The break-line verse: The link between text and image in the ‘First Small’ Shahnama

Farhad Mehran1

n an illustrated folio of a Shahnama manuscript, the break-line verse is the verse

(or verses) with the closest association to the scene depicted on the image. It is

often found immediately before the image, or at another prominent place on the page.

Based on the existing illustrated folios of the ‘First Small’ Shahnama, it is argued that

the break-line verse served the purpose of signalling the exact scene to be illustrated

in the space provided on the page. It is further argued that the requirement for

strategically locating the break-line verse in relation to the image explains the odd-

shaped format of many of the illustrations. Finally, some of the practical uses of the

concept of the break-line verse for scene titling, folio numbering and other aspects of

manuscript reconstruction are mentioned.

INTRODUCTION

A typical Persian painting is on a page of a book of poetry, in which the verses are

accompanied by an image depicting the scene described in the poem. While the

choice of images may differ from one manuscript to another, depending on the motif

1 I am grateful to my wife, Fatan, for coining the term ‘break-line verse’, and to Hojat

Tavassoli for the Persian equivalent (ψ…�↓ δ⊗⊥). I am also grateful to Shreve Simpson

and the late Jerry Clinton for valuable advice and a near complete set of all extant images of

the ‘First Small’ Shahnama. I would also like to thank Charles Melville and Robert

Hillenbrand, co-directors of the Cambridge – Edinburgh Shahnama project, for their

encouragement and continued support. The electronic images of the First Small Shahnama are

stored in the Cambridge – Edinburgh database of Shahnama manuscripts and illustrations.

They are available, upon request, as a CD-Rom of 14th-century Shahnama images, prepared

by Peter Batke.

I

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of the design, the taste of the painter, or the artistic style of the moment, the physical

proximity of the image to the text seems to be a constant feature of Persian book

painting. Indeed, an analysis of a large number of illustrated pages of Shahnama

manuscripts of different periods indicates that in most cases the verse closest to the

image is precisely the verse describing the central action of the picture. This particular

verse, called here the break-line verse (in Persian, ψ…�↓ δ⊗⊥), appears to have

been used by the calligrapher as a signal to the painter of the exact scene to be

illustrated in the space provided on the page.

Evidence of such an association between text and image is provided by the fact

that images of the same scene have often exactly the same break-line verse; and

images of slightly different scenes have break-line verses correspondingly slightly

apart. Another type of evidence is derived from the relationship between the break-

line verse and the particular formats of some of the paintings. In many instances, the

irregular and odd-shape frames of these paintings seem to have resulted from an

attempt by the calligrapher to place the critical verse just before the image. A still

further type of evidence is provided by the practice, adopted in later manuscripts, of

writing in diagonal form in pages just preceding an illustration. Where normal

horizontal writing would leave little space for the image at the bottom of a page, the

calligrapher would write in diagonal form to fill the unwanted space, so that the

intended image could be painted in a sufficient area at the top of the next page. There

are also examples of cases, in particular in the lower part of the page of some

manuscripts, where certain less significant verses are omitted apparently to reach the

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break-line verse sooner and thus provide more room for the image than would

otherwise have been the case.2

The role of the break-line verse is studied here in the context of the ‘First Small’

Shahnama, a dismantled illustrated manuscript dated to circa 1300 and attributed to

Baghdad.3 Because this manuscript has been well studied and the association between

text and image in it has already been recognized, it provides a convenient basis for

examining some of the hypotheses put forward here. In the early fourteenth century,

there were no established illustration cycles. It is thus reasonable to assume that the

communication between the calligrapher and the painter was much more important in

that early stage of Shahnama book painting than in later centuries, and the break-line

verse as a signal from the calligrapher to the painter must have had a much more

precise meaning in that earlier period.

Also, because the First Small Shahnama is dispersed, with many missing pages,

some of which may have had illustrations, it provides a fertile ground for showing the

role of the break-line verse for quantifying the position of the image within the text,

and as a result for reconstructing the manuscript in its original form. This topic will be

the subject of a separate paper.

2 In examining the relationship between text and image in many illustrated Shahnama

manuscripts, I have noticed that omissions and additions of verses appear to be significantly

more frequent in passages nearer rather than away from the image. If this observation can be

confirmed, it suggests that some omissions and additions of verses in the Shahnama tradition

may have been related to the image. Perhaps, they were attempts by the reciter or calligrapher

of the text to embellish the scene that the painter would paint in the space provided for the

image. 3 Marianna Shreve Simpson, The illustration of an epic. The earliest Shahnama manuscripts

(New York & London, 1979).

4

THE BREAK-LINE VERSE

In an illustrated folio of a Shahnama manuscript, the break-line verse (ψ…�↓ δ⊗⊥)

is the verse (or verses) with the closest association to the scene depicted on the image.

It is often found immediately before the image, or at another prominent place near the

image.

In the Cambridge – Edinburgh Shahnama database, the break-line verses of the

115 illustrated folios attributed to the First Small Shahnama have all been identified

and coded in terms of the Chapter number and verse number in both the Mohl and

Bertels’ editions of the Shahnama.4 The identification of a break-line verse involves a

thorough reading of the surrounding text and matching the progression of the story

with the elements of the image in a specially designed worksheet.

