Shirin Visits Farhad at Mount Bisutun
Shirin Visits Farhad at Mount Bisutun
Fol. 81r from a manuscript of the Khamseh of Nizami
Iran, Shiraz, 1527
Opaque watercolour, gold, and ink on paper
AKM270
One episode from the romance Khusraw and Shirin centres on the selfless love of Farhad, a sculptor and engineer. When the Armenian queen Shirin commissions Farhad to build a milk-channel to flow to her castle, he instantly falls in love with her. Shirin’s lover, the Iranian prince Khusraw, is consumed with jealousy: in a ruse to divert the engineer’s attentions, he orders Farhad to carve a trade route through Mount Bisutun. Farhad accepts this seemingly impossible challenge on the condition that he is rewarded with Shirin’s hand. In this illustration, Shirin visits Bisutun, bringing Farhad a jug of milk as a memento. With this encouragement, Farhad nearly completes Khusraw’s project, however the king once again interferes, spreading a false rumour that Shirin has died. Consumed with grief, Farhad throws himself off the mountain.