{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘Yaqub was a major patron and under him the style of miniature art became increasingly exuberant and colorful, trees and plants forming a tapestry-like ensemble for the richly dressed figures of his court.

‘This style, though originally based upon the Herat school, contrasted with the contemporary work in Herat where Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the last Timurid ruler of note, presided for 35 years, until 1506[ce],* over a court at which the arts of the book reached their peak.** The calligrapher Sultan Ali Mashadi and the painters Mirak and Bihzad shone in the circle dominated by the poet and mystic Jami#** (1414-92[ce]) who composed biographies of the Sufi saints and a collection of stories about them in the Baharistan*** or Spring Land,*** the Haft Aurang of seven poems with allegorical meaning, as well as lyrical poems (ghazals).*** His dominance does not mean that the earlier poets Sa‘di, Nizami, or Amir Khusran were neglected and indeed and indeed the best attested work Bihzad illustrates these poets. It follows that the central point of the work of his school was man [sic]; **** but men in quiet relation to one another rather than in action. Architecture too plays its part as a support for the brilliant blue-dominated harmony,# conveying an ideal picture of life.’

#*

*2048G~1536[ce]

**cf [[Redbook9:134][19910420:0953i]{Art Cycles (2 [continued])}[20th April 1991],] 134,

[[Redbook9:175-179][19910421:1410aaa]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts}[21st April 1991],] 175

***[Italics per text source]

****m~?

#m~

#*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 453-454

#**[[Redbook9:113][19910415:0840]{[Islamic Art –] The Word (2) [continued (19)]}[15th April 1991];

[[Redbook9:177][19910421:1410eee]{[Islamic Art –] Late Arts [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]]

<20241015nyp>

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:168][19910421:1410oo]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘About 1440[ce] a Shah-nama* manuscript, now in the keeping of the Royal Asiatic Society of London, was prepared for him** with 31 miniatures, which reach the highest pitch of romantic feeling*** in their ethereal landscapes and chivalrous battle scenes.’

****

*(Book of Kings)

**Muhammad Juki

***G~

**** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:453]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1) [continued]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘The miniatures,* particularly that of Iskander watching the Sirens swimming,** have an intimate charm....’

***

*for Shah Rukh, 1431[ce]

**{An old theme of G~-R~}

[See earlier Vols, eg ? II, III]

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:453]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1)}*[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:168-169][19910421:1410mm]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late arts of the book (1)}*[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘Shiraz had been a pioneer in the introduction of elegant floral decoration into illumination in the final decades of the 14^th century;** now there were added numerous Chinese motifs – dragon and phoenix, lions playing with ribbons, ducks and wild geese.’

***

*{ref [[Redbook9:134][19910420:0953i]{Art Cycles (2 [continued])}[20th April 1991],] 134}

{+ [[Redbook9:166][19910421:1410ii]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991],] 166}

**{2048J~1408[ce]}

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:453]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:167-168][19910421:1410ll]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (6)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

It must also be borne in mind* that two critical factors in the success of a military campaign are the condition of the aggressor and the condition of the defender. M~ is the side of concentration, G~ of dissolution: so that although in theory M~ favours the determined actor, this is counterbalanced by the tendency towards dissolution around G~. Presumably dissolution is worse news for stable** societies than for nomadic ones, in whom it is even more likely than in the former to take the form*** of a tendency towards outward migration: ‘The great destructive sweep of the Mongol hordes through Iran...’.**** In other words, outward emigration is bad# for cities and agricultural economies, but good for nomadic peoples; it may look like a concentrated military invasion typical of M~, and will probably have elements of that on some scale, but it is essentially quite different.

*[re last two previous ts journal entries, [Redbook9:167][19910421:1410jj]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]&f]

**[ie settled? – physically]

***(as in the last 3 centuries in Europe)

**** – [[Redbook9:162][19910421:1410w]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 14) – ]{... and the Zodiac [continued (5)]}}[21st April 1991],] 162 above

(quoting ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 445)

#or at least potentially weakening

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:167][19910421:1410kk]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (5)]}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

A theory considered earlier* (in relation to invasions of Britain, eg Saxon-Viking-Norman) suggests that quite apart from the effect of timing on their likelihood of occurrence and on their chance of success, the effect of a conquest will last only as long as some term within the cycle of which it is on the M~ side. So it is interesting to compare the duration of Barbarian Christian Europe ** – basically, so far, until now – with that of the Mongol and Timurid conquests,*** which were relatively short-lived, like the Viking conquests (and arguably the Norman) in Britain.

****

*ref VIII. [] ….

**& Islam? The religion has continued; but the Arab hegemony did not last beyond the Seljuks at the latest (1038[ce])

***[See last previous ts journal entry]

****& what about the Ottomans?

(See [[Redbook9:170][19910421:1410##]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] The Late Period}[21st April 1991],] 170).

I don’t think this theory is watertight!

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:167][19910421:1410jj]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

The successful Mongol and Timurid invasions of Islamdom occurred around 2048J~. Is there anything that distinguishes these invasions from those of 2048S~M~U~ – eg the German[ic] invasions of Europe, and of course the Arab conquests themselves?