In practice, for rapid assessment, one can identify the break-line verse by

reading the verse just preceding the image and checking whether it contains a verb or

object describing the central action of the image. For example, in the picture of the

First Small Shahnama not shown here, where Hushang discovers fire when throwing a

stone to a flashing dragon (folio 6v),5 the left corner verse on top of the image is the

break-line verse because it contains the term � β ♥×∼ (‘fire stone’). Similarly, in

another picture (folio 11v) showing Zahhak being nailed to the mountain rock in front

4 Jules Mohl, Le livre des rois (Paris, 1837-78), Persian text reprinted with an introduction by

Muhammad Amin Riyahi, Shahnama-yi Firdausi, 3 vols. (Tehran, Second edition,

1370/1991), cited by Mohl chapter number, verse number (and page number according to

reprinted Persian text); Y.E. Bertels’ et al., Shahnama Firdausi, Critical edition, Institute for

Nations of Asian, Academy of Sciences of USSR, 9 vols. (Moscow, 1966-71). English

translations are taken from A.G. Warner & E. Warner, The Shahnama of Firdausi, 9 vols.

(London, 1905-25). 5 Folio numbers are estimates derived on the basis of the position of the break-line verse,

except for a few cases where the folio numbers are known and reported in Simpson (1979).

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of Faridun, the verse just preceding the image is the corresponding break-line verse

because it contains the phrase δ� ⊥…ζ� � χ∼υ (‘bound his hands’).

Where the break-line verse is not the verse immediately preceding the image, it

is often only slightly displaced or relocated at another place close to the frame,

generally in relation to an irregular shape of the image. In many other cases, the

nature of the illustrated scene does not lend itself to a single unambiguous break-line

verse, but to a multitude of break-line verses all close to the image. For these reasons,

it is convenient to distinguish between a single break-line verse and multiple break-

line verses and between in-place and displaced (or relocated) break-line verses. An

example of each is presented below.

Single break-line verse

Rustam and the White Div. The following detached folio from the First Small

Shahnama (fig. 1) conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

(Accession number 69.74.7), provides an example of a single, in-place break-line

verse. It shows the fight between Rustam and the White Div, the most frequently

illustrated episode of the Shahnama at all times.6

During the last of his seven exploits (‘Haft Khvan’), the Iranian champion

Rustam kills the White Div to rescue the Iranian king, Kay Kavus, blinded and held

captive by the ruler of Mazandaran. In this picture, Rustam is seen thrusting his

dagger into the heart of the White Div, lying in the cave. In the background, Aulad is

seen tied to a tree and guarded by Rakhsh, partly hidden behind the rocks of the

mountain ‘Haft Kuh’. Aulad is the brave and young lord of a nearby village captured

6 Farhad Mehran, “Frequency distribution of illustrated scenes in Persian manuscripts,”

Student 2/iv (Presses Académiques Neuchâtel, October 1998), 351-79.

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by Rustam in his fifth exploit, and forced to guide him to the White Div. Later in the

episode, Aulad is untied by Rustam and instructed to turn back to Kay Kavus, waiting

to be rescued and his eyesight cured with three drops of the White Div’s blood.

The key feature of this scene, Rustam thrusting his dagger in the chest of the

White Div, is captured by the break-line verse:7

ϖℵ� ♣ ″…ζℵ⊥ ∂ζℵβ ∝β {[ � ζ♦ϕ ϖ↵ψ υψ… � ↔υζκ×ρ υζ⊥ …ζ�

Then with a dagger stabbed him to the heart

And plucked the liver from his swarthy form.8

This verse is found on the fourth row of the folio, precisely at the upper left corner

just before of the image.

A study of more than 100 illustrated folios of Rustam and the White Div painted

over four centuries, from about 1300 to the end of the 17th century,9 reveals that in 40

folios the verse immediately preceding the image is precisely this critical verse. In

most other cases, the break-line verse is found close by, or is describing an earlier part

of the fight, when Rustam is wrestling with the White Div and manages to cut-off one

of his legs and hands. Only in rare occasions, the appropriate break-line verse is more

than 3 or 4 verses away from the left-corner verse above the image.

Displaced break-line verse

Afrasiyab and Nauzar. An example of a slightly displaced break-line verse is

reproduced below (fig. 2). The image shows the second battle between Afrasiyab and

Nauzar (First Small Shahnama, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.7). The scene

7 Mohl, Ch. 12, 306, verse 634; Bertels’, II, 108, verse 597. 8 Warner & Warner, II, 60-61, para. 12. 9 Farhad Mehran, “Rustam and the White Div: Images from over four centuries”, unpublished

collection of images (2005).

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has a special significance as it is part of the first attack of the Turanians against the

Iranians, which erupted after the slaying of Tur and Salm by Manuchihr in revenge for

the unjust murder of their own brother Iraj.

With the news of the death of Manuchihr, the king of Iran, Afrasiyab asked

permission from his father Pashang, the king of Turan, to attack Iran in retaliation for

the killings of Tur and Salm. As Afrasiyab approached Iran, near Dihistan, he learned

about the death of the feared Iranian champion, Sam Nariman, and the superiority of

his own army over the Iranian forces led by Nauzar the son of Manuchihr, the new

king of Iran (400,000 soldiers against 140,000). Confidently, he despatched Barman

to spy on Nauzar’s headquarter and to provoke a fight with the Iranian army. Qubad,

the elderly brother of Qaran, the son of Kava, volunteered to confront Barman, but

after a heroic resistance all morning, he was finally defeated and killed. Following

the death of Qubad, Qaran mobilised his army against Afrasiyab, but no side could

claim victory after the first day of fighting. On the second day, Nauzar joined the

battle and is seen here mounted on his horse fiercely fighting Afrasiyab. They are

forcing their lances against each other, but as it turned out the second day’s fight also

remained again inconclusive. On the third day, however, Nauzar was finally captured

by Afrasiyab, and later killed, starting a new cycle of war between the Iranians and

Turanians.

