Divan of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza

The Safavid prince Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (1540–1577) was a major patron of literature and painting, and also a noted poet, writing under the pen-name Jahi. In 1577, he was assassinated by order of his cousin, Shah Isma‘il II (r. 1576–1577), who aimed to eliminate all family rivals to the throne. Ibrahim Mirza’s widow destroyed most of her husband’s library, washing his beautiful manuscripts in water, perhaps to prevent the seizure of such treasured property. In the early 1580s, Ibrahim Mirza’s daughter Gawharshad had several thousand of his verses compiled into a divan (“collected works”) as a memorial to her father. Most of these poems are ghazals — short lyric poems, frequently addressing the pleasures and pains of love. The Aga Khan Museum’s sumptuously decorated copy was completed in 1582–1583 and contains six illustrations. The only other manuscript of this Divan is held in Tehran’s Golestan Palace Library.

AKM282.87, AKM282.86


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