Folio from a Shahnama (Book of kings) by Firdawsi (died 1020); recto: The bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great); verso: text

The Shahnama (Book of kings), the national epic of Iran, recounts the adventures of many legendary kings and heroes from the mythical creation of the world to the fall of the historical Sasanian dynasty in 651. Among the most memorable characters is the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great, known in Persian as Iskandar. Firdawsi explains that Iskandar was the son of Darab (Darius II), who had married a Greek princess, and justifies his invasion of Iran, which the historic Alexander undertook in the year 330 B.C.E., as an attempt to claim his right to the Persian throne.

This remarkable painting is from one of the earliest and most celebrated illustrated volumes of the Shahnama and depicts Alexander's bejeweled coffin in an elaborate interior setting. While Aristotle weeps quietly into a handkerchief, Alexander's mother flings herself onto the bier. Her pose, as well as those of the veiled mourners in the foreground, poignantly expresses the drama and pathos of the scene.

Credit: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment