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An Allegorical Call to Action: Habib Allah’s Seventeenth-Century Persian Painting Folio 11r, “The Concourse of the Birds”

Grace Landon

Master of Arts, Art History

University of California, Davis

May 26, 2020

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Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………..……… iii

Introduction………………………………………………………………………..…………. 1

Literature Review………………………..……………………………………….…………..... 3

Habib Allah’s Folio 11r………………………………………………….……….……………. 5

Twelfth-Century Foundations of the Allegory……………………………………………….....8

Attar’s Symbolic Assignments……………………………………………....……………...… 12

Literary Foundations: Attar’s Expansion of Bird Symbolism….………………………...…... 20

Production History of the Illuminated Manuscript………………..………………………..... 23

The Iconography of Folio 11r……………………………………..………………………..... 27

A Modern Iteration of Folio 11r’s Visual Formula………………..………………………..... 37

Conclusion………………………………………………………..………………………..... 44

Illustrations……….……………………………………………………………...……….….46

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..57

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Abstract

Farid ud-din Attar’s twelfth-century Persian poetic narrative, Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of

the Birds) introduced an entirely new presentation of the Sufi doctrine utilizing an innovative

avian allegory that provided a path away from worldly afflictions towards spiritual

enlightenment, thus provoking a corrective course of action. Habib Allah’s illustration, folio 11r:

“The Concourse of the Birds,” (c.1600, Isfahan) is the only page in the entire corresponding

illuminated manuscript that directly depicts Attar’s allegory and the meta-narrative of The

Conference of the Birds. To date, there has not been substantial individual research on the

allegorical and iconographic meanings of folio 11r. One of the few studies that has been done

asserts that there is no iconographic meaning at all. This thesis directly contradicts that claim. In

folio 11r “The Concourse of the Birds,” Habib Allah interwove Attar’s original avian allegory

and groundbreaking symbolic assignments with specifically chosen sociopolitical and mystical

iconographies from both the Timurid and Safavid Dynasties to create an effective and enduring

visual formula that enhances the delivery of allegorical calls to action. A comparison of these

elements in Habib Allah’s seventeenth-century Persian painting and Shiva Ahmadi’s

contemporary painting, Safe Haven (2012) is a testament to the enduring legacy of this visual

formula.

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Taking Flight:

An Allegorical Call to Action in Habib Allah’s Seventeenth Century Persian Painting Folio

11r, “The Concourse of the Birds”

Islamic Mysticism has had a long-standing tradition of utilizing bird imagery wherein

birds serve as mediators of divine wisdom and tellers of truth who have the power to reveal the

essential, core lessons of Sufism.1 In mystical texts, illuminated manuscripts and other art forms,

birds were used as messengers of God, symbolic of human souls on Sufi pilgrimages, or as souls

ascending towards the Divine Kingdom. Folio 11r, “The Concourse of the Birds” (Habib Allah,

c. 1600, Isfahan) (Fig 1) is an understudied and important painting in the Persian illuminated

manuscript based on a twelfth-century Sufi text, Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds)

by Farid ud-din Attar. This painting is the only illustration in the entire illuminated manuscript

that depicts Attar’s revolutionary avian allegory with new symbolism wherein each bird

symbolizes a specific human flaw and frailty and expresses a specific resistance to spiritual

development.

Habib Allah’s corresponding visualization of Attar’s novel allegory2 depicts the seminal

moment of the meta-narrative that transformed access to the Sufi doctrine through its

humanizing and encouraging dialogue between the various birds and their spiritual leader, the

Hoopoe, about the decision to embark upon a spiritual pilgrimage. Habib Allah’s focus on this

dialogical exchange, a compassionate embodiment of the challenges of the journey towards

1 Maria-Àngels Roque, “Birds: Metaphor of the Soul,” European Institute of the Mediterranean, no. 20 (2014): 97-107. 2 The definition of allegory is: “the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence.” See: “allegory.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allegory (accessed May 14, 2020).

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enlightenment, delivered a new lens through which to respond to the Sufi doctrine, but also

functioned as an allegorical call to spiritual action. In folio 11r “The Concourse of the Birds,”

(Fig 1) Habib Allah interwove Attar’s original avian allegory and groundbreaking symbolic

assignments with specifically chosen sociopolitical and mystical iconographies from both the

Timurid and Safavid Dynasties to create an effective and enduring visual formula that enhances

the delivery of allegorical calls to action.

