خمسۀ نظامی

Walters Ms. W.604, Five poems (quintet)

Walters Ms. W.604, Five poems (quintet)

Khamsah-i Niẓāmī

خمسه نظامى

Niẓāmī Ganjavī, 1140 or 41-1202 or 3 (author)

Ilyās ibn Yūsuf Niẓāmī Ganjavī (author)

الياس بن يوسف نظامى گنجوى (author)

This is an illuminated and illustrated Timurid copy of the Khamsah of Niẓāmī Ganjavī (d. 605 AH / 1209 CE), completed in 886 AH / 1481 CE. The text is written in black nastaʿlīq script with chapter/section headings in red. Illuminated headings written in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style in white ink on a blue background with polychrome decoration introduce the poems of the Khamsah (fols. 26b, 97a, 146b, and 202b). (The beginning of Makhzan al-asrār is now missing). There are sixty illustrations. The reddish brown leather binding dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE. For full description, see http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W604/description.html

The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic.

Sixty illustrations; illuminated headings for each book (fols. 26b, 97a, 146b, and 202b [beginning of Makhzan al-asrār now missing]); framing lines in gold, blue, and black

fol. 26b Illuminated incipit with headpiece Incipit; headpiece This illuminated incipit page introduces the second poem of the Khamsah, Khusraw va Shīrīn, and has a headpiece in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style inscribed: dhikr al-qadīm awlá bi-al-taqdīm.

fol. 32b Khusraw prostrates before his father, Hurmuz, and begs for pardon Illustration

fol. 35a Shāpūr shows Shīrīn Khusraw's portrait Illustration

fol. 39a Khusraw watching Shīrīn bathing Illustration

fol. 40b Khusraw and Shīrīn with Mahīn Bānū Illustration

fol. 43a Shāpūr asks Shīrīn to marry Khusraw Illustration

fol. 44a Khusraw enthroned Illustration

fol. 45a Khusraw and Shīrīn at rest from the hunt Illustration

fol. 46a Khusraw and Shīrīn play polo Illustration

fol. 47a Khusraw’s men skin the lion Illustration

fol. 50b Khusraw and the Roman Emperor Illustration

fol. 51b Khusraw fighting Bahrām Chūbīnah Illustration

fol. 52b Shīrīn weeps over Khusraw’s absence Illustration

fol. 54b Khusraw’s courtiers announce the death of Bahrām Chūbīnah Illustration

fol. 59a Farhād faints at the sight of Shīrīn Illustration

fol. 59b Shīrīn visits Farhād and the pool of milk Illustration

fol. 62a Farhād is brought before Khusraw Illustration

fol. 63a Farhād cuts through the rocky mountain Illustration

fol. 65a Farhād carries Shīrīn on her horse Illustration

fol. 70a A woman offers wine to Khusraw Illustration

fol. 74a Khusraw asks Shīrīn for forgiveness after being unfaithful Illustration

fol. 78b Shāpūr and Shīrīn in conversation Illustration

fol. 79b Khusraw and Shīrīn entertained by Bārbad and Nakīsā Illustration

fol. 90b Khusraw declines the Prophet Muhammad’s attempt to covert him to Islam in a dream Illustration

fol. 94b King Qizil Arslān welcomes the poet Niẓāmī Illustration

fol. 97a Illuminated incipit with headpiece Incipit; headpiece This illuminated incipit page introduces the third poem of the Khamsah, Laylá va Majnūn, and has a headpiece in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style inscribed: al-ḥamd li-Llāh ʿalá niʿmātih.

fol. 109b Majnūn and his father visit the mosque in Mecca Illustration

fol. 114b Nawfal and his men attack Laylá’s tribe Illustration

fol. 117a A widow leads Majnūn in chains before Laylá’s pavilion Illustration

fol. 118a Laylá’s husband, Ibn Salām, falls to the ground in the bridal chamber Illustration

fol. 123a Majūn weeps at his father’s tomb Illustration

fol. 129b Majnūn’s mother combs his untidy hair Illustration

fol. 132a An old man sent by Laylá sees Majnūn on the rocks Illustration

fol. 138b Laylá and Majūn faint at the sight of each other Illustration

fol. 141b Majnūn lies prostrate at Laylá’s tomb Illustration

fol. 143b Majnūn lies dead on Laylá’s tomb Illustration

fol. 146b Illuminated incipit with headpiece Incipit; headpiece This illuminated incipit page introduces the fourth poem of the Khamsah, Haft paykar, and has a headpiece inscribed with the doxological formula (basmalah) in a foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style.

fol. 154b Bahrām Gūr kills a lion and a wild ass Illustration

fol. 159b Bahrām Gūr kills two lions and puts a crown on his head Illustration

fol. 163a Fitnah carries a bull on her shoulders before Bahrām Gūr Illustration

fol. 173a Bahrām Gūr in the yellow pavilion Illustration

fol. 176a Bahrām Gūr in the green pavilion Illustration

fol. 179a Bahrām Gūr in the red pavilion Illustration

fol. 182b Bahrām Gūr in the blue pavilion Illustration

fol. 202b Illuminated incipit with headpiece Incipit; headpiece This illuminated incipit page introduces the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, and has a headpiece with an unidentified inscription in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style.

fol. 212b The birth of Alexander the Great Illustration

fol. 215a The Ethiopians attack the castle of the Egyptians Illustration

fol. 218b Alexander the Great fights the Ethiopians Illustration

fol. 229b Alexander the Great fights the Persian King Darius Illustration

fol. 232a The tomb of Darius Illustration

fol. 237b Rawshanak, the daughter of Darius, and Alexander the Great sleep in their bridal chamber Illustration

fol. 244a Alexander the Great is entertained by the ruler of Bardaʿ Illustration

fol. 245b Alexander the Great enthroned during the New Year celebrations Illustration

fol. 248a Alexander the Great and his army attack a fortress Illustration

fol. 255a Alexander the Great in bed with an Indian girl given to him by the Indian King Kaydī Illustration

fol. 261a Separated by a green curtain, a Chinese and Roman artist compete with each other Illustration

fol. 267b A Russian warrior pursues the Persian warrior Zarīrvand Illustration

fol. 271a Alexander the Great captures a Russian warrior with his lasso Illustration

fol. 272a Alexander the Great drinks in the company of a Russian girl playing the harp Illustration

fol. 276a Alexander the Great with a Chinese girl given to him by the King of China (erased) Illustration

fol. 281b Illuminated incipit with headpiece Incipit; headpiece This illuminated incipit page introduces the Iqbālnāmah, the second part of the fifth poem of the Khamsah, Iskandarnāmah, and has a headpiece with an inscription in foliated New Abbasid (broken cursive) style reading: wa-adhkuru Allāh aʿlá wa-akbar.

fol. 296b Alexander the Great visits Socrates Illustration

fol. 310b Alexander the Great is entertained by a beautiful girl in Qandhār Illustration

fol. 315a Alexander the Great builds a great wall at Gog Illustration

fol. 320a The coffin of Alexander the Great carried in procession Illustration

Ramaḍān 885-Rabīʿ I 886 / 1481

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Persian

Arabic

paper

image/jpeg

1481

All Walters manuscript images and descriptions provided here are copyrighted © The Walters Art Museum.