The Baysonqori Ms of the Shahnameh

The Baysonqori manuscript' which was prepared under the care and patronage of Baysonqor Mirza' son of Shahrokh and grandson of Tamerlane' belongs to the rich category of sumptuous illustrated Shahnameh Mss which are today prized possessions in the best museums and libraries of the world' and it is one of the most famous among them. It has some features that make it even superior to two other world-class Shahnameh manuscripts' the so-called Demotte and the Houghton (Shah Tahmasbi)' which were copied and illustrated' chronologically speaking' before and after it. The first' and the most important' advantage of the MS is the fact that it has remained intact' unlike the other two that have fallen victim to the avarice of their recent owners' have been broken up and their leaves and illustrations have been scattered throughout the world. Therefore' apart from some minor textual omissions' the Bayaonqori MS of the Shahnameh is the most complete and unravished specimen among the top manuscripts of its kind. Secondly' this MS stands out for the fine artistic workmanship that has gone into it to make it what it is. The painting' the binding and all the ornaments that have been created for it are all really first class.The manuscript's only weakness is its calligraphy' and that is no fault of the calligrapher.He copied the text in the nasta'lip script at a time when this script was still in its infancy.Otherwise we can safely say that the Baysonqori Ms earns high marks in every department. the third plus for the manuscript is its preface' which was especially commissioned to be inserted in the volume for the firs time.

This was evidently done at the behest of Baysonqori Mirza' the most generous patron of the arts among the Timurid princes.

many Shahnameh manuscripts were collected for the purpose' and then a preface was drawn up which incorporated all the material that had been previously written about the the poet and his work. this text is not free from historical errors' nor is the text of the epic in the manuscript immune from misspelt words and spurious lines. But we have to give credit to the authors of the preface because their efforts caused the Shahnameh to become better known in Iran and elsewhere in the world.

The Shahnameh Ms in quarto format (38.26 cm) copied in a minuscule Nasta'lip script by ja'far Baysonqori on a hand-made fawn-coloured paper from Khan Baligh (Peking/Beijing)' comprising 700 pages of 31 lines of text per page' each line made up at 3 distiches. Date of Ms is 833 A.H./1430 C.E. The book opens with a magnificent illuminated sun (shsmsa) which bears an inscription in Riqa' script on a ground of gold containing the name and titles of Prince Baysonqor. Pages 2 and 3 make up a double frontispiece of a hunting scene. The follow two more illuminated pages containing medallions bearing the name and titles of the patron. The two pages of the preface and the two opening pages of the Shahnameh are also richly illuminated and the interlinear spaces embellished with patches of gold. A total of 22 unsigned illustration' executed with water-colour pigments' adorn the manuscript. The covers are made of stamped and gold-plated leather with two lacquerwork borders' while the interior is stamped leather with filigrane on a ground of lapis lazuli.

This Shahnameh manuscript bears the Reg.No.416' and was reproduced in a facsimile edition in 1971 in Tehran.

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