Because Habib Allah’s illustration was one of the last folios added to the manuscript, its

visual language incorporates the iconographies of both the Timurid (1370-1507) and Safavid

(1501-1722) dynasties. Each dynasty repurposed the illuminated manuscript for their own

sociopolitical agendas. Tracing the unusual production history of the illuminated manuscript

arising from Attar’s twelfth-century poetic narrative contributes contextual meanings essential to

decoding the various iconographies Habib Allah employed to enhance and deliver the allegorical

messaging of folio 11r. This combination of textual and visual elements coalesced to effectively

express Attar’s new approach to Sufi virtues and guidance which prompted the choice to pursue

a spiritual course. This thesis identifies Attar’s symbolic assignments of the birds depicted in

folio 11r, translates the iconographic complexity and historiography behind the pictorial formula

of Habib Allah’s illustration, and then proceeds to explicate the longevity of its prescriptive

equation, the lasting features of which are further explored in the work of the contemporary

artist, Shiva Ahmadi.

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Literature Review

The folios from the illuminated manuscript, including folio 11r, are currently preserved

and displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which it acquired in 1963.3 The

whereabouts of the manuscript, between its removal from the Ardabil Shrine in Iran in 1694 and

its resurfacing in 1963, are unknown.4 The significant gaps in the historical record of the

manuscript’s location5 and display history6 may explain the dearth of scholarship on the

manuscript.

To date, there is little research on the text-image relationships and metaphorical meanings

in the illuminated manuscript. Various scholars have provided contextual information discussing

the symbolism,7 visual characteristics and historiography of contemporary illustrated miniatures

from the fifteenth,8 and seventeenth centuries,9 along with discussing the incorporation of

symbolism from Persian poetry in these comparative illustrations.10 Yumiko Kamada’s work11

provides an extensive summary of the content and condition of the illuminated manuscript of The

Conference of the Birds. Kamada provides an overview of all the folios in the manuscript,

3 Yumiko Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” Orient 45, no. 0 (2010): 130. https://doi.org/10.5356/orient.45.129. 4 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy, 130. 5 After the manuscript’s removal from the Ardabil Shrine in Iran in 1694, it may have been taken to India. Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 132. 6 The illuminated manuscript of The Conference of the Birds was not one of the one-hundred and sixty-six manuscripts that were collected by Count Soukhtaline in 1828, which are currently held in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. There were centuries where scholars had no idea where the manuscript was, who possessed it, or if it was even displayed. Sheila R. Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran (London: The British Museum, 2009), 171. 7 See Carl W. Ernst, “The Symbolism of Birds and Flight in the Writings of Rūzbihān Baqlī,” in The Legacy of Medieval Persian Sufism, ed. by Leonard Lewisohn (London: Khaniqahi Nimatullahi, 1992), 353-366. 8 See Marie G. Lukens, “The Fifteenth-Century Miniatures,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25, no. 9 (1967): 317-338, https://doi.org/10.2307/3258827. 9 See Ernst J. Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25, no. 9 (1967): 339-352, https://doi.org/10.2307/3258828. 10 See both Lukens, “The Fifteenth-Century Miniatures,” 317-338, and Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 339-352. 11 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 129-155.

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establishes which dynasty the illustrations arose from, and posits some possible meanings of the

motifs therein. In her analysis of the text-image relationship of the composite manuscript, she

reviews the studies to date: those which attempt to identify the artists and patrons who engaged

with the manuscript,12 and others investigating which illustrations came from the Timurid and

Safavid periods.13

In particular, there are few investigations of the individual illustrations,14 or what parts of

the text they related to.15 There is only one study of an individual folio, 35r, wherein motifs

arising from Sufism or literature have been explicated.16 Other works have attempted to

categorize the artworks according to archetypes.17 In her analysis, Kamada comments that the

motifs in Habib Allah’s folio 11r, “The Concourse of the Birds,” were only included in the

illustration to add a Timurid flavor to the Safavid painting, but “are not intended to convey any

metaphorical meaning.”18 This paper contradicts that assertion with an analysis of the elements

of folio 11r that details which motifs arise from the text, and which have metaphorical meanings

tied to established Timurid and Safavid iconographies. All of these motifs work together to

enhance the delivery of Attar’s Sufi allegory and provoke its idealistic call to action. Attar’s

