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The Shahnamah of Firdausi produced for the Timurid Muhammad Juki (a grandson of Timur) in the 1440s is one of the finest surviving Persian manuscripts produced between the heyday of Baysunghur’s academy in Heart and the appearance of Bihzad.

It has thirty-one exquisite miniature paintings depicting scenes from the epic tale and fine illumination on two pages. The manuscript was presented to the RAS in 1834 by Lt. Col. C.J. Doyle who had probably received it as a parting gift from Lord Hastings on leaving India. It had previously been in the Mughal Imperial Library and bears the seals of the Mughal emperors Babur, Humayun, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Awrangzib; there is an autograph note by Shah Jahan and further notes reveal its subsequent history.

This monograph written by Barbara Brend is the first complete study of the manuscript and provides a detailed analysis of the cycle of illustrations; a commentary on the Mughal notes by A.H. Morton which offer telling insights into the practices of the Mughal library.