Qizilbashes Representation in the Paintings of the Tahmasp Shahnama

The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (1524–76), also known as theShahnama-yi Shahi, is arguably the most luxuriously illustrated copy of Firdausi’s epic ever produced in the history of Persian painting.Its pages, with outstanding measurements for an illustrated book (approximately 48 x 32 cm), are made of fine paper enriched with large gold-sprinkled borders and lavish illuminations. Accompanying the 759 folios of text, written in superb nasta’liq script, are 258 paintings of exquisite quality and artistic originality.
This project was realized at the royal atelier in Tabriz, the first capital of the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736), and involved two generations of the most renowned artists of the time. Among them were Sultan Muhammad, Mir Musavvir, and Aqa Mirak, who succeeded each other as directors of the project through the years. Scholars still disagree about the actual dates of execution of the manuscript. It was begun around the early 1520s, probably under Shah Isma’il (r. 1501–24), the founder of the dynasty, and carried out for at least another twenty years under Shah Tahmasp, the manuscript’s dedicatee and principal sponsor.
The artistic importance of this manuscript cannot be overestimated. It is considered one of the highest achievements in the arts of the book for its superb calligraphy, painting, and illumination. From a pictorial point of view, it also marks the synthesis of the two most important phases of the Persian tradition—the Turkman style, which developed in Tabriz and Shiraz, and the Timurid style, associated with Herat.
Qizilbashes are among the sources of power in Safavid era that nearly a century held the most important posts of martial and political. They performed main role in governing of Safavids and shah Ismaeil could find to his political and religious goals with their aids. At the same time with Qizilbashes power, illustration of shah Tahmasp shahnama began with patronage of shah Ismaeil I (905-930 A.H/ 1499-1523 A.D) and finished in time of Shah Tahmasp I’ reign (930-984 A.H/ 1523-1576 A.D) and the Qizilbashes were illustrated in the paintings with their specific Qizilbash hat.
This researh with a descriptive-analytical and historical approach and with data collection in the basis of library, answers to the question that what is the achievement of painter in illustrating of Qizilbashes place and their importance in this era through of the shahnama of Shah Tahmasp paintings. It supposes the uniqe place of Qizilbashes in field of pilitical is the main reason of their representation in paintings of the shahnama of shah Tahmasp.
results of this research with confirmation of this supposition, show Qizilbash title, apart from a tribal title, indicates to a transpersonal aspect and even in Safavid time Iran has been identified with the name of Qizilbash country and presentment of a Qizilbash in the paintings of the shahnama of Shah Tahmasp indicates to a transpersonal and transtribal aspect in a lot of cases. The illustrated posts of the Qizilbashes in the paintings (courtier, martial and artistic) show this aspect of their capacity in a lot of cases.