Battle between Manuchihr and Tur, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, c. 934–1020) c. 1610 India, Mughal, 17th century Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper Image: 12.4 x 11 cm (4 7/8 x 4 5/16 in.); Overall: 34.6 x 22.9 cm (13 5/8 x 9 in.) Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1945.171 DID YOU KNOW? Battles were waged to the sound of horns and the beat of drums on camels. DESCRIPTION This battle sets the stage for the ages-long enmity in the epic Shah-nama between the people of Iran and Turan—identified as Turkistan, the lands to the east of Iran. The conflict resulted from a bitter family feud that began when a warrior king divided his realm among his three sons; the older two were murderously jealous of the youngest, Iraj, to whom the best lands, those of Iran, were given. In this painting, the warrior in the center is Manuchihr, the grandson of Iraj, avenging his grandfather’s murder by slaying Tur, Iraj’s older brother to whom the less desirable lands of Turan were given. The confusion of battle is skillfully rendered through clustering warriors and warhorses together with varied postures, colors, and patterns. PROVENANCE ?-1945 (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1945- The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH CITATIONS Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Reproduced: cat. no. 21 EXHIBITION HISTORY Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003). Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 20-August 20, 2004). Treasury of the World: Jeweled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals. The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 24-May 19, 2002). Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).