<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>This manuscript came to St Petersburg from the Ardabil collection, bearing Shah ‘Abbas’s vaqf inscription and imprint with the date 1017/1608-1609, and an inscription with the date 1177/1799. Several seals on f. 1r.</p><p>It has 424 folios, almost the full copy but defective at the end and without a colophon; the date is 16th century. There are several conflicting paginations, one of which, namely the pencil foliation top left hand corner is followed. Also, there is a great range in the width of the paper, 230-245mm, making it impossible to give a consistent figure.</p><p>The text in small calligraphic nasta‘liq in Indian ink, headings in the same script but larger in red, blue and gold.</p><p>The condition is not good, with a lot of torn places on the margins and which is especially disappointing in respect to the paintings. There is a sheet with a note about the necessity to restore the manuscript due to the falling out folios and bad condition of miniatures. The note is dated to 20 January 1986. There was a slight restoration in the East of the torn places on margins. Partly remargined during restoration. The manuscript seems to preserve its natural size – with very wide margins, approximately top: 63mm, side: 75mm, bottom: 75mm, so that the edges of the folios are quite frayed.</p><p>Paper is Oriental without any filigree, even vergures, quite glossy, thin and creamy yellowed.</p><p>Binding seems very simple: the exterior sides of the covers are of plain dark brown leather mounted on thick cardboard, which makes a contrast to the interior parts of the binding, which are covered with the thin dark cherry leather, decorated in the luxurious technique of gild filigree. The neatest cut gold ornament of floral design was glued over the blue paper of the central big almond shaped medallion as well as of the two smaller ones of the lotus shape on top and bottom of the central one and in the four corners of the cover. The same shape and design of the filigree decoration was used for the flap, which is now detached and preserved separately in the folder with the manuscript, but instead of the paper, seen through the patterns pieces of light grass green cloth were used. The edge of the flap is decorated with three deep cartouches of floral ornament, stamped with gold. The condition of the outer covers is not good: it is badly torn on edges and corners, so that the cardboard filling started to crack into pieces.</p><p>The text starts on f. 1v with the prose introduction (ff. 1v-6r) with the normative incipit:</p><p>Sipas-u afarin-i khuday-ra ki in jahan-u an jahan…</p><p>The satire on Mahmud contains 64 baits (ff. 3v-4r).</p><p>The poem starts on f. 6v with the normative incipit.</p><p>There are several interpolations:</p><p>about Jamshid and the daughter of Kurang shah (ff. 9v-14r); Garshaspnama (ff. 57v-82v); Karatusnama (ff.93v-99r) – about the fight of Kava with Karatus; Sam Nariman with Karatus, Samnama (ff.100r-145r); Barzunama (ff. 303r-345v).</p><p>Explicit:</p><p>Buzurgan bar khandand afarin / kih ma-ra tu-yi afarin tigh…</p><p>Illuminations: F.1v contains an ‘unvan in blue, red and gold with small details in white and green: quite modest in size and general decoration. F.6v has a very good ‘unvan of a very neat and elegant work in blue, matt and shiny gold and red with the floral ornamental details in white, turquoise green and orange with black tints. The text is enclosed in frames of terracotta brown, green, gold, light and dark blue lines.</p><p>The miniatures are of high quality, bright paints, rather sophisticated composition, figures are rather huge in comparison with the size of the miniatures in general. Of special interest are the illustrations of the interpolations.</p></p>
