"The Spy Zambur Brings Mahiya to the City of Tawariq", Folio from a Hamzanama (Book of Hamza)

Kesav Das · 1570-02-07T00:00:00Z

The Hamzanama recounts the fable of Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad and a legendary defender of the faith. In the complicated adventure illustrated here, Zambur, a spy for Hamza’s son Ibrahim, has enlisted the aid of the female spy Mahiya to rescue Ibrahim’s beloved, the princess Khwarmah. The two enter the town of Tawariq, where Khwarmah is being held, on the fruit-laden donkeys shown on the right. The painting comes from a multivolume, large-scale copy of the text made for the emperor Akbar that took approximately fifteen years to complete. Unlike most books, its paintings were probably meant to be held up for an audience while a storyteller recited the text.