12 Marie Lukens Swietochowski, “The Historical Background and Illustrative Character of the Metropolitan Museum’s Mantiq al-Tayr of 1483,” in Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ed. Richard Ettinghausen (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972), 39-72. 13 See: Maria Eva Subtelny, “The Poetic Circle at the Court of the Timurid, Sultan Husain Baiqara, and Its Poetical Significance,” PhD diss., Harvard University, 1979; Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, “Khwāje Mīrak Naqqāsh,” Journal Asiatique 276, no. 1 (January 1988): 97-146, https://doi.org/10.2143/ja.276.1.2011528 and Priscilla Soucek, “Calligraphy in the Safavid Period 1501-76,” in Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran 1501-1576, ed. Jon Thompson and Sheila R. Canby (Milan: Skira, 2003), 48-71. 14 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 129-155. 15 Swietochowski, “Historical Background and Illustrative Character,” 39-72. 16 Rachel Milstein, “Sufi Elements in the Late Fifteenth Century painting of Herāt,” in Studies in Memory of Gaston Wiet, ed. Myriam Rosen-Ayalon (Jerusalem: Institute of Asian and African Studies, 1977), 357-369. 17 Richard Ettinghausen, “The Categorization of Persian Painting,” in Studies in Judaism and Islam: Presented to Shelomo Dov Goitein on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday by His Students, Colleagues and Friends, ed. Shelomo Morag et al (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1981), 55-63. 18 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 143.

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narrative and allegory are anchored in and substantiated through the significant iconographical

and metaphorical messaging of Habib Allah’s (folio 11r’s) visual program.

Habib Allah’s Folio 11r

Habib Allah’s folio 11r (Fig 1) depicts a gathering of several types of bird species who

are outlined against a soft lavender landscape with a glowing golden sky, all set within a deep

indigo gold-flecked margin. The realism of the bird figures contrasts with the idealized, lyrical

renderings of the landscape. The visual characteristics of each breed, their positioning within the

landscape, and their focus on the Hoopoe reinforces and expands Attar’s extended metaphor

linking the variety of the birds’ excuses and resistance to the Hoopoe’s articulation of the basic

virtues and stages of spiritual pilgrimage.

The importance of the allegory’s call to action is emphasized in the two textboxes in the

folio, one in the upper right corner and the other in the lower left. The subject matter of the

textboxes further anchors the illustration in the dialogical exchange between the Hoopoe and the

congregated birds. The words in the textboxes establish the Hoopoe as a spiritual leader

equipped with the esoteric knowledge necessary to be their guide on a Sufi pilgrimage. The

textboxes translate as: “I’m a bird and there is doubt in that. I’m the Imam and the messenger of

God who teaches you what is unknown. I learned under the hands of every Imam, so I have

become wisely a secret keeper.” 19 The first line communicates the Hoopoe’s function as

something beyond just a bird. The next lines affirm his role as their spiritual leader and one who

has acquired the esoteric knowledge necessary to be their guide on a Sufi pilgrimage. These

19 Omar Abdel-Ghafour, personal communication with Hesham Ahmed and Grace Landon, May 9, 2020.

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textboxes reinforce the critical role that the Hoopoe plays as the Shaykh and emphasize the

conversational exchange occurring in the moment being depicted.

The textboxes reference the Hoopoe’s larger appeal to the birds: that they depart upon a

journey under his guidance to find the almighty Simurgh and ask it to be their ultimate King.20

The journey is symbolic of the Sufi path and the Simurgh is symbolic of God and divine

reunification. In lines 730-735 of Attar’s text, the Hoopoe states:

“If you desire this quest, give up your soul And make our sovereign’s court your only goal. First wash your hands of life if you would say:

“I am a pilgrim of our Sovereign’s Way;” Renounce your soul for love; He you pursue

Will sacrifice His inmost soul for you.” 21

In lines 705-716 of Attar’s text, the Hoopoe also states:

“Join me, and when at least we end our quest Our King will greet you as His honoured guest.

How long will you persist in blasphemy? Escape your self-hood’s vicious tyranny—

Whoever can evade the Self transcends This world and as a lover he ascends.

