Sasanian king Yazdagird III flees to the mill in Merv in 651, from the Garden of Purity (Rawzat al-safa), by Mir Khvand

Mahmud ibn Hajji al-Jahrami

Sasanian king Yazdagird III flees to the mill in Merv in 651, from the Garden of Purity (Rawzat al-safa), by Mir Khvand. Mir Khvand's history describes the early conquests by the Muslims, including their defeat of the Sasanian empire in Iran. Beaten on the battlefield in 642, the Sasanians' capital Ctesiphon (in modern Iraq) was sacked in 650. Final defeat came in 651, when the last Sasanian shah Yazdagird III fled, and took refuge by hiding in a water-mill, near the city of Merv (in modern Turkmenistan). Eventually the king was tracked down and killed, in 651. Folio, ink, colours and gold on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with painting (on recto), from The Garden of Purity (Rawzat al-safa), by Muhamamd Khwandshah ibn Mahmud, or Mir Khvand (d. 1498), second volume of his universal history, this volume describes the Prophet Muhammad and the four Rashidun Caliphs, copied by Mahmud ibn Hajji al-Jahrami, probably Shiraz, Iran, dated 24 Rajab 1003H, 4 April 1595.