The central action of the figure is the entanglement of the lances. It is captured

by the break-line verse:10

ϖ×χσℵ↓ [ ζ⊥ ζ♦↵ϖ⊥ ♥↵ ″∴×∼ ϖ×χσ↵ … ∂|ℵ≥ ζ⊥ ∂|⊗≥ ″∴×ϕ

They strove together, spear confused with spear;11

10 Mohl, Ch. 8, p. 238, verse 251; Bertels’, II, 20, verse 226. 11 Warner & Warner, I, 350, para. 5.

8

This verse is found in the middle columns of the folio, just above the image, thus only

one verse away from the expected location, immediately preceding the picture.

Multiple break-line verses

Iskandar and Qaidafa. In hunting scenes or battle scenes a critical action can often be

singled out for depiction in a picture. By contrast, in scenes such as a royal audience

or a conversation piece, no single moment has, in general, sufficient pictorial

significance to distinguish it from others. These scenes do not lend themselves to

single verse description, and, therefore, cannot often be associated to a single break-

line verse. There is a range of break-line verses that are compatible with the scene

depicted on the image. An example is fig. 3 (First Small Shahnama at the Chester

Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.46r). It shows Qaidafa, the queen of Andalus, in

counsel with Iskandar, who had arrived at her court under a false identity. In Egypt,

Iskandar had learned about the intelligence of Qaidafa and the opulence of her court.

He wrote a letter asking for her submission and payment of tributes as a sign of

wisdom and clairvoyance. When she refused, Iskandar marched towards Andalus,

taking under siege the border-city where Qaidafa’s son, Qaidrush, lived with his wife,

the daughter of the town’s ruler, Farian. There, Iskandar devised an elaborate scheme

to use Qaidrush for forcing Qaidafa to submission. He asked a local wise man, Bitgun,

to reverse roles with him and as the victorious king, sit on the throne in the audience

hall and pass judgement on Qaidrush that he must be beheaded. At that point,

Iskandar under his false identity would come forward and ask for pardon. Qaidrush

would thus owe his life to his rescuer and would be submissive, and urge his mother,

Qaidafa, to grant the rescuer all his wishes. Bitgun agreed on the scheme and events

unfolded as planned.

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But Qaidafa soon became suspicious of the newcomer, and checked him against

a picture of Iskandar she had earlier ordered from a talented volunteer soldier, who

clandestinely travelled to Egypt for the purpose. Assured of the imposture, Qaidafa

remained silent. But when the newcomer made his request for submission and

payment of tributes to Iskandar, she called him the son of Filipus and showed him the

portrait. Exposed and embarrassed, Iskandar made aggressive claims that he had his

sword and weapon, and would turn the room into a sea of blood, killing her with a

stroke of his hand. Qaidafa calmed him with words, promising not to divulge his

identity and continuing to treat him as Bitgun. In return, she asked that Iskandar

promise not to harm her son and her family, and to renounce attacking her land.

The episode describing the conversation between Qaidafa and Iskandar (i.e.

from the time Iskandar is given audience disguised as Bitgun in the court of Qaidafa

to the time he leaves the chamber) takes up about 50 verses. Many of these could be

considered as the break-line verse compatible with the image.

The most dramatic instant in the conversation is when Qaidafa confronts

Iskandar with his portrait, exposing his imposture. The corresponding verse is:12

ψ ∴↵ζ÷� ψ ϖ×♦∼[ |ϕ ℜυ⊥ ≠♣ ψ∴♦≥ψυ ℜϖ⊥ � _×ϕ λ⊗• ζ♣ ≠♣

With that fair portrait and so vividly

That, given motion, it had been himself.13

This verse, however, cannot be the break-line verse associated with the image. First, it

is rather far from the picture (middle columns on sixth row above the picture) and

secondly its contents would imply seeing a portrait in the image that we don’t. In the

scene shown here, Iskandar seems to be talking or perhaps protesting and Qaidafa

12 Mohl, Ch. 20, p. 1444, verse 878; Bertels’, VII, 53, verse 843. 13 Warner & Warner, V, 131, para. 20.

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listening. It suggests that the scene occurs after his imposture has been exposed, but

otherwise there are no clear signs indicating the particular stage of their conversation.

As no specific verse can be singled out to have the closest association with the image,

it is convenient in such multi-verse situations to consider the break-line verse to be the

one immediately preceding the image. Here it is:14

∴• υ{[ → υ ψ υ ∝⊗×ϕ ⊕℘ ϕ ∴÷⊥ β � ≥ [υ υψ … ∴κ♣

What profit hath thy wisdom been to thee,

Since thou hast come within the Dragon’s breath.15

It describes the moment when Qaidafa is questioning the usefulness of Iskandar’s

wisdom, a wisdom that made him fall so easily in the dragon’s den. The verse has

probably a double meaning. Not only did he fall into the trap with Qaidafa but, as

Qaidafa warns him slightly later, he is also being targeted by her other son, Taynush,

married to the daughter of the Fur of Hind, who wants to revenge the killing of his

father-in-law by Iskandar. So he had better keep quiet and remain as Bitgun while in

Andalus.

