Shahnama Project : Shahnama

Firdausi

Shahnama Project

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>This manuscript, clearly dating from the 15th century on the grounds of its calligraphy, contains material all from part II of the Shahnama (reign of Luhrasp onwards), but the folios are very seriously disturbed and were not put into the correct order at the time of restoration and rebinding. The first rubric introduces the reign of Qubad, but the text subsequently ranges from the story of Isfandiyar and his death at the hands of Rustam, and Rustam's death at the hands of Shaghad (fol. 152 ff.) to the defeat of Rustam at the hands of Sa'd b. Waqqas (fol. 97r) and the reign of Iskandar (fol. 109r), and so on.</p><p>MS substantially restored, remargined; the page margins are approx. top: 35mm, side: 16mm, bottom: 30mm. Text length varies 243-246 mm. Originally suffered a lot, and still has many stains of different origin. The paper is quite thick (after the restoration, by means of covering the verso side of the folio with some white cotton-like substance), slightly glossy and yellowed. Binding is European of bright geen leather mounted on cardboard stamped with a double frame.</p><p>The text is in medium size flying nasta‘liq with very long sins and shins in very bright Indian ink, headings in large thulth in gold in the large cartouches (about 30 x 95 mm – f.11r) with a gold foreground.</p><p>The text differs very much from the published ones. Some parts are very brief, others include extended interpolations (Garshaspnama, Samnama, story of Kalila and Dimna). There is no prose introduction.</p><p>Incipit: Har an kas ki bud az dar-i Qubad / bar u in sukhanha hami kard yad</p><p>The first title (f.2v): rasidan-i Iskandar ba darya va aja’ibha didan</p><p>Explicit (171v): Chunan ham ki bashad dil-i lashkari / hama dar nikuhish kunad kahtari</p><p>See Gyuzalyan and Dyakonov, pp. 12-13.</p></p>