The Hamzanama recounts the fable of Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad who was a legendary defender of the faith. This painting illustrates an episode involving 'Umar, a spy loyal to Hamza, who learns of a secret tunnel into Fulad castle from the soldier whom he has bested. It comes from a multivolume, large-scale copy of the text made for the emperor Akbar that took approximately fifteen years to complete. Unlike most books, its paintings were probably meant to be held up for an audience while a storyteller recited the text.
