This chapter explores one of the masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum's collection, the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp (reigned 1524–76). Written by the poet Abu'l Qasim Firdausi in 1010, the Shahnama is one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature. The epic poem provides a history of Iranian kingship from the creation of the world to the conquest of Iran by Arab Muslims in the mid-seventh century. The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp has been referred to as the finest and most lavishly illustrated surviving manuscript of Firdausi's epic ever produced. Beyond its great artistic value, the manuscript provides an important visual reference for the architecture, customs, decoration, ceremonies, and fashion of the court of the sixteenth-century Safavid ruler.