Set free your soul; impatient of delay, step out along our sovereign’s royal Way: We have a king; beyond Kaf’s mountain peak

The Simurgh lives, the Sovereign whom you seek, And He is always near to us, though we

Live far from His transcendent majesty.” 22

The rest of the elements in Habib Allah’s illustration: its figures and forms, its organization and

color choices, are additional visual cues that trigger associations and states related to established

iconographies that extend and expand the allegory.

20 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 143. 21 ‘Attar, Farid ud-din, Afkham Darbandi, and Dick Davis, The Conference of the Birds (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2011), 44. 22 Attar, Darbandi and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 43.

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The birds are congregated in a loosely arranged circle on a mountainside with a stream

running through it. There is an outcropping of intricately outlined rocks full of crag-like

indentations and jutting swells in the lower left corner of the illustration. The highly stylized

design of the tan rocks is accentuated by both the soft green-grey shadowing between them and

the use of red and black outlining around some of the larger rocks. Three birds are perched atop

these rocks. Then, there is a smaller black bird nesting in a grassy hollow at the base of the

outcrop to the right of the lower textbox. The soft brown ochres and sage greens of this corner

compliment the muted lavender hillside. The coloring of the hillside contrasts with the lush

emerald green grasses lining the dark waters of the stream. Small blue and red flowers emerge

from the variety of plants on either side of the stream that flows through the landscape at a

diagonal from the base of the tree halfway up the mountainside on the left, down to the lower

right corner. The lavender landscape is dotted with various branched shrubs and grasses and is

strewn with rocks of different sizes upon which several birds are perched. Both the birds and the

foliage are imbued with their own unique characteristics typical of each species.

A tree arises from the top of the stream: its trunk curves up along the left margin and its

branches tilt right and soar up over the mountains in the upper right corner, and then extend

through the golden sky and out into the gold-flecked indigo margins. The stylized bark of the

tree is characterized by starry-shaped scarring and the darkened hollows of old growth. The

sinuous branches are adorned with green and yellow tinged five-point leaves. A brown snake

slithers up the main branch towards a nest holding two eggs. The large, rugged rocks of the

mountaintop in the upper right corner arise from the lavender hillside; the pinnacle is set against

the shining, golden sky. Contrasting with the other rocks in the lower landscape, this

mountainside integrates the purples, blues and greens of the landscape and the browns and

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ochres of the rocks. There are two goats and a hunter with a gun nestled between these large

boulders. A shapely shrub emerges above the hunter’s head, counterbalancing the tree on the

other side of the mountain. The illustration is bordered by orange, black, teal, gold and white

outlines that separate it from the gold-flecked margin. However, where the tree branches extend

into the margin, these outlines are missing. Folio 11r’s detailed illumination and sumptuous rich

pigments shimmer and glow from the parchment.

There is no confusion about the artist of folio 11r. Court artist Habib Allah signed his

name in a Safavid signatory style on a rock in the stream that is surrounded by ducks and geese

in the illustration. His signature is a unique time stamp that affirms that this folio was produced

under the Isfahan atelier of Shah ‘Abbas.23 In folio 11r, Habib Allah utilized and blended

iconographies and pictorial designs from both the Timurid and Safavid dynasties to produce a

powerful, dynamic and unique visual language program that extended the valence of the

allegory. The compositional arrangement, the positioning of the figures, the elements and colors

of the landscape are all related to the socio-political and mystical iconographies Habib Allah

incorporated. However, prior to analyzing the motifs and iconographies of folio 11r, it is

essential to explore the fundamentals of Attar’s symbolic assignments and allegory: the textual

foundations of the scene.

Twelfth-Century Foundations of the Allegory

Farid ud-din Attar (1146-1220) was a celebrated twelfth-century Persian mystic poet,

theorist and hagiographer of Sufi saints from Nishapur, a northeastern city of Iran.24 Attar left a

23 Eleanor Sims, B. I. Marshak, and Ernst J. Grube, Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002) 171. 24 ‘Attar, Darbandi and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, x-xi.

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lasting legacy on Persian poetry, the Sufi doctrine and inspired later prolific poets such as Rumi.

