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In Lives of the Prophets: The Illustrations to Hafiz-i Abru’s “Assembly of Chronicles” Mohamad Reza Ghiasian analyses two extant copies of the Majmaʿ al-tawarikh produced for the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405–1447). The first manuscript is kept in Topkapı Palace and the second is widely dispersed. Codicological analysis of these manuscripts not only allows a better understanding of Hafiz-i Abru’s contributions to rewriting earlier history, but has served to identify the existence of a previously unrecognised copy of the Jamiʿ al-tawarikh produced at Rashid al-Din’s scriptorium. Through a meticulous close reading of both text and image, Mohamad Reza Ghiasian convincingly proves that numerous paintings of the dispersed manuscript were painted over the text before its dispersal in the early twentieth century.
Price: $183.00
Pages: 344
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Studies in Persian Cultural History
Publication Date:
23 August 2018
ISBN: 9789004377219
Format: Hardcover
"Through a detailed reading of both text and image, Lives of the Prophets: The Illustrations to Hafiz-i Abru’s “Assembly of Chronicles” sets the standard for the codicologically-driven study of Persian illustrated manuscripts." - Yuka Kadoi, University of Vienna, in: Abstracta Iranica 40-41 (2019)
"This tightly conceived and clearly written study is, as Charles Melville states in the preface (p. x), a masterpiece of “forensic detective work” in unraveling the complex history of Hafiz-i Abru’s universal chronicle. It will readily interest art historians who work on Iran and its neighbors, from Mongol times onwards. [...] the author's careful study has much information that will also interest historian and historiographers." - Sheila Blair, Boston College, in: Iranian Studies (2019)
“The real power of this book is in the brilliant reconstruction of the fragmented or dispersed manuscripts of both Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh and Majmaʿ al-tavārīkh, the translation of sections from Ḥāfiẓ-i Abrū’s text, and the sets of iconographic comparisons. Together these form a solid basis for future studies in the field, and, at the same time, offer an interesting picture of Islamic biblical and prophetic iconography within a specific historical context. “- Rachel Milstein The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in JAOS (2020)
"This tightly conceived and clearly written study is, as Charles Melville states in the preface (p. x), a masterpiece of “forensic detective work” in unraveling the complex history of Hafiz-i Abru’s universal chronicle. It will readily interest art historians who work on Iran and its neighbors, from Mongol times onwards. [...] the author's careful study has much information that will also interest historian and historiographers." - Sheila Blair, Boston College, in: Iranian Studies (2019)
“The real power of this book is in the brilliant reconstruction of the fragmented or dispersed manuscripts of both Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh and Majmaʿ al-tavārīkh, the translation of sections from Ḥāfiẓ-i Abrū’s text, and the sets of iconographic comparisons. Together these form a solid basis for future studies in the field, and, at the same time, offer an interesting picture of Islamic biblical and prophetic iconography within a specific historical context. “- Rachel Milstein The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in JAOS (2020)
Mohamad Reza Ghiasian holds a PhD in Islamic Art and Archaeology from the University of Bamberg and is currently Assistant Professor of Islamic Art at the University of Kashan.