Ms Or 20 f.121r Mamud ibn Sebuktegin, Ghaznavid ruler, receiving a robe of honour from the Caliph al-Qadir Bi'llah, in 1000AD, miniature from the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din
Il-Khanid Tabriz
Opaque watercolour, ink, gold and silver on paper

Shelfmark: Or.Ms.20
Holding Institution: University of Edinburgh
Title: Jami' al-Tawarikh (World History)
Alternate Title: Compendium of Chronicles
Subset Index: f.121r detail
Creator: Rashid al-Din Ṭabib
Creator Nationality: Iranian
Creator Role: Author
Date: c.1306CE or c.1314/15CE

Detail of miniature from the Compendium of Chronicles by Rashid al-Din. Shows Mamud ibn Sebuktegin, ruler of the Ghaznavid Dynasty of Eastern Afghanistan from 998-1030CE, receiving a robe of honour from the Caliph al-Qadir Bi'llah, in 1000CE. Sebuktegin can be seen in the centre of the scene, standing on a platform before his throne as he puts on his robe. He is surrounded by attendants. Arguably the greatest treasure in the library, the Jami' al-Tawarikh, or Compendium of Chronicles, is a world history which encompasses a range of cultures, from China in the East, to Ireland in the West, from the time of Adam. It is written in the Naskh script and contains 70 illustrated folios. Written by the scholar and courtier Rashid al-Din (d.1318), there is some debate as to the exact date of this manuscript, but it was almost certainly completed within the author's lifetime, making it one of the earliest copies in existence. It is one of the three main sources for the life of Genghis Khan and is considered to be one of the most important medieval documents in the world.
Sources: Hukk, M (1925), A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library, Hertford. Talbot Rice, D. (1976), The Illustrations to the World History of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh.

Source: Edinburgh University Library

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Referenced as Figure 2. in Sultans with Horns: The Political Significance of Headgear in the Mamluk Empire by Albrecht Fuess
Maḥmūd of Ghaznah donning a khilʿah sent by the caliph al-Qāhir in A.D. 1000.