Abstract

Abstract: How is history visualised and interpreted in illustrated manuscripts? This presentation will seek to explore this question with regard to Persian manuscript production at the Mughal court, in the context of some important precedents. In particular, we will look at the so-called History of the Timurid dynasty, commissioned by the emperor Akbar and, among its sources, ‘Ali Yazdi’s Zafarnama and Babur’s memoirs, the Baburnama. There are four well-known and closely-linked copies of the latter, but also a little-studied outlier that offers a very different focus on what is worth illustrating in the text.

About the speaker: Charles Melville is Professor emeritus of Persian history at Cambridge and fellow of Pembroke College. His research has focused on the history of medieval Iran from the Mongol to the Safavid periods, Persian historiography and epic literature. He is director of the Cambridge Shahnama Project and currently editor of the ‘Idea of Iran’ series on behalf of the Soudavar Foundation.