One of his masterworks, The Conference of the Birds was an entirely new presentation of the

Sufi doctrine, which employed an innovative avian allegory that presented a unique expansion of

bird symbolism associated with Islamic mysticism. Attar’s allegorical narrative was so unique

that it has prompted several cross-cultural translations and interpretations.25 Prior to Attar’s

narrative, spiritual doctrines had consisted of steps, rules, ritual practices, stories and pedagogical

parables. But, in The Conference of the Birds, Attar developed an allegory that highlighted the

variability and individuality of spiritual progress. Attar humanized the Sufi doctrine through his

use of bird symbolism to identify the human qualities, emotions and reasoning used to resist

spiritual growth.

In the narrative, Attar assigned each bird a specific character flaw, which served as a

detailed explication of the obstacles to overcome in order to start and finish the Sufi path. The

Sufi pilgrimage requires relinquishing worldly distractions, shedding one’s mortal shell, and

unifying the soul with God.26 Attar articulates these various worldly distractions in his provision

of a specific symbolic assignment to each bird species. Each assignment represents a specific

human imperfection and reluctance in regard to spiritual development, including: doubt, fear,

superficial love, beauty, selfishness, pride, self-consciousness, greed, vanity, haughtiness and

confusion. These unprecedented symbolic representations of human qualms and flaws were the

building blocks of Attar’s extended allegory.

Each expression of one of these qualities then triggered a contingent response from the

bird’s spiritual guide, the Hoopoe, who articulated the proper Sufi virtue and practice necessary

25 ‘Attar, Darbandi and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, xviii-xxii. 26 John Baldock, The Essence of Sufism (London: Arcturus, 2017), 8-11.

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for overcoming the particular obstacle each bird represents. Those virtues are: purity of intention,

spiritual aspiration, justice, loyalty and perseverance. This back-and-forth riddle-like exchange,

plus the variety and sheer volume of his symbolic assignments were novel additions that both

created a new, humanizing approach to the Sufi doctrine and expanded the use of bird symbolism

within the context of Islamic mysticism.

Sufism reached its apogee in the twelfth century when Attar wrote The Conference of the

Birds. During this time, several different Sufi orders were forming, each of which were led by a

spiritual guide, a Shaykh. These Sufi orders contributed to the spread and institutionalization of

Sufism,27 which also dovetailed with the shift from didactic to illuminative writing. Illuminative

writing sought to convey the essence of spiritual experiences, not simply describe religious and

philosophical precepts. As an influential mystic, Farid ud-din Attar was at the forefront of this

shift in writing. As such, Attar’s narrative did not describe a literal journey through different

territories, full of concrete experiences had by the spiritual pilgrims, because he recognized that

each spiritual path involves its own process of discovery.28

There is no prescriptive path in Sufism. Instead, the Sufi path emphasizes self-exploration

to find God.29 Rather than focusing on religious law, theology, philosophy or other written

prescriptions, Sufis understand and experience God by turning inward and experiencing the

27 As Sufism continued to spread, so did the establishment of tomb and shrine complexes and their subsequent gifts and endowments. The rise of these complexes and gifts reflected the increase in reverence for Sufi Shaykhs and their teachings. Ladan Akbarnia and Francesca Leoni, Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), 3. 28 In his allegorical narrative, Attar says he cannot disclose the specific experiences of the birds during their journey, but those who choose to travel the Sufi path will know what the birds went through, again initiating incentive for his audience to embark upon a spiritual pursuit. Baldock, The Essence of Sufism, 153. 29 Courtney Stewart, “Art of the Sufis,” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018) 1-6.

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divine within themselves.30Attar relied on allegory to evoke and transmit several of spiritual

states to reinforce the Sufi virtue of self-exploration. The ultimate goal of Sufis is tawhid, the

mystical reunification and oneness with God.31 Attar’s text was not didactic like previous

mystical allegories, instead the narrative was tailored towards self-exploration and individual

motivation. In his allegory, Attar prioritized the creation of emotive and associative experiences.

Attar’s narrative provided details on the Sufi spiritual path, promoted Sufi values and

philosophies in his attempt to prompt the pursuit of spiritual growth.

