Nizami Ganjavi, Khamsa (Quintet), Persia, manuscript dated AH 915–916 (1509/1510 CE), copied by scribe al-Abd Ibrahim at Astarabad, Rare Books collection
The Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi’s legendary love stories, as told in the Khamsa, became models for generations of writers and artists. They include his tales of Layla and Majnun, Khusrau and Shirin, Bahram Gur and the princesses of the seven pavilions, and (as shown here) his tale of Iskandar (Alexander the Great). This manuscript includes 15 finely illuminated miniatures in the Shiraz style of c1550, added after the scribe completed his work (c1510).