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Paper abstract:

The Timurid prince Sultan Husain Bayqara commissioned paintings and manuscripts in 15th-century Herat. His court had literary majlises, or poetry gatherings, in which Ali Shir Navai and Abdul Rahman Jami were the main figures. Herat at this time reached great cultural and artistic heights during Bayqara’s rulership. Sultan Bayqara was, however, a product of his ancestor Timur’s legacy, who had brought artisans and craftsmen from all the lands he had conquered to his capital Samarqand. After a discussion of how Timurid patronage and harnessing of artistic talent came about, this paper then focuses specifically on the manuscript patronage of Sultan Bayqara. I argue that without Timur’s passion for historiography and architecture, Sultan Husain Bayqara’s reign in which art and culture reached such a plateau would not be possible. Sultan Husain Bayqara commissioned a famous illustrated Zafarnama, also known as the Garrett or Baltimore Zafarnama, at the end of the 15th century with magnificent miniatures attributed to the great artist Bihzad. Another masterpiece is the Divan of Sultan Husain Bayqara written by him and copied by the famous calligrapher Sultan Ali Mashhadi in 1500 CE. It demonstrates the sultan’s erudition and refinement. This patronage of artistic endeavors by Sultan Husain Bayqara demonstrates a keen love for historiography and poetry, the foundations of which will be the main discussion of this article.

Sultan Husain Bayqara continued his patronage of manuscript production in Herat’s royal library called kutubkhana built by his Timurid great-granduncle Shahruh. The famous calligrapher of the time was Sultan Ali Mashhadiy, and his manuscripts were extremely highly prized. Almost every court In Khorasan and Transoxiana kept specimens of his calligraphy in libraries. The artist Kamal al-Din Bihzad was central to fulfilling his commissioned manuscripts. My argument is going further with Sultan Husain Bayqara’s great patronage of cultivating art and manuscript production, which he was able to continue through his ancestor Timur’s legacy. I argue that the many achievements in Sultan Husain Bayqara’s court were successfully executed given their unique approach to extending Mongol ancestral traditions.