Ibrahim Mirza
Encyclopedia
Prince Ibrahim Mirza, Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā, in full Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (April 1540 – 23 February 1577) was a Persian prince of the Safavid dynasty, who was a favourite
of his uncle and father-in-law Shah Tahmasp I. He is now mainly remembered as a patron of the arts, especially the Persian miniature
. Although most of his library and art collection was apparently destroyed by his wife after his murder, surviving works commissioned by him include the manuscript of the Haft Awrang
of the poet Jami
which is now in the Freer Gallery of Art
in Washington D.C.
(1487–1524) by Ismail's fourth son, Prince Shahzadeh ‘Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Moez od-din Bahram Mirza (1518–50), who was Governor of Khorasan
1529–32, Gilan 1536–37 and Hamadan
1546–49, and also a commissioner of manuscripts. Two of his uncles and two of his brothers were to rebel against Tahmasp, but Ibrahim Mirza, who grew up at court, was for long time a favourite, and was appointed Governor of Mashad at the age of sixteen, arriving there in March 1556. The appointment had a nominal element — Tahmasp himself had received his first governorship at the age of four — but was also political, connected to Ibrahim Mirza's mother, who came from the Shirvanshah
dynasty of Tajiks.
In 1560 he married Tahmasp's eldest daughter Princess Shahzadeh Alamiyan Gowhar Soltan Beygom (1540 – May 19, 1577); they had one daughter, Gowhar Shad Begum (1561 – after 1582). Around the end of 1562 he was travelling to Ardabil
to take up the governorship there, when he was reported to the shah for his reaction to a joke that angered the shah, and the appointment was switched to the much less important governorship of Qa'en in Khorasan. However, in 1564–65 he had to suppress a major tribal revolt of the Takkalu, who used a slave army numbering 10,000.
After a few years the shah's anger had subsided, and Ibrahim Mirza was re-appointed to Mashad by 1565–66, although he was removed again "within a year or two, apparently for his failure to assist in rescuing the shah’s besieged son Solṭān Moḥammad Mīrzā". He was sent to govern Sabzavār until 1574 when, by now 34, he was recalled to the capital at Qasvin to serve as grand master of ceremonies (ešīk-āqāsī-bāšī). When Tahmasp died two years later, he was involved in the struggles at court over the succession, finally supporting the successful Ismail II
, who appointed him keeper of the royal seal (mohrdār). However, in less than a year he was killed in Qazvin, along with several other princes, in a general clear-out of potential rivals ordered by Ismail. The new shah, who may have been mentally unstable after spending twenty years in prison, had soon alienated the Qizilbash who were powerful at court, and it seems they had begun to look to Ibrahim Mirza as a possible replacement; the shah himself died, supposedly after consuming poisoned opium
, nine months later.
s. When Tahmasp, previously the leading patron of Persian painting at the time, ceased to commission manuscripts in the 1540s, Ibrahim Mirza's workshop was for a period the most important in Persia. As a poet he wrote several thousand lines, mostly in Persian but also in Turkish
.
The Freer Jami contains statements by the two calligraphers who copied the text that it was copied at Mashad, and another source states that one of them, Malik al-Daylami, went with Ibrahim Mirza to Mashad in 1556, and stayed for 18 months, before being recalled by the shah; he also tutored the prince in calligraphy. Despite requests from the prince he was not allowed back to Mashad before his death in 1561-62. The second calligrapher, Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, who had scribed the last major commission of Tahmasp, the Khamsa of Nizami, British Library
Or. 2265, died in Mashad in 1564-65.
