Mourning scene, perhaps the death of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)

17th century(?)

One hero whose life and death plays a starring role in the Shahnama is Alexander the Great, or Iskandar as he is known in the Islamic world. Iskandar’s story features in a number of literary works, like the Shahnama, Nizami’s Khamsa (Quintet), and Jami’s Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones), as tales of his exploits were popular and people wanted to know more about this historic and heroic figure. Stories of the historical Iskandar gave way to more fantastic tales of his battles with monsters and his interaction with supernatural beings in his search for wisdom.

On his quest for wisdom and knowledge, Iskandar traveled extensively and encountered many marvels, including talking corpses, amazons, a city built entirely of bones, and Israfil, the angel of the Last Judgment. In these encounters, he received four warnings of his early demise and ultimately died in Babylon in the presence of his troops.

The death of Iskandar figures prominently in Shahnama representations, and in this image the ruler and sage lies on his funeral bier, surrounded by his soldiers with their horses. As a ruler or official on a dais looks on, the soldiers express their sadness at the death of this great warrior and philosopher king. There is a reserved quality to the mourning displayed in this image, a more public image of the passing of a great ruler, rather than the more personal suffering of a mother for her son in the Talhand image. As a reflection of this reserve, the image itself is much less colorful and less detailed than other Persian paintings. The impression given by this image is one of an official portrayal of a death scene, lacking the personal and emotional elements seen in other images of death from the Shahnama.

Paint on paper

10 13/16 x 7 11/16 in. (27.4 x 19.5 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

55.14

Provenance:

Purchased from David Benzaria, New York, January 3, 1955

Photo: Paul Macapia