English: An illustrated and illuminated leaf from the Tarikh-i 'alam-ara-yi Abbasi of Iskander Bayg Munshi: the Uzbek army storms the fort of Isfarain, Persia, Isfahan, Safavid, circa 1650

Gouache heightened with gold and silver on paper, a line of text to upper right and lower right in black nasta'liq script, with a narrow gold border and black rules, the reverse with 21 lines of text in black nasta'liq script

Painting: 23 by 16.2cm.

Leaf: 26.5 by 19.5cm.

This illustrated leaf originates from a rare illustrated manuscript of the Tarikh-i 'alam-ara-yi 'Abbasi, the history of Shah 'Abbas by Iskandar Munshi. Few examples survive from such a manuscript, as unlike the Mughals and Ottomans, the Safavids tended not to produce lavish manuscripts of their own reigns and histories.

Abdullah Khan II (r.1583-98) was the last ruler of the Shaybanid dynasty of Uzbekistan and ‘Abd al-Mu’min Khan was his only son. The text of the Tarikh-i 'alam-ara-yi 'Abbasi narrates ‘Abd al-Mu’min Khan’s plans to take over the fortress of Isfarain in the neighbourhood of Balkh. The Safavid governor, ‘Abu Muslim Khan, assembled a small army of soldiers which included Kurds and members of the Turkoman Ustajlu tribe. The Safavid army valiantly battled the Uzbeks over a period of four months before being vanquished. In the present work, ‘Abu Muslim Khan is depicted seated at upper left, wearing a large, elaborate headdress which is typical of the period of Shah ‘Abbas. The Uzbek soldiers are wearing turbans with distinct Turkic features compared to the Persian soldiers who are in helmets.

The leaf belongs to a group of paintings produced in Isfahan during the first half of the seventeenth century, some of which were previously thought to be Ottoman (see, for example, a group of leaves from a Timurnama of Hatifi in Binney, 1973, pp.126-7, nos.48a and b). Another similar illustration is in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, from a manuscript of the Akhlaq-i Muhsini, dated 1640 (see Petrosian (ed.), 1994, no.46).

Iskander Bayg Munshi chronicled the reign of Shah 'Abbas, completing it in 1628-29. Many of the events described in the history he witnessed himself, in his post as a secretary in the royal chancellery. Another illustrated leaf from this manuscript, formerly in the collection of the Marquis Avati, sold in these rooms, 19 October 2016, lot 190.