Shahnama Project : Shahnama

Firdausi

Shahnama Project

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>The ms. has 1152 pages (576 folios), and is divided into four parts (daftar). It opens with a fine sarlauh (120 x 135 mm) to introduce the prose preface, at the end of which is a colophon, dated Dhu'l-Qa'da, 1061 A.H. (p. 12). The same date is given at the end of the first daftar, which is broken here at the end of the story of Farud (p. 320). The second part is introduced by another sarlauh (p. 323), and ends with a colophon giving the date Shawwal 1064 A.H. Part three, starting with the reign of Luhrasp, is introduced by a sarlauh (p. 541), and concludes with a colophon giving the same date, Shawwal 1064 (p. 878). The final section, starting with the reign of Yazdagird son of Bahram, opens with a fourth sarlauh (p. 881) and is concluded with the colophon giving the date Muharram 1068. It thus took just over seven years to complete. (Ch.M.)For a detailed description of the manuscript and its 43 paintings, see S.A. Sharifzadeh, Namvarnama, Tehran, 1370sh/1991, pp. 97-109, and Baqir Najai, Shahnama-ha-yi Iran, 1997, pp. 495-97 and pls. 296-299.</p></p>