SIGNAL FROM THE CALLIGRAPHER TO THE PAINTER

That the break-line verse is often found close to the image should not be surprising,

but that it is so frequently located at a precise position, immediately preceding the

image, is unexpected. If the location of the break-line verse on the page were really

haphazard, observing as many as 40 Rustam and the White Div break-line verses in

the same relative place in 100 manuscripts would be quite unlikely. The likelihood of

such an occurrence can actually be calculated using probability theory. It is found that

14 Mohl, Ch. 20, p. 1444, verse 894; Bertels’, VII, 54, verse 859. 15 Warner & Warner, V, 132, para. 21.

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even under adverse conditions, it would not exceed 4 or 5 percent.16 One therefore

must accept that the break-line verse was not haphazardly placed on the page. Its

location in relation to the image was almost surely pre-determined. It is argued here

that the placing of the break-line verse in a particular location close to the image was

a signal by the calligrapher to the painter of the exact Shahnama scene to be

illustrated in the space provided below the verse.

There is firm evidence from incomplete folios and from the overlay of colour

pigments on the scribe’s ink that the writing of the text preceded the painting of the

image.17 Therefore, a painter about to illustrate a Shahnama folio typically would be

facing a blank area surrounded by Shahnama verses. Unless the painter is given other

instructions or he is illiterate, it is logical to think that he would look into the

surrounding verses for the choice of scene to illustrate. Clearly the areas around the

space reserved for the image, in particular the left corner just before the image, have

more prominence than other areas. It is possible that a convention has been

established that a break-line verse placed in that area would signal the exact scene to

be painted in case of doubt. An example is given below.

Signal at a precise location

16 The probability that we should observe by chance 40 or more break-line verses at their right

places in 100 illustrated manuscripts does not exceed 4 or 5 percent. In the calculation it is

assumed that the manuscript has six or four columns per page, and the break-line can only be

just above or just below the image (that is 6 or 4 possible places). If we allow more places for

the break-line verse, say, within two lines above or below the image, the odds would be

reduced even further to only 0.01%. 17 Stuart Cary Welch, A King’s Book of Kings, The Shah-Nameh of Shah Tahmasp (New

York, 1972), 19.

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Bahram Gur and the two lions. The following scene (fig. 4) shows Bahram Gur

fighting two lions (First Small Shahnama, Kansas City, 46.41). When Yazdagird

Barzagar, the father of Bahram Gur, died, the Iranian nobles and leaders gathered and

swore not to let the same dynasty rule Iran again, so dissatisfied were they with the

brutal and unjust reign of Yazdagird. They put on the throne an old and quiet man by

the name of Khusrau, a descendant of Ardashir Babakan. But, taking advantage of the

weak king, Iran soon came under attack by its neighbours.

In Yemen, where he was sent by his father to be raised in the court of Munzir,

Bahram angrily learns about the developments in Iran. He decides to go to Jahrum to

meet the Iranians and argue his case to be installed as the rightful heir to the throne.

He reminded the Iranians how he was himself a victim of his father’s brutality and

how he was spared thanked to Taynush, the envoy of Caesar. He also reminded them

about his long line of kingly forefathers and vowed that he would be a just king,

helping the destitute and caring for the people. He then proposed a test: place the

Iranian crown on the throne, attached to two wild lions. Any contender who would

snatch the crown from between the lions would be the king of Iran. The Iranians

conferred and decided to agree to the proposal. If Bahram was killed in the fight, then

it had been his own proposal and the Iranians would not be responsible for his death.

But if he succeeded, he would have earned the respect of the Iranians and would

deserve to be their king.

In the central part of the image, one sees Bahram Gur about to smash with his

mace the head of an attacking lion, a chain hanging from its collar. On the left there is

another knocked out lion, fallen on its back. In the background, there is a throne with

a crown majestically waiting to be placed on the head of the victorious monarch. The

mobad and a few attendants are watching with amazement the unfolding of the

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combat. On the right is king Khusrau, who had earlier declined the fight with the lions

on the grounds of his old age.

The verse describing this scene is found at the left corner just preceding the

image:18

� ζ⊥ζ⊥ ″ρ ∂ϖ↵υ {[ δσ℘ψ…ζ� � ζ∼ ζ⊥ υ|⊥ ϖ↓ ζ♦℘υ ζ⊥

And dimmed its eyes, then going to the other

Smote its head whence the blood ran down its breast.19

The next verse placed at the right corner just below the image reads:20

ι∴β {…ζ€↔υ ″ ω∴÷≥ζ⊥ ζ� ⊥ ι∴� δσβζ⊥ δ� � ×⊥ψ[ϖ≥∴÷ϕ

Then took his seat upon the ivory throne,

Placed on his head the heart-delighting crown.21

Had the painter used this lower verse for illustration, the image would have shown

both lions killed on the ground, with Bahram Gur about to place the crown on his

head. That we do not see this is an indication that the break-line verse used for

illustration was not the verse below the image, but the earlier one just above it. This

observation is corroborated by many other examples showing that the verses just

above the image were used much more frequently for illustration than the verses just

below it.

Identical break-line verses

18 Mohl, Ch. 34, p. 1631, verse 679; Bertels’, VII, 302, verse 679. 19 Warner & Warner, VI, 410, para. 13. 20 Mohl, Ch. 34, p. 1631, verse 680; Bertels’, VII, 302, verse 680. 21 Warner & Warner, VI, 410, para. 13.

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Rustam catches Rakhsh. The signalling role of the break-line verse is more clearly

apparent when comparing the same scene in different manuscripts. In such cases, one

would expect to find identical or very close break-line verses in the upper left corner

of the images of the same scene. By contrast, the break-line verses of images of

slightly different scenes should be correspondingly slightly apart. A test is carried out

here using scenes illustrated in both the First and Second Small Shahnama

manuscripts.