Not really.* Invasions can occur at any time, and any time is the M~ side of some cycle: in this case, the 1024-year cycle from 1024CE to 2048CE.

*But see below

[– next two ts journal entries]

**[on?]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:166][19910421:1410ii]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘After architecture, the major arts of the Timurid period were those of the book: calligraphy,* illumination, miniature painting, and binding. We have seen how these developed in the late Mongol period and came to full fruition in the twin capitals of the Jalayrids, Tabriz and Baghdad. Under Shah Rukh these cities lost their primacy. Baghdad indeed recovered briefly when it was for five years, 1460-05[ce], the seat of government of Pir-Budaq, a Turkman princely connoisseur.’

**

*ref [[Redbook9:134][19910420:0953i]{Art Cycles (2 [continued])}[20th April 1991],] 134

{[[Redbook9:168-169][19910421:1410#]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Late Arts of the Book (1)}[21st April 1991],] 168}

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 453

[Source text continued from last previous ts journal entry]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:166][19910421:1410hh]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration [continued]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘Herat at the end of the Timurid period was described by the future Emperor Babur in 1506, before its capture by Shaybani Khan, as full of learned men: poets, musicians, artists, calligraphers, bringing every work to perfection. But of all the palaces and gardens he visited, nothing remains today.

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 453

[Source text continues in next ts journal entry]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:166-168][19910421:1410gg]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Invasion and Migration}[21st April 1991]

19910421:1410

[continued]

‘The Timurid and Turkmen rule of eastern Anatolia, Iran, and central Asia (1370-1506[ce]).

The world-conqueror Timur Leng (Tamurlane)[,] in spite of his Muslim commitment, inflicted as great a damage on the lands which he subdued between 1370 and 1405* from Transoxiana to Turkey and Syria as had the Mongols 150 years earlier. At his death in 1405** he was leading a great army to the conquest of China where the first emperor of the Ming dynasty Hung Wu was as ruthless a general as himself; both rulers, however, were builders and patrons of the traditional arts.’

*{2048J~1280[ce]|{JG~1408[ce]|}G~1536[ce]}

**{2048JG~1408[ce]}

***– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 451

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy [continued (4)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] (446-)447

[The illustrations accompanying this double-page article are not reproduced here]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:165][19910421:1410ee]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy [continued (3)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] (446-)447

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy [continued]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:165][19910421:1410dd]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy [continued]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

[A continuation of the article begun in the last previous ts journal entry, describing Kufic script variations in detail, is not included here; it includes the sentence: 'The sacred import of the text is described in deliberate, abstract terms'.**]

*[It seems that at some stage the practice developed of giving Kufic script human heads!]

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] (446-)447

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:164-165][19910421:1410cc]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Islamic Calligraphy}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 446(-447)

cf [[Redbook9:134][19910420:0953i]{Art Cycles (2 [continued])}[20th April 1991],] 134

[continued]

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 18)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:163][19910421:1410bb]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 18)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘Influence from Inner Asia must have reached Egypt without passing through Iran, for the design and knotting of the Mamluk carpets of Cairo are distinct from the Persian in every way. The central design is of a star set in an octagon with the corners filled to make a square. This design originated in the Cloud Collar, a cosmological symbol which surrounded the peak of the nomad tent but had started as a Buddhist four-pointed cape. It can always be identified by the multiples of four and must have reached Mamluk Egypt through the Qipjaq on the Volga.’*

**

*{cf [[Redbook9:133-134][19910420:0953h]{Art Cycles (2)}[20th April 1991],] 134}

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 450-451

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{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 17)]}[21st April 1991]

[Redbook9:162][19910421:1410aa]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 17)]}[21st April 1991]

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[continued]

‘The Mamluks (1250-1517).*

The Mamluks were recruited as slave troops under the Ayyubids,** mainly from the region north of the Black Sea, then in the hands of the Golden Horde, the westernmost branch of the Mongols. The word “Mamluk” means “freed” and only the slaves who had been given their freedom after conversion to Islam and meritorious service were entitled to the name and were then eligible for civilian as well as military office of high rank. In 1259[ce] the Mamluk Baybars succeeded to the Ayyubid Empire in the control of which he was aided by other Mamluk emirs. Their offices were not hereditary but had to be filled by new generations of Mamluks. Their sons, having been born free, were disqualified. It was remarkable that such a regime retained power for 250 years, though there was a change of line in 1382[ce]*** when the rule passed to the Circassian or Burji Mamluk emirs with Barquq (1382-99[ce]) as first of this new line.

‘The period until 1322[ce] was dominated by the struggle to stem the advance of the Mongol armies into Syria. In 1322[ce] a truce was arrange in Aleppo....’

****

*{2048J~1280|G~1536[ce]}

**The dynasty of Saladin, who grew up in the service of the Zangids.

(ref [[Redbook9:161][19910421:1410v]{[Islamic Art –] Visual Arts [continued –] Periods of Islamic Art [continued 13) – ]{... and the Zodiac [continued (4)]}}[21st April 1991],] 161)

[– A reference to the photocopied text in that ms & ts journal entry, omitted from the blogged version]

***{2048JG~1408}

****– ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Arts 3:] 449

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