The Tuhfet ul-Leta’if
Shah Ramin at the Citadel of Dar ul-Bekam
Fol. 144v-145r from a manuscript of Tuhfet ul-Leta’if
Turkey, Istanbul, 1593–1594
Opaque watercolour, gold, and ink on paper
AKM280.40
Searching for his kidnapped beloved Mah-Pervin, Shah Ramin learns of an incredible city named Dar ul-Bekam (“City of Fulfilled Desires”). Its enormous citadel is guarded by four mighty towers topped by statues of mounted warriors. In this double illustration, Shah Ramin and his troops catch their first sight of the imposing stronghold. As Shah Ramin will soon discover, the four guardian figures are actually booby traps: unlocking the city gates triggers them to gush water, flooding the plain and drowning trespassers. The artist has adapted similar compositions of cityscapes from Ottoman manuscripts detailing the military exploits of the dynasty’s sultans. In particular, the four towers recall the thin minarets of Ottoman imperial mosques.