The two figures on the opposite page show scenes of the episode ‘Rustam

catches Rakhsh’. Fig. 5 on the left belongs to the First Small Shahnama (Chester

Beatty Library, Dublin, ms104.8), and fig. 6 on the right to the Second Small

Shahnama (McGill University Library, Montreal, 1977.3). In the two images, one

sees Rustam lassoing a horse among a fleeing herd, as the herdsman approaches in a

disapproving mood.

Following the death of Garshasp, the throne of Iran became vacant, and Pashang

ordered his rebel son, Afrasiyab, to attack Iran and block the throne to be occupied.

Zal, lamenting his old age, puts his hope on his son Rustam to defend Iran from its

enemies. He hands him the Gurz-i Niya, the family mace he inherited from his

ancestors, and asks him to choose a horse for his combats. The best horses from

Zabulistan and some from Kabulistan were brought in, but none satisfied Rustam.

One day he saw a white horse passing by with ears like spikes and a body like a lion.

A cob was following her with a size and posture like her mother’s. As he tried to lasso

the cob, a shepherd came along protesting. Rustam asked him to whom the cob

belonged as no sign of ownership could be seen on its thighs. The shepherd replied

that the horse had no owner. He was known as Rakhsh because he was like water

when resting and like fire when galloping. Many great men wanted to possess him but

15

each time his mother would fight them away like a lion. No one knew the secret of the

horse. This statement reminded Rustam of what he had heard from his parents, Zal

and Rudaba. At the time of their marriage, the mobads predicted that their son would

one day get a valiant horse, and with it fight many battles and win many wars. Here

we see in both images Rustam lassoing Rakhsh, with almost identical compositions.

In both pictures, there are horses fleeing on the right; the shepherd is on the left,

facing Rustam, protesting with his stick; one or more persons are in attendance,

looking on from behind Rustam’s back. In the First Small Shahnama image, a horse,

probably Rakhsh’s mother, is making a turn round to free Rakhsh from capture, a

feature not included in the Second Small Shahnama.

As expected, we find at the corner just before the image in both folios exactly

the same verse describing the precise moment depicted in the image. It reads in both

cases:22

→ψ{ υζℵ♣ {∴⊥ [ψ ∂ζ♣ ″ ≠♣ ±ρ υ[υ ⊕°• ⊕≥∴ℵ♣ ϖ×°♣

That elephantine colt, and coiled his lasso

To catch it, but an ancient herdsman cried.23

Identical break-line verses can be verified in other illustrated scenes common in the

First and Second Small Shahnamas. These are: Rustam lifts Afrasiyab from the saddle

by his belt; Rustam and the White Div; Akvan Div flings Rustam into the sea;

Isfandiyar slays Gurgsar; Isfandiyar and the sorceress; Rustam shoots Isfandiyar in the

eyes with a double-pointed arrow; and Ardashir pours molten lead down the worm’s

throat. In all these cases, the same break-line verse is found at the upper left corner

preceding the corresponding image, or just one or two verses away from it.

22 Mohl, Ch. 10, p. 261, verse 104; Bertels’, II, 53, verse 65. 23 Warner & Warner, I, 379, para. 12.

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Slightly differing break-line verses

Bahram Gur at home of Baraham, the Jew. The next two figures are images of another

Shahnama episode illustrated in the two manuscripts. On the left, fig. 7 shows

Bahram Gur resting against the saddle of his horse at the home of Baraham the Jew,

about to serve himself food and drink laid out on the table in front of him (First Small

Shahnama illustration, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.55). Fig. 8, on the

right, shows a slightly later scene from the Second Small Shahnama (Brooklyn

Museum, New York, L. 63.9.76). It depicts a scene the next morning, when Baraham

on the right is instructing Bahram Gur to clean the floor soiled by his horse, as he

promised to do before leaving, when he asked for shelter the night before.

On his return from a journey, Bahram finds himself in front of the house of

Baraham the Jew. He tells the butler that he is a soldier lost from the entourage of the

Shah at hunt in the vicinity. He wants to rest for the night at the house but he assures

him that he wants nothing else. The butler goes to Baraham and tells about the visitor.

Baraham instructs him to say that he has nothing and he cannot sleep at the house.

The butler gives the message but Bahram insists, saying that he only wants a place to

stay for the night. He will ask for nothing else. The butler takes the message but

Baraham replies that he has not even enough clothing for his own burial. But finally

he agrees to keep the visitor if he asks for nothing more and pays for any damage

caused by his horse. Bahram accepts the offer and gets down from the horse, uses the

saddle as a pillow and rests. Inside the house, Baraham eats and drinks and tells

Bahram that whoever has can eat and whoever does not should not. Bahram tells him

mockingly that he heard this saying many times in the past but now he sees it live! He

tells Baraham that if he eventually sees any good from this cup, he should drink it.

17

Although the two scenes of the First and Second Small Shahnamas refer to the

same episode and are both given the same title ‘Bahram Gur at the home of Baraham

the Jew’, the two pictures are obviously not identical. It is no surprise, therefore, to

see that their break-line verses are also different. In line with the signal argument, the

break-line verse of the First Small Shahnama scene refers to the food and drink of

Baraham, and the break-line verse of the Second Small Shahnama scene to the stable-

cleaning moment.

