The Shahnameh and the Art of the Persian Book

Around 1010, the poet Ferdowsi completed the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), an epic of roughly 50,000 couplets that tells the history of Iran from mythical times to the Arab conquest in the 7th century. Written in Persian with relatively few Arabic borrowings, it helped preserve Persian language and identity under rulers who were often Turkic or Mongol. Its heroes, such as Rostam, became beloved national figures.

For centuries, rulers in Iran, Central Asia and India commissioned lavish illustrated copies, with miniature paintings in brilliant colors. The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, made in the 1520s–30s, contained 258 paintings. Painters such as Kamal ud-Din Behzad developed detailed, jewel-like styles. These manuscripts show that royal patronage of books could express political legitimacy, as new dynasties linked themselves to ancient Persian kingship.