Abstract
The versified ‘history’ of Timur (Tamerlane) by the Persian poet ‘Abd- Allah Hatifi (d. 1521) achieved considerable success in his lifetime, which spanned the turn of the fifteenth - sixteenth centuries and also the eclipse of the Timurid dynasty and its replacement in eastern Iran by the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) and in Transoxiana by the Uzbeks. This popularity is reflected in the large number of surviving manuscripts, both in Iran and in Ottoman, Indian and Central Asian collections, many of which are illustrated. This paper describes a number of illustrated manuscripts along with their paracontents, with the aim of drawing connections between them and comparing the milieux in which they were commissioned and received.