The First Small Shahnama break-line verse reads:24

♥ℵ≥ →∴ϕ ⊕↓ … ψ∴� ♦ℵ↓ ♥×ρ ♥ℵ≥ →∴κ≥[ ζ∼ ⊕⊥∴℘ →∴ϕ {[ ζ♣

And if the goblet give thee good at last

Then heigh for drinker, wine, and genial cup!25

The break-line verse in the Second Small Shahnama refers to a slightly later part of

the narration. It reads:26

ζℵ_� … ♥� ↓ { ζ⊥ ″…ψυ ∂{°⊥ ζ℘ζν � υ⊥ψ∴χ∼ υ ]ρ⊕♦↵

He had a dainty handkerchief of silk

Inside his boot, all musk and spicery.27

Other examples of First and Second Small Shahnama images where the slightly

different verses preceding the image parallel the slightly different scenes are: Sam

greets his son son Zal brought by the Simurgh; Rustam and Rakhsh, wounded by

Isfandiyar, seek shelter in the mountains; and Bizhan hunts the wild boars.

24 Mohl, Ch. 35, p. 1641, verse 209; Bertels’, VII, 316, verse 210.

25 Warner & Warner, VII, 18. 26 Mohl, Ch. 35, p. 1642, verse 220; Bertels’, VII, 317, verse 221. 27 Warner & Warner, VII, 18, para. 4.

18

ODD-SHAPED IMAGES

A typical design of First Small Shahnama illustrations is a rectangular image spread

over the six columns of the frame, the height of the image taking the space of about

10 or 11 lines of verses. The position of the image on the page, however, appears to

be random, ranging from zero to 22 lines of verses from the top margin and taking in

almost all numbers in between.

However, there are many deviations from this typical design. Some are much

taller than the standard and some much narrower. A few images are square, in most

cases spreading over four columns. Some images are stepped at the top corner (folios

170rA and 300v) and some at the middle (folios 109r, 196v, 204r, 218r, 249r and

308r). And in a few cases, the illustrations are spread over an odd number of columns

(five) giving an asymmetrical look to the image. One reason for these variations, it is

suggested here, is the desire to position the break-line verse at a prominent place in

relation to the image.

Narrow images

Rustam lassoes Kamus. Consider fig. 9 (Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.22).

With just the equivalent of seven lines of verses in height, this illustration is the

narrowest among all extant illustrations of the First Small Shahnama. It is squashed at

the very bottom of the page with 22 lines of text above it. The text narrates the

episode of Rustam and Kamus. After Kay Khusrau pardoned Tus for his disastrous

disobedience that resulted in the killing of Farud, the son of Siyavush and the brother

of Kay Khusrau, the Iranian army led by Tus and later joined by Rustam returned to

the border of Turan for revenge against the Turanians. Following some discussion

with Piran and his brother, Human, and a pitiless battle in which the Turanians

19

employed magic, the Iranians took refuge in the mountain of Hamavan. Later, several

rounds of single combats ensued, one of which resulted in the death of the Iranian

warrior Alva at the hands of Kamus, a Kushani warrior in the army of the Khaqan of

Chin, who had come to reinforce the Turanians. Fresh from his victory against

Ashkabus and grieved by the death of Alva, Rustam entered the combat again, now

facing Kamus. In his first assault, Kamus tried to behead Rustam’s horse, Rakhsh, but

could only hit the neck-armour, inflicting no injury. At this point, Rustam threw his

lasso around Kamus’s waist, forcing him to topple from his saddle. His hands attached

behind his back, Rustam throws him into the dust at the feet of the Iranian chieftains

who chopped his body to pieces.

The image here shows the moment when Rustam is lassoing Kamus by the

belt and pulling him away by galloping Rakhsh in the opposite direction. This precise

action is captured by the break-line verse:28

♠∴⊥ … ζΖ ∴⊥ � ρψ ″ ϖ� ⊕⊥∴⁄� ♠[…υ � υζ♣ … υψ… ψϖ≥[ ″[ζ⊥

Then spurred away and made the leather fast

Beneath his thigh while Rakhsh flew eagle-like.29

In writing the text, the calligrapher reached this target break-line verse late on the

page, at the 22nd line, thus leaving space for only the equivalent of seven lines of

verses for the image. Had the break-line verse been reached earlier, say, at the 18th or

19th line, the image would have had the same height as the majority of the other First

Small Shahnama illustrations, i.e., the equivalent of 10 or 11 lines of verse.

Slit images

28 Mohl, Ch. 13b, p. 743, verse 1569; Bertels’, IV, 205, verse 1450.

29 Warner & Warner, III, 189, para. 32.

20

Bahram Gur kills the karg. Another device for coping with break-line verses that

come low down at the bottom of a page is the narrowing of the width of the image,

allowing the text to continue in the extra column so created. An example is fig. 10

(Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.60). It shows Bahram Gur on his horse in a

hunting area, pointing an arrow to an attacking long-corn animal. The image is slit by

one column on the right, allowing the text to go through to the bottom of the page. To

understand the reason for the resulting odd-shape image, it is necessary to identify the

break-line verse and to locate its position on the page.

When Bahram Gur won his case and ascended the throne, he brought peace and

justice to Iran and spent his time hunting and enjoying the pleasures of life. He was

told, however, that peace is not totally achieved while Shangul continued to remain

the ruler of India. However, Bahram did not want to fight and destroy Shangul unless

he was sure of his misdeeds. So he went to India disguised as an envoy with a letter

from Bahram Gur, the Shah of Iran. Shangul received him with respect and pomp, but

refused to agree to the terms set in the letter, to offer submission and pay tribute to the

Shah of Iran. After a few tests of strength and intellect, Shangul got suspicious of the

envoy and thought of him as Bahram’s brother. Afraid of possible retaliation if he is

denounced, Shangul devised a ruse to keep him in India with a comfortable and

pleasant life. But when Bahram decided to leave, Shangul planned another trick: He

told the envoy about a dangerous onager loose in the fields, threatening the life of

many Indians living in the surroundings. He thus hoped the envoy would not

overcome the animal and would get killed. Bahram accepted the challenge to kill the

beast and asked for a guide to take him to its whereabouts. But when he reached the

onager, it did not take him much to fix it with an arrow and cut its head with his

sword.

