Iskandar marries Roshanak, from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Firdausī

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Iskandar marries Roshanak, from the Book of Kings (Shahnama) by Firdausi. The poet Firdausi describes Iskandar’s conquests, including his defeat of the Iranian king Dara. This reflects Alexander’s victory over Darius III (died 330 BC), when the invader burned the Achaemenid palace of Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid). Here Iskandar marries the Persian princess Roshanak at Istakhr, which is the name Firdausi uses for Persepolis. There is a small grey face in their palace wall: this may refer to the stone reliefs that were then visible at the ruins of Persepolis. This is one of ten folios detached from its codex (also in the Chester Beatty collection, Per 270, dated 1066H (1655) on fol. 223r), the second volume in a two-volume set of this text, illustrated by the Isfahan painter Mu`in Musavvir. Volume one is in the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (Ms22): its colophon is dated Jumada II 1064H (April 1654), with four of its paintings dated 1065H or 1067H (1654-1657). All fifty-five paintings are by Mu`in Musavvir. Folio, ink, colours and gold on paper, Persian text in nasta`liq script, with two framed rubrics ("Response to Iskandar's letter from the side of Roshanak, daughter of Dara" in red, and "Roshanak comes to Iskandar's court" in white, on recto), and painting (on verso), from the Book of Kings (Shāhnāma) by Abū al-Qāsim Firdausī (d. 1022), (codex CB Per 270), painting signed Mu'īn Muṣavvir (“raqam zad az tawfīq sāni` Mu`īn”, lower margin), Isfahan, Iran, 1655.