Attar’s allegorical meta-narrative is that, after convening to discuss the merits of spiritual

pilgrimage, a group of birds embark on a journey in search of the Simurgh, a large mythical bird

they hope to make their king. The Hoopoe, symbolic of a Sufi Shaykh, helps and advises the

birds, serving as their spiritual guide. The large group travels through several valleys that

represent Sufi Maqams, spiritual stations. Only thirty birds remain at this point. When the birds

finally reach the Simurgh, they see a reflection of themselves and they have the revelation that

what they wanted is present within. In Persian, si means thirty and murgh means bird(s), a

creative word-pun on Attar’s part. The meta-narrative is an extended allegory of the Sufis in

search of God, who eventually find the divine awareness they seek within themselves.32

30 In the epilogue of the narrative, Attar described his personal struggles with trying to use words to convey the incomprehensible, and to describe the Sufi path toward spiritual enlightenment that he himself had not obtained. His expressions of awareness of these challenges may have informed the development of his compassionate, encouraging allegory, illuminated by Habib Allah’s folio 11r. Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, xx-xxi. 31 Once pilgrims decide to embark upon the Sufi path (tariqa) towards enlightenment, they will follow their “inner light that polishes the mirror of his or her heart…” in addition to the counsel provided by their spiritual guides, who help them release the obstacles and distractions of the material world. After the adherents are fully purified and awakened to the esoteric truths, they experience true love and the highest wisdom, known as ma’rifa or gnosis. After obtaining this wisdom and awakening, the pilgrim will be able to reach the desired mystical union with God and be surrounded by divine light and love. Akbarnia and Leoni, Light of the Sufis, 1. 32 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 129-175.

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Habib Allah’s folio 11r is the only illustration that depicted any aspect of the meta-

narrative or the allegory of the birds from the narrative. It is also the only illustration that

captured Attar’s key innovation and new contributions to the established applications of bird

symbolism in Islamic mysticism.33 Attar crafted the symbolic assignments and exchanges for

each bird, and Habib Allah illustrated them.

Attar’s Symbolic Assignments

There are twenty-five birds depicted in folio 11r, “The Concourse of the Birds,” ten of

which represent the bird species Attar attributed specific qualities to.34 Other assorted breeds like

the rooster, gull and raven are scattered throughout the folio. These birds were part of the larger

group whose excuses about avoiding the Sufi way Attar did not describe. Instead he dismissed

them as “inappropriate and lame.”35

The congregated birds represent the spiritual communities of flawed humans who join

together to pursue spiritual development. The coloring, size and features of each bird are breed

specific. Their realism contrasts to the idealized lyrical renderings of the landscape. The only

unrealistic aspect is that all of these birds would be gathered in this constellation, which has prey

and predator, domestic and wild, and birds from different habitats. All these birds are arranged in

a circular fashion and are focused on the Hoopoe.

The Hoopoe is symbolic of a Sufi Shaykh in Attar’s narrative; an assignment reinforced

by the text boxes in the folio, which assert his leadership. Shaykhs play a critical role in the Sufi

33 The rest of the illustrations portray stories or parables that are used to share supplementary Sufi teachings but are not part of the main avian allegorical narrative. 34 The only birds that are not present in the folio but are specifically mentioned in Attar’s narrative are the Homa and the Owl. 35 ‘Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 61

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pilgrimage.36 Generally, Sufi pilgrims rely on Shaykhs for their spiritual transformation. Shaykhs

have completed the path themselves and are considered “fully awake.”37 The Shaykhs are

responsible for the aspirant’s well-being as well as ensuring they are progressing towards

enlightenment. Without the Shaykh’s guidance, followers could diverge from the proper Sufi

path by the worldly, material distractions and the ego, or by their own interpretations of what

“higher truths” are.

In folio 11r, the Hoopoe is clearly illustrated and positioned in a way that commands the

respect and attention of the other birds. “Wise, beautiful and scrappy—the Hoopoe can’t help but

command respect.”38 The Hoopoe in Attar’s narrative operates as both a leader and as a Sufi

Shaykh. It speaks authoritatively, and challenges certain birds’ limitations as needed, and

encourages and advises the birds on how to persevere on the Sufi path. This is consistent with the

symbolic representation of the Hoopoe as an advisor to Solomon in the Qur’an. In the Qur’an the

Hoopoe is represented as a bird emissary of Solomon’s empire. This parallels Attar’s use of the

Hoopoe, who is responsible for bringing the birds, symbolic of human souls to their divine king,

the Simurgh, symbolic of God, the beloved.

