Nizami's "Iskandarnamah"

A page from Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" (Book of Alexander), the fifth book of his "Khamsah" (Quintet), written in Nasta'liq script in the 16th-17 cent. Another textual fragment of Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" is also held in the collections of the Library of Congress (see 1-84-154.1b R & V). Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.5 (w) x 22.2 (h) cm Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" recounts Alexander the Great's (d. 323 B.C.) heroic exploits, battles, and journey to China, Gog and Magog, and the end of the world. It is loosely based on the epic narrative of Alexander's deeds as recounted by Firdawsi in his "Shahnamah" (Book of Kings), which may have drawn from the history of Alexander as penned down by his official biographer Callisthenes of Olynthus (ca. 370-327 B.C.). Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" has been translated into English by M. S. Southgate, "Iskandarnamah: A Persian Medieval Alexander-Romance" (New York, 1978). This folio includes a fragmentary text from Nizami's "Iskandarnamah" (Book of Alexander), the fifth book of his "Khamsah" (Quintet). Written during the last few decades of the 12th century A.D., the "Khamsah" consists of five books (kitab) written in rhyming distichs (mathnavi). This particular text is executed in black nasta'liq script in four columns separated by plain gutters. The text panel is framed by lines of various colors and pasted to a larger sheet bearing a number of a posteriori notes at the top. It appears to date from the 16th or 17th century. Script: nasta'liq 1-87-154.156 V