There are 28 full-page miniatures, none signed or dated, but modern attributions have been made, not always finding consensus among scholars, to artists including Shaykh Muhammad, an important artist who is recorded joining Ibrahim Mirza in Sabzavar, and after his death returned to working for the shahs. Shaykh Muhammad may have been responsible for the individualized faces in certain pictures, atypical of Persian painting, and looking forward to the Mughal miniature tradition that was beginning just in these years, as other artists from Tahmasp's atelier joined the service of the Mughal emperor Humayun
. Indeed one artist, Mirza Ali, is claimed by Stuart Cary Welch
and others to have contributed to the Freer Jami, while the theory of Barbara Brend that he was the same person as Abd al-Samad would place him working for Humayun and his son Akbar in just these years, first in Kabul
and then in India. Another artist who worked for the prince was Ali Asghar, father of Reza Abbasi
, the leading artist of the next generation, who was born around 1565, perhaps at Mashad.
Welch suggests that some paintings were made in Qazvin by older artists, such as Aqa Mirak and Muzaffar Ali
, who remained there and sent to Mashad., but the account by another of the prince's calligraphers, Qazi Ahmad, though admittedly full of extravagant praise, makes it clear that Ibrahim Mirza took a good-sized contingent of artists and craftsmen with him to his posts, and spent much time among them. Other artists working on the manuscript have been given the titles of painters A and D, from their work on earlier manuscripts for Tahmasp. Ibrahim Mirza may also have commissioned manuscripts in Qazvin in the 1570s, the best period of production there. The miniatures in the book are crowded with figures, and in the example opposite textiles, too much so for many critics,. It appears Ibrahim Mirza identified himself with Yusuf (Joseph) and the images of him are probably intended as portraits. The manuscript has been described as "the last truly great one produced under the Safavid dynasty".
For Barbara Brend:
After Ibrahim Mirza was murdered, his wife, who only survived him by three months, is recorded as destroying his library and personal possessions, washing the manuscripts in water, smashing what was probably Chinese porcelain
, and burning other things. She also washed out a muraqqa
or album, containing miniatures by Behzad
among others, which her husband had compiled and given her for their wedding. Perhaps she did not want anything to fall into the hands of her brother, who had ordered his death, and who did take over the prince's atelier. Only two manuscripts commissioned by Ibrahim Mirza have survived, the Freer Jami and a much more "modest" manuscript of 1574, now in the Topkapi Palace
in Istanbul
, with just two illustrations. In 1582 his daughter compiled a book containing his poetry, with some miniatures, which survives in two copies, one in the Aga Khan Museum
and the other in the Golestan Palace
library in Teheran.
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
of his uncle and father-in-law Shah Tahmasp I. He is now mainly remembered as a patron of the arts, especially the Persian miniature
Persian miniature
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts...
. Although most of his library and art collection was apparently destroyed by his wife after his murder, surviving works commissioned by him include the manuscript of the Haft Awrang
Haft Awrang
Haft Awrang by Nur ad-Din Abd ar-Rahman Jami is a classic of Persian literature composed some time between 1468 to 1485...
of the poet Jami
Jami
Nur ad-Dīn Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī also known as DJāmī, Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti who is commonly known as Jami , is known for his achievements as a scholar, mystic, writer, composer of numerous lyrics and idylls, historian, and one of the greatest...
which is now in the Freer Gallery of Art
Freer Gallery of Art
The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Freer contains art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, as well as a significant collection of...
in Washington D.C.
Life
He was a grandson of the founder of the Safavid dynasty, Ismail IIsmail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
(1487–1524) by Ismail's fourth son, Prince Shahzadeh ‘Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Moez od-din Bahram Mirza (1518–50), who was Governor of Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
1529–32, Gilan 1536–37 and Hamadan
Hamadan
-Culture:Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets....
1546–49, and also a commissioner of manuscripts. Two of his uncles and two of his brothers were to rebel against Tahmasp, but Ibrahim Mirza, who grew up at court, was for long time a favourite, and was appointed Governor of Mashad at the age of sixteen, arriving there in March 1556. The appointment had a nominal element — Tahmasp himself had received his first governorship at the age of four — but was also political, connected to Ibrahim Mirza's mother, who came from the Shirvanshah
Shirvanshah
Shirvanshah also spelled as Shīrwān Shāh or Sharwān Shāh, was the title in mediaeval Islamic times of an Arab in Ethnos but speedily Persianized dynasty within their culturally Persian environment. The Shirvanshah established a native state in Shirvan...
dynasty of Tajiks.
