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Manuscript/Mixed Material Nizami's "Iskandarnamah"

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About this Item

Title

  • Nizami's "Iskandarnamah"

Created / Published

  • 16th-17th centuries

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  A page from Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" (Book of Alexander), the fifth book of his "Khamsah" (Quintet), written in Nasta'liq script in the 16th-17 cent.
  • -  Another textual fragment of Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" is also held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-84-154.1b R & V).
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.5 (w) x 22.2 (h) cm
  • -  Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" recounts Alexander the Great's (d. 323 B.C.) heroic exploits, battles, and journey to China, Gog and Magog, and the end of the world. It is loosely based on the epic narrative of Alexander's deeds as recounted by Firdawsi in his "Shahnamah" (Book of Kings), which may have drawn from the history of Alexander as penned down by his official biographer Callisthenes of Olynthus (ca. 370-327 B.C.). Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" has been translated into English by M. S. Southgate, "Iskandarnamah: A Persian Medieval Alexander-Romance" (New York, 1978).
  • -  This folio includes a fragmentary text from Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" (Book of Alexander), the fifth book of his "Khamsah" (Quintet). Written during the last few decades of the 12th century A.D., the "Khamsah" consists of five books (kitab) written in rhyming distichs (mathnavi).
  • -  This particular text is executed in black nasta'liq script in four columns separated by plain gutters. The text panel is framed by lines of various colors and pasted to a larger sheet bearing a number of a posteriori notes at the top. It appears to date from the 16th or 17th century.
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-87-154.156 V

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 16.9 (w) x 26.2 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714658

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Nizami's "Iskandarnamah". 16th-17th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714658/.

APA citation style:

Nizami's "Iskandarnamah". 16th-17th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714658/.

MLA citation style:

Nizami's "Iskandarnamah". 16th-17th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714658/>.