The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The Persian Book of Kings

About this book

A smaller more accessible version of the 2011 sold-out deluxe edition with beautiful illustrations and informative supplementary texts The Shahnama an epic poem from the 10th century that chronicles Irans mythical history before the founding of Islam has been immortalized in numerous illustrated copies. . The illuminated pages of the 16th-century Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp known as the most beautiful edition ever created are reproduced in this new publication which succeeds the Metropolitan Museums celebrated out-of-print deluxe facsimile edition of 2011. This new volume combines the vibrant high-quality reproductions of the deluxe edition with enlightening information and a smaller more accessible format. The fascinating text introduces the Shahnama to readers and describes the material world depicted in the intricate paintings. It also includes a brief description of the stories depicted in the illustrations and an illustrated Whos Who to help readers identify major characters in the epic. These features provide readers a deeper engagement with this captivating masterpiece. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press