In 1560 he married Tahmasp's eldest daughter Princess Shahzadeh Alamiyan Gowhar Soltan Beygom (1540 – May 19, 1577); they had one daughter, Gowhar Shad Begum (1561 – after 1582). Around the end of 1562 he was travelling to Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
to take up the governorship there, when he was reported to the shah for his reaction to a joke that angered the shah, and the appointment was switched to the much less important governorship of Qa'en in Khorasan. However, in 1564–65 he had to suppress a major tribal revolt of the Takkalu, who used a slave army numbering 10,000.
After a few years the shah's anger had subsided, and Ibrahim Mirza was re-appointed to Mashad by 1565–66, although he was removed again "within a year or two, apparently for his failure to assist in rescuing the shah’s besieged son Solṭān Moḥammad Mīrzā". He was sent to govern Sabzavār until 1574 when, by now 34, he was recalled to the capital at Qasvin to serve as grand master of ceremonies (ešīk-āqāsī-bāšī). When Tahmasp died two years later, he was involved in the struggles at court over the succession, finally supporting the successful Ismail II
Ismail II
Ismail II was the third Safavid Shah of Iran.-Life:Ismail was the son of Shah Tahmasp I by a Turcoman mother, Sultanum Bekum Mawsillu. In 1547, he was appointed governor of the province of Shirvan where he led several expeditions against the Ottomans...
, who appointed him keeper of the royal seal (mohrdār). However, in less than a year he was killed in Qazvin, along with several other princes, in a general clear-out of potential rivals ordered by Ismail. The new shah, who may have been mentally unstable after spending twenty years in prison, had soon alienated the Qizilbash who were powerful at court, and it seems they had begun to look to Ibrahim Mirza as a possible replacement; the shah himself died, supposedly after consuming poisoned opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, nine months later.
Patron of the arts
Like other Safavid princes Ibrahim Mirza practiced as a poet, artist and calligrapher, and patronized poets, musicians and other artists, but he was especially important for the atelier he maintained for the production of illuminated manuscriptIlluminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s. When Tahmasp, previously the leading patron of Persian painting at the time, ceased to commission manuscripts in the 1540s, Ibrahim Mirza's workshop was for a period the most important in Persia. As a poet he wrote several thousand lines, mostly in Persian but also in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.
The Freer Jami contains statements by the two calligraphers who copied the text that it was copied at Mashad, and another source states that one of them, Malik al-Daylami, went with Ibrahim Mirza to Mashad in 1556, and stayed for 18 months, before being recalled by the shah; he also tutored the prince in calligraphy. Despite requests from the prince he was not allowed back to Mashad before his death in 1561-62. The second calligrapher, Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, who had scribed the last major commission of Tahmasp, the Khamsa of Nizami, British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
Or. 2265, died in Mashad in 1564-65.
There are 28 full-page miniatures, none signed or dated, but modern attributions have been made, not always finding consensus among scholars, to artists including Shaykh Muhammad, an important artist who is recorded joining Ibrahim Mirza in Sabzavar, and after his death returned to working for the shahs. Shaykh Muhammad may have been responsible for the individualized faces in certain pictures, atypical of Persian painting, and looking forward to the Mughal miniature tradition that was beginning just in these years, as other artists from Tahmasp's atelier joined the service of the Mughal emperor Humayun
Humayun
Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...
. Indeed one artist, Mirza Ali, is claimed by Stuart Cary Welch
Stuart Cary Welch
Stuart Cary Welch Jr. was an American scholar and curator of Indian and Islamic art.-Life and career:Welch was born to a prominent family in Buffalo, New York. He began collecting drawings by Indian artists as a boy. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Harvard University in 1950, then...
and others to have contributed to the Freer Jami, while the theory of Barbara Brend that he was the same person as Abd al-Samad would place him working for Humayun and his son Akbar in just these years, first in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and then in India. Another artist who worked for the prince was Ali Asghar, father of Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi
Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually "Riza" or Reza Abbasi also Aqa Riza or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I...