Although the Hoopoe is not the largest bird, it has a commanding presence of a leader. It

has a long, slender beak that is legendary for its strength: both as a hunting tool and as a fierce

36 According to Sufi tradition, the Prophet propagated two types of knowledge, each aimed at a specific audience. Exoteric knowledge was shared with the public, whereas esoteric, mystical knowledge was only meant for certain companions of the Prophet. The two types of knowledge, exoteric and esoteric parallels the Sufi belief of “inner and outer worlds.” The inner world represents the space for the few individuals who have successfully released their mortal and material shells and have attained the divine consciousness that occurs when the soul is reunited with the beloved, God. The outside world is the space for those who have not yet attained that state of consciousness and enlightenment. So, the purpose of the Sufi path, and specifically the role of the Sufi Shaykh (spiritual guide) is to help “awaken” and transform the pilgrims’ consciousness from the outside to the inside world. Baldock, The Essence of Sufism, 62-63. 37 Baldock, The Essence of Sufism, 63. 38 Bec Crew, “The Hoopoe: Emissary of Kings, Secreter of Stink,” National Audubon Society News (2015): 1-2.

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weapon.39 The beak appears to slightly open, as if the bird is speaking. The Hoopoe is commonly

called “The King Bird”40 and the presence of its striking semi-circular crest looks like a large

crown of feathers tipped with black. The black tipped feathers starkly contrast with the cinnamon

color of the crest head and upper body of the bird. The underbody is a fawn color and the wings

and tail are black and white stripped. This design is an easily identifiable feature of the species.41

Each bird’s confrontation and debate with the Hoopoe represents specific flaws and

resistances. As stated in the narrative, the first bird that engages with the Hoopoe is the

Nightingale.42 This small, brown nondescript bird is famous for its song. There are three small,

light brown birds that could represent the Nightingale in the folio. A pair stands on a rock below

the hawk and the heron, facing the Hoopoe. Perched on another rock, behind a parrot and a small

white bird, below and behind the Hoopoe is another Nightingale. Consistent with its common

associations, the Nightingale celebrates its beautiful song, sung in worshipful devotion of the

rose, and asserts that it needs no higher blissful state than that. The Hoopoe contradicts this

assertion and redefines the Nightingale’s love as superficial, transitory and fickle. The Hoopoe

redirects the Nightingale’s devotion to God, the only source of eternal happiness.43 The

Nightingale is symbolic of the human soul’s flaw of attachment to superficial romantic love.

The Parrot is the second bird to engage with the Hoopoe. In the folio, it is rendered as a

saturated, verdant green bird with a long, sweeping tail with contrasting bright orange eyes, beak

and feet. The parrot is also perched on a lower rock immediately to the Hoopoe’s left next to a

39 Crew, “The Hoopoe: Emissary of Kings,” 1-2. 40 Ibrahim B. Syed, “Birds in the Quran: Hoopoe,” Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. (2012): 1-4. 41 Syed, “Birds in the Quran,” 1-4. 42 ‘Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 45. “The nightingale made his excuses first.” 43 Ali Asani, “Oh that I could be a bird and fly, I would rush to the Beloved: Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” in A Companion of Subjects, ed. Paul Waldau and Kimberley Patton (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 170-173.

15

white songbird and in front of a Nightingale. The Parrot’s excuse for not embarking on the

journey is that it just wants to be free after a lifetime in a cage. Parrots are the most exploited

breed in the world by the pet-trade, and caged parrots are often so distressed that they exhibit

self-destructive behaviors like feather-plucking.44 Instead of eliciting sympathy, the Parrot’s

excuse provokes a strong confrontation from the Hoopoe. The Hoopoe calls the parrot a

“cringing slave…not noble, generous or brave.”45 The Hoopoe unmasks the Parrot’s self-pity as

a cover for a fearful, selfish goal that lacks humility because the Parrot does not want to submit

to God’s will. The Parrot is symbolic of selfishness and fear.

The flashy and ornate Peacock is next. The Peacock, with its fanned tail is the largest bird

in the folio. The Peacock’s presence is heightened by the fact that it is the only bird facing

directly out to the viewer with its head turned towards the Hoopoe on its left. The highly

decorative, iridescent coloring of the eye-like shapes on its fanned tail, along with its deep, teal

body and black head and neck are the most dramatic features of any of the birds in the folio.