21

In the image we see the exact moment when Bahram Gur is aiming his arrow at

the head of the onager, not yet using his sword to cut the beast’s head off. The

corresponding break-line verse is:30

″[…ψ υζ⊗♣ ψ[ρ⊕°• ⊕χ€♣ β ″[ϕ υζ↓ υζ♣ ∂|⊥ [ζ≥ ∴°♣

He grasped his royal bow and, having drawn

Some poplar arrows from his quiver, poured.31

This verse can be found on the third and fourth lines in the side column next into the

image. It is located there and not the usual left corner above the image. This is

because when the calligrapher was reaching the bottom of the page, he decided to

open a single text column to place the break-line verse on the side of the image,

narrowing its width rather than continuing to write over six columns and squashing its

height.

The manuscript contains another slit image showing Isfandiyar’s first trial

(Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 140.34r). It is cut in half just at the bottom of the

image. The other half may possibly be the next image, showing Isfandiyar’s second

trial (Munich, Preetorius Inv. Nr. 77-11-278). In this case, the slit image may have not

been designed to place the break-line verse close to the image, but to provide extra

room for the next image on the page.

In later manuscripts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, calligraphers

developed yet another device to link the break-line verse with the image. They used

diagonal writing (chalipa - ∴[⊗←ζ ) to gain space at the bottom of a page so that the

break-line verse that would have otherwise fallen at the bottom of the page would fall

in the next page, where fresh space becomes available to place the image in its proper

30 Mohl, Ch. 35b, p. 1724, verse 413; Bertels’, VII, p. 424, verse 2097.

31 Warner & Warner, VII, 122, para. 30.

22

size. Still another device to gain space was simply to drop some of the verses from

Firdausi’s text, to leave more room for the image.

Square images

Rakhsh killing a lion, Rustam washing Rakhsh. It is convenient to define a ‘square’

image as an image surrounded by text on its four sides or on three sides if one side is

at the bottom or at the top of the page. A ‘square’ image, therefore, may not be a

square in terms of its geometric dimensions. In a six-column manuscript, square

images may spread over 4 or 5 columns depending on whether the text is on four or

three sides of the image. The heights of the square images in the First Small

Shahnama do not exceed 9 lines.

The effect of the square image is to give relatively more space for text on the

folio and also more choices for placing the break-line verse than a typical rectangular

image would have provided. The break-line verse associated with a square image need

not be located at the top-left corner of the painting.

The break-line argument requires that the critical verse be closest to the image.

One would thus expect square images to appear either in pairs, when two images are

on one page, or if alone at the bottom of the page where space is scarce for placing the

break-line verse close to the image.

This hypothesis may be tested with the square images of the First Small

Shahnama. There are six square images among the 115 extant illustrations attributed

to this manuscript: five are surrounded by text on all four sides (folios 39vA, 39vB,

52r, 70v, and 207r) and one on three sides (folio 211r).

Consider the two images on the same page of the folio in the Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York, 69.74.9v (fig. 11). They are scenes of the first two of

23

Rustam’s seven feats: Rakhsh killing a lion and Rustam washing Rakhsh by a spring.

The break-line verse of the first image is found at the usual place, at the top left corner

above the painting. It reads:32

υζ♣ ∂ψ∴ζ ⊕⊥ ∂ψ∴ζ ″ ϖ⊥ [ζ↵ υ υ υζ♣ ∂ψ∴Ζ ∴β ƒ∴ρζ⊥� υ{⊕°•

His sharp teeth in its back and dashed the beast

To pieces by a shift that made it shiftless.33

The break-line verse of the second image is placed at the bottom right corner below

the painting. It reads:34

ƒ ∴×⊥ ∴β ϖ� ϖℵ� ψρ ψ[υζ♦⊥ ƒ∴Ζ ] ″ ϖ⊥ � χ� � ⊥ ∝χ°÷β

His praises offered he unsaddled Rakhsh,

Washed him, and made him shinning as sun.35

Among the other square images, two are alone on the page: Folio 71v showing the

execution of Surkha and folio 206v showing Babak summoning Sasan the shepherd.

As expected, both are at the bottom of the page and are squared to provide room for

the respective break-line verses.

The last two square images of the manuscript are on cut-off folios (folio 53v and

211r) and it is, therefore, not readily possible to determine whether the folios have

been cut-off precisely because they contained two images on the page or because of

other reasons. Both appear, however, to be at the bottom of their respective pages.

Stepped images

32 Mohl, Ch. 12, p. 293, verse 315; Bertels’, II, 92, verse 299. 33 Warner & Warner, II, 45, para. 6. 34 Mohl, Ch. 12, p. 295, verse 354; Bertels’, II, 94, verse 336. 35 Warner & Warner, II, 47, para. 7.

24

Iskandar receives the daughter of Kaid, the King of Hind. A non-rectangular, non-

square image is stepped if at least one of its sides is a broken line. There are different

types of stepped images, some mildly stepped, others pronouncedly.

