Reading Rahi on Life’s Mystery and Quest
February 19, 2023
Feeling an affinity with Alexander the Great, Akbar commissioned a special manuscript on his life
February 24, 2023
Artist, Bhura. Lahore, 1593-5 (Or.12208, f. 244v) (Public Domain) With the British Library exhibition Alexander the Great: The making of a Myth coming to a close, I would like to highlight one of my special favourites: the Emperor Akbar’s personal copy of Nizami’s Khamsah (Quintet) of which the fifth poem, the Iskandarnamah , is a two-part account of the life of Alexander the Great or Iskandar as he is called in Persian. The priestess pleads with Iskandar to spare the sanctuary idol from destruction. Credit: Artists La’l and Mukund. Lahore, 1593-5 (Or.12208, ff.317v-318r) (Public Domain) Commissioned by Akbar in Lahore between 1593 and 1595, this manuscript represents what was without doubt an intensely personal project and combines the work of the best artists at his court. With 37 highly original paintings, luxurious illumination, marginal decorations and binding, this Khamsah was one of a small group of deluxe Persian manuscripts […]
