyzes them in detail. It can be said that these two tablets have a common content that have been written with the aim of documenting the reconstruction of a religious building borrowing the Iranian and Shi'at themes. These two examples show that the tradition of recording dreams on lustre tiles was not only prevalent at the glorious era of lustre production, but also extended to three centuries later.

Miras-e Maktoob, 2024

Miras-e Maktoob, 4 vols., Full colour, 980 pp., 2019

Brill, 2018

Journal of Visual and Applied Arts, 2021

Ayene-ye Miras

Iranian Studies

Studies on Kashan, 2022

Culture and Folk Literature, 2022

Studies on Kashan, 2021

Journal of Islamic History and Civilisation, 2021

Ayene-ye Miras, 2021

Culture and Folk Literature, 2021

Journal of the American Oriental Society , 2020

Journal of Theoretical Principles of Visual Arts, 2020

clowns, dancing ceremonies, wrestling matches and playing polo, have survived. It seems that in s... more clowns, dancing ceremonies, wrestling matches and playing polo, have survived. It seems that in spite of the fact that Safavid rulers were staunch supporters of Shiʿi Islam, none of the religious ceremonies like taʿzīa was illustrated during their rule. In fact, most types of drama in the Modern sense were formed outside of the royal courts and were not patronized by the Safavid rulers.

International Conference on Persian Manuscripts as World Heritage, Institute for Humanities and C... more International Conference on Persian Manuscripts as World Heritage, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, September 6, 2018

Kyoto University, International Workshop on “The Fate of Rashid al-Din's Manuscripts”

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, International Workshop on “Material evidence for Iranian his... more Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, International Workshop on “Material evidence for Iranian history”

Jamiʿ al-tawarikh is a multi volume universal history composed by Rashid al-Din, at the request o... more Jamiʿ al-tawarikh is a multi volume universal history composed by Rashid al-Din, at the request of the Ilkhanid rulers Ghazan Khan and Uljaytu in the first decade of the fourteenth century. This work, which was divided into three volumes of unequal length, consists of a history from the time of creation up to the date of its composition. One of the sections of the second volume of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh deals with a history of the non-Mongol peoples of Eurasia including Ughuz Turks, Chinese, Jews, Franks and Indians. For this reason, Rashid al-Din’s enterprise is considered to be the “first world history.” Production of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh manuscripts was one of the tasks of an enormous multi-functional complex established by Rashid al-Din in the suburb of Tabriz. According to the endowment deed of this complex, which was called Rabʿ-i Rashidi, two copies of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh, one in Persian and the other in Arabic, were to be transcribed yearly.
Four fragmentary illustrated manuscripts of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh produced at the Rabʿ-i Rashidi survive: one in Arabic and three in Persian. The Arabic copy consists of two fragments of one manuscript kept in the Khalili Collection in London (MSS 727) and the Edinburgh University Library (Or.MS 20). The three Persian copies are 206 leaves of a manuscript with the inventory number of “Hazine 1653” kept in the Topkapı Palace Library; most folios of the manuscript “Hazine 1654” preserved in the same collection; and a hitherto unknown manuscript.
These four manuscripts are fragments of the second volume, which include the history of the non-Mongol peoples. Interestingly, all these manuscripts were in the possession of the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405–1447), who ordered his scriptorium to complete the three Persian codices. These manuscripts, especially those Persian copies, have very complicated histories because they have been refurbished in different periods. Considering the section on the history of other nations, none of the Persian copies remains intact, because these parts have been refurbished or completed in Shahrukh’s workshop. These sections in the three Persian copies carry calligraphy and illustrations from both the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. Since these codices were produced in the royal workshops of the Ilkhanid and Timurid rulers, they reflect the different international relations of the time. These reflections are obvious in the nature, the number and the placement of the illustrations. This paper examines the foreign relations of Iran in the beginning of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries via the codicological study of these manuscripts.

Among the extant illustrated books produced or refurbished under the patronage of the Timurid rul... more Among the extant illustrated books produced or refurbished under the patronage of the Timurid ruler, Shahrukh (r. 1405–1447), four manuscripts with prophetic images can be identified. Three of them carry paintings of Moses created in Shahrukh’s workshop: Hafiz-i Abru’s Kulliyat-i tarikhi (Bağdat 282) and Hafiz-i Abru’s Majmaʿ al-tawarikh (Hazine 1653) both preserved in the Topkapı Palace Library, and the famous dispersed manuscript of Majmaʿ al-tawarikh.
Considering the rate of illustrations and depiction of halos of holiness for the prophets, in these manuscripts there is a certain emphasis on Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. Abraham, the Friend of God, who rebuilt the Kaʿba, is revered not only in Islam, but in Judaism and Christianity as well. The focus on Moses is also meaningful. As Maria Subtelny has shown in her discussion of a copy of Miʿrajnama produced for Shahrukh, this manuscript preserves a much earlier Persian version of the Prophet’s ascension that was originally used as a missionary device for proselytizing among the Persian-speaking Jews. It seems that these efforts on conversion may have penetrated into the historical manuscripts produced for Shahrukh. In these prophetic illustrations, we see the demonstration of God’s omnipotence materialized in the wonders of the prophets, His protection of them, and the punishment of those who would not listen. In the case of Moses, not only is the high rate of illustrations remarkable, but also most of the paintings portray his triumph over his adversaries and significantly, in some instances, the text describes Moses as more severe than God.

The famous manuscript of Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh (Hazine 1654) has never been studied with the care it ... more The famous manuscript of Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh (Hazine 1654) has never been studied with the care it deserves. Since its transcription had been completed a year before Rashid al-Din’s execution, it remained unfinished while approximately seven illustrations were inserted into it, and the locations of other illustrations were left empty. Careful examination of the manuscript reveals that almost all of the empty spaces left for illustrations were painted during the fourteenth-century. Having decided to increase the quality of the manuscript, the kitābkhāna of Shahrukh, in the fifteenth-century, completed the lost passages of text and restored or overpainted some of its illustrations. The dedicatory inscription of Farhad Khan Qaramanlu indicates that the manuscript was refurbished again in the Safavid period. The last artistic addition to the manuscript was overpainting an illustration in the Ottoman court. The paper is a result of the examination of the original manuscript and explains the complicated history of the book.

Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, 10th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld-Society, Jul ... more Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg, 10th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld-Society, Jul 6, 2014

University of Bamberg, Ernst Herzfeld Gesellschaft Symposium, Apr 27, 2013

The Written Heritage Research Center, Tehran, 1 November 2017

Saraye Ameriha Boutique Hotel, Inauguration of the Exhibition of Kamal al-Mulk’s Works. Kashan, 2... more Saraye Ameriha Boutique Hotel, Inauguration of the Exhibition of Kamal al-Mulk’s Works. Kashan, 24 December 2017