An example of a mildly stepped image in the First Small Shahnama is ‘Iskandar

receives the daughter of Kaid, the king of India’ in fig. 12 (Chester Beatty Library,

Dublin, ms. 104.44). The step is one verse high and one verse wide. Other one-verse

stepped images in this manuscript are folios 170rA, 249r, and 308r. The image on

folio 170rA is also slit on the right, as mentioned earlier.

The break-line verse of folio 196v is at its expected place at the left corner

above the painting, just after the step. It describes the moment when Iskandar sees

with admiration the daughter of Kayd, arriving on a throne with ten elephants, a

bounty of jewels and crowns and ten camels of gold, coins and dinars. All these were

brought back by nine philosophers despatched to India to verify the four marvels

promised by Kayd in his letter to Iskandar. The break-line verse reads:36

ℜ…[ ℜ∴⊥ [ζ∼ … ℜ…ψ … ℜ↓ ≠°• ℜ…[ ⇓ ∴⊥ υζ♣ ≠♦≥ ψϖ×♦∼

Sikandar gazed upon her stately form,

Her hair, her face, and all from head to foot.37

It appears that the step was designed to accommodate the break-line verse. Perhaps

the image was originally intended to be rectangular with a height the equivalent of ten

verses, which is the average height of extant rectangular images in the First Small

Shahnama. It seems, however, that when the calligrapher got near this critical verse,

he decided to step the image by one unit in order to provide room for it, as otherwise

it would have fallen on the next page.

36 Mohl, Ch. 20, p. 1423, verse 382; Bertels’, VII, 25, verse 342. 37 Warner & Warner, VII, 104, para. 10.

25

Malika falls in love with Shapur Zu’l-Aktaf. In contrast with mildly stepped images

where the step may often be explained in relation to the break-line verse, pronounced

or multi-stepped images are more likely to have been designed as a function of the

scene to be depicted rather than the position of the break-line verse.

An example of a multi-stepped image in the First Small Shahnama is shown in

fig. 13 (Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.54). It shows the army of Shapur

Zu’l-Aktaf entering the fort of Ta’ir, the Ghassanian king, while Ta’ir’s daughter

Malika and her guardian are looking on from the window of the fort. Malika falls in

love with Shapur, and sends a message that if he marries her, the fortress shall be his

and offering herself as its most beautiful ornament. The break-line verse narrating this

moment is:38

δ∼[∝↓″∴÷ϕ♣� °≥[ρ″∴÷ϕ δ∼[∝↓″∴÷↓� ρ…δ� ♣ψ|⊥

Is great, my very blood, and him I call

‘The World’ because he is the world to me.39

The shape of the painting is clearly designed to follow the form of the fort, rather than

the positioning of the break-line verse. In this image, the break-line verse is located at

the top-most right corner just before the first step. That the shape of the image is a

function of the scene being depicted is corroborated by the fact the same scene, also

illustrated in the Second Small Shahnama, is likewise drawn with a multi-stepped

frame.40

38 Mohl, Ch. 30, p. 1572, verse 68; Bertels’, VII, 222, verse 56. 39 Warner & Warner, Vol. VI, p. 331, para. 2. 40 Marianna Shreve Simpson, “The pattern of early Shahnama illustration”, in Studia Artium

Orientalis et Occidentalis 1, Problems in the relation between text and illustration (Osaka,

1982), 43-53.

26

PRACTICAL USE OF THE BREAK-LINE VERSE

The break-line verse has useful practical applications. It can be used to sort Shahnama

images from a set of manuscripts in accordance with the flow of the narrative, thus

enabling a quick identification of identical or similar scenes in different manuscripts.

Because of its close link with the image, the break-line verse can also be a base for the

precise identification, titling and classification of Shahnama scenes. It also provides

objective information for accurate folio numbering of fragmented manuscripts, and

for estimating the total number of original paintings in a now incomplete, dismantled

manuscript.

Other applications of the break-line verse are the statistical analysis of rates and

patterns of illustrations, the dating of manuscripts by analytical methods, and in

general the quantification of the relationship between text and image in Persian

illustrated manuscripts. The demonstration of these potential areas of applications

falls outside the scope of this article and will be presented in a sequence of separate

papers.

List of illustrations

Fig. 1 Rustam’s seventh feat: He kills the White Div. First Small Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., 69.74.7. Fig. 2 Second battle between Afrasiyab and Nauzar. First Small Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.7. Fig. 3 Qaidafa counsels Iskandar. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300.

27

Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.46r. Fig. 4 Bahram Gur snatches the crown from between two lions. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300 Kansas City, 46.41. Fig. 5 Rustam catches Rakhsh. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms104.8. Fig. 6 Rustam catches Rakhsh. Second Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. McGill University Library, Montreal, 1977.3. Fig. 7 Bahram Gur at home of Baraham the Jew. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms 104.55. Fig. 8 Bahram Gur at home of Baraham the Jew. Second Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Brooklyn Museum, N. Y., L. 63.9.76. Fig. 9 Rustam lassoes Kamus. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.22. Fig. 10 Bahram Gur kills the karg. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.60. Fig. 11 a. Rustam’s first feat: Rakhsh kills a lion; b. Rustam washes Rakhsh in the spring. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., 69.74.8-9. Fig. 12 Iskandar receives the daughter of Kaid, the King of Hind. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.44. Fig. 13 Malika falls in love with Shapur Zu’l-Aktaf as he besieges Ta’ir’s castle. First Small’ Shahnama, Baghdad, ca 1300. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, ms. 104.54.

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29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

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