Illustration from the Shahnama-i-Isma'il

Battle in the war between Shah Isma'il and the King of Shirvan.

A larger image of the Battle in the war between Shah Isma'il and the King of Shirvan, Persia, 1541. British Museum MS Add. 7784

The founder of the Safavids, Isma'il, charging down a mountain in pursuit of the King of Shirvan, an incident in his campaign to conquer Persia. Isma'il was a shi'ite, and his distinctive turban has twelve folds representing the twelve Imams of whom 'Ali was the first. Persian (Safavid, Tabriz style), 1541.
MS Add. 7784, f.46v. British Museum, London.
Source: p.278, The Age of Expansion, Europe and the World 1559-1660 Hugh Trevor-Roper (Ed.). Photo: John Freeman.