, the leading artist of the next generation, who was born around 1565, perhaps at Mashad.
Welch suggests that some paintings were made in Qazvin by older artists, such as Aqa Mirak and Muzaffar Ali
Muzaffar Ali
Rajah Muzaffar Ali is an Indian film-maker, a fashion designer, a poet, an artist, a music-lover, a revivalist, and a social worker.He belongs to a Royal Muslim Rajput family of Kotwara. He is not to be confused with the famous 16th century Persian artist of the Persian miniature.Muzaffar Ali was...
, who remained there and sent to Mashad., but the account by another of the prince's calligraphers, Qazi Ahmad, though admittedly full of extravagant praise, makes it clear that Ibrahim Mirza took a good-sized contingent of artists and craftsmen with him to his posts, and spent much time among them. Other artists working on the manuscript have been given the titles of painters A and D, from their work on earlier manuscripts for Tahmasp. Ibrahim Mirza may also have commissioned manuscripts in Qazvin in the 1570s, the best period of production there. The miniatures in the book are crowded with figures, and in the example opposite textiles, too much so for many critics,. It appears Ibrahim Mirza identified himself with Yusuf (Joseph) and the images of him are probably intended as portraits. The manuscript has been described as "the last truly great one produced under the Safavid dynasty".
For Barbara Brend:
Superficially the illustrations to Jami's stories are very similar to those of works for Tahmasp; they are complex compositions of a high level of finish, but there are more figures which are slightly grotesque, more youths with a slightly louche, pussycat smile, and a palette which admits more brown and purple tertiary colours. The eye is pulled restlessly over the page from detail to detail. It is as though the painters had lost confidence in the power of the ostensible narrative subject to interest the viewer, and were searching for other means to hold the attention. Innocence had been lost; the classic works would continue to be illustrated, but only as a vehicle for the painters' skill; they seem no longer to have a mythic hold on the imagination. The future of painting was to lie in more realistic subjects, though their treatment often disguises that realism from us.
After Ibrahim Mirza was murdered, his wife, who only survived him by three months, is recorded as destroying his library and personal possessions, washing the manuscripts in water, smashing what was probably Chinese porcelain
Chinese porcelain
Chinese ceramic ware shows a continuous development since the pre-dynastic periods, and is one of the most significant forms of Chinese art. China is richly endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics. The first types of ceramics were made during the Palaeolithic era...
, and burning other things. She also washed out a muraqqa
Muraqqa
A Muraqqa is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter...
or album, containing miniatures by Behzad
Kamal ud-Din Behzad
Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād , also known as Kamal al-din Bihzad or Kamaleddin Behzad , was a painter of Persian miniatures and head of the royal ateliers in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurid and early Safavid periods.-Biography:...
among others, which her husband had compiled and given her for their wedding. Perhaps she did not want anything to fall into the hands of her brother, who had ordered his death, and who did take over the prince's atelier. Only two manuscripts commissioned by Ibrahim Mirza have survived, the Freer Jami and a much more "modest" manuscript of 1574, now in the Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, with just two illustrations. In 1582 his daughter compiled a book containing his poetry, with some miniatures, which survives in two copies, one in the Aga Khan Museum
Aga Khan Museum
The Aga Khan Museum is dedicated to the preservation of Muslim arts and culture. It is to be situated in Toronto, Canada and is expected to open in 2013. The museum is an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network...
and the other in the Golestan Palace
Golestan Palace
Golestān Palace pronounced "Kakheh Golestān" is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city.The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg...
library in Teheran.
External links
- Freer Gallery Online exhibition of the Freer Jami