File:The Murder of Dara by his Viziers, folio from a manuscript of The Book of Kings (Shahnameh) of Firdausi, Iran, Shiraz, dated 1494.jpg

English: The Murder of Dara by his Viziers

Folio from a manuscript of The Book of Kings (Shahnameh) of Firdausi

Accession Number:AKM53

Creator:Scribe: `Abd al-Dha`if Sultan `Ali Shirazi

Place:Iran, Shiraz

Dimensions:32.7 cm x 23.2 cm

Date:1494

Materials and Technique:opaque watercolour, gold and ink on paper

The Shahnameh (Book of Kings) is an epic poem completed in 1010 that relates the semi-legendary history of pre-Islamic Iran through the reigns of 50 kings, from Creation through the Arab conquests of the 7th century. Literary historians conventionally divide Firdausi’s poem into three sections—mythical, heroic, and historical. Covering the rule of kings who are known from the historical record, the third section begins with the reign of Iskandar, known in the West as Alexander of Macedon, or Alexander the Great. Though widely reviled throughout Iran as a foreign invader and a destroyer of Persian culture who brought the end to the great Achaemenid empire in 330 BC, Iskandar is portrayed more favourably in the Shahnameh. In contrast to historical fact, Firdausi relates that Iskandar was the son of Phillip of Macedon’s daughter and the Achaemenid shah Dara (Darius) II, making him the half-brother (and rival) of the last Achaemenid, Dara III.[1]

This illustration from a late 15th-century copy of the Shahnameh depicts one of the most dramatic moments in Firdausi’s epic. Having been pursued by Iskandar into northern Afghanistan, Dara III is betrayed and slaughtered by his own viziers. As he lay dying, Iskandar finds him and weeps over the demise of such worthy enemy. In his final words, Dara names Iskandar as his successor.