Cleveland Museum of Art
Battle between Manuchihr and Tur, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, c. 934–1020)
- Date
- c. 1610
- Medium
- Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Culture
- Mughal India, court of Jahangir (reigned 1605–27)
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
This battle sets the stage for the ages-long enmity in the epic Shah-nama between the people of Iran and Turan—identified as Turkistan, the lands to the east of Iran. The conflict resulted from a bitter family feud that began when a warrior king divided his realm among his three sons; the older two were murderously jealous of the youngest, Iraj, to whom the best lands, those of Iran, were given. In this painting, the warrior in the center is Manuchihr, the grandson of Iraj, avenging his grandfather’s murder by slaying Tur, Iraj’s older brother to whom the less desirable lands of Turan were given. The confusion of battle is skillfully rendered through clustering warriors and warhorses together with varied postures, colors, and patterns. Battles were waged to the sound of horns and the beat of drums on camels.
The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.
Page from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Rustam meets the challenge of Ashkabus, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Rustam meets the challenge of Ashkabus, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Isfandiyar slays Arjasp, the king of Turan, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Persian verses (verso) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Page from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Bijan killing the wild boars of Irman, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020) (verso)
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Reign of Nushirwan, the Combat between the Khan of Chin and the Haitalians (verso) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Bijan killing the wild boars of Irman, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020), (recto)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Bahram Gur Arrives at the House of a Merchant, text page (recto); Bahram Gur Slays a Dragon (verso), from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025), known as the Great Mongol Shahnama
Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Nushirwan the Just (verso) from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Bahram Gur Arrives at the House of a Merchant, text page (recto), from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940–1019 or 1025), known as the Great Mongol Shahnama
Cleveland Museum of Art