The peacock’s stance, coloring and size set it apart from the other birds. The Peacock states his

personal ambition to return to his original garden paradise; he does not want to pursue God. The

positioning of the Peacock’s body turned away from the Hoopoe may reflect his opposition to

going on the spiritual journey. The Hoopoe challenges the Peacock’s worldly ambitious

attachments and states that the Peacock has the wrong goal and is straying farther from the

proper spiritual path. The Peacock is symbolic of selfish goals and worldly attachments.

44 Miklos D. F. Udvardy, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds Western Region (New York: Alfed A. Knopf, 1994), 551. 45 Attar, Darbandi and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 48.

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In folio 11r, there are a pair of ducks in the water with their heads raised looking at the

Hoopoe. One duck has brown body-coloring with a green head, typical of the male of the

species; the other has a white body with a grey head and could be the female mate. The duck that

engages with the Hoopoe in Attar’s narrative is a female who reveres water’s purity over eternal

divine purity. She boasts that she is the purest of all birds because of her cleanliness as seen in

her shimmering white coat and declares that she cannot leave the element of water. The Hoopoe

questions whether her life is as pure and meaningful as she declares and suggests that she is

attached to worldly elements and appearances that are not as pure as the pursuit of God. The

duck is symbolic of vanity, worldly attachment and self-consciousness.

There is a medium-sized brown bird, which could be the Partridge, perched on a rock that

is positioned in the center of the bottom border of the landscape. Its head is raised, and it is

focused on the Hoopoe across the stream. In the text, the partridge clearly states its singular

obsession for jewels and says it has no interest in devoting itself to anything else. The defiant

Partridge declares his feet are rooted in the clay of this landscape and the journey would be too

difficult; Partridges are ground-dwelling birds that prefer walking over flight and usually only fly

in short bursts.46 The Hoopoe chastises the Partridge for its materialism and hardened heart and

says that without their colors, jewels are nothing but stones: a worldly illusion. The Hoopoe calls

out the Partridge’s greed for worldly luxuries like jewels and advises overcoming its personal

desires and obsession with luxuries to pursue unification of the self with the divine love of God.

The Partridge is symbolic of one who is prioritizing self-will and personal ambition over the path

of transcendent love.

46 Udvardy, National Audubon Society Field Guide, 448-449.

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The Homa is the next bird to engage with the Hoopoe in the narrative. But, it is not

illustrated in the folio. It is a mythical bird from Iranian mythology that supposedly never

touches the ground. All the birds congregated in folio 11r are standing on the ground and are

identifiable earthly breeds. Despite not being illustrated, the Homa’s role in the narrative is

important. Even though the Homa presents himself as superior and powerful, the Hoopoe’s

authority and insights triumph. Sufi legends assert that seeing the shadow of the Homa confers

lifelong happiness to the viewer.47 The Hoopoe rebukes this by explaining that true happiness

can only be achieved through unification of the soul with the divine. The Homa’s excuse

celebrates his shadow saying it “heralds majesty [and] brings the royal crown.”48 The Homa

elevates himself above other birds and states that humbling himself is not part of his destiny

because he has influenced great kings like Feridun and Jamshid. The Hoopoe rejects the Homa’s

logic outright saying, “your self-importance is ridiculous why should a shadow merit so much

fuss?”49 The Hoopoe points out the shortcomings from the Homa’s declarations: first, that the

Homa’s self-importance is flawed because he is not at the level of kings, he’s a pawn of their

system; second even kings are assessed by God and those not meeting spiritual standards are

punished on Judgement Day. The Hoopoe asserts that allegiance to divine principles is a superior

path over loyalty to earthly kings. The Homa is symbolic of the flaws of vanity, self-importance,

superiority and haughtiness.

There are two hawks in Folio 11r. The larger and more dramatically colored hawk,

presumably the male, is perched on the rock with a white heron and two nightingales directly in

front of the Hoopoe. This hawk has a white speckled head, body and legs and dark brown wings

47 Dilek H. Batîslam, “Mythological Birds of the Classical Ottoman Poetry: Huma, Anka and Simurg,” The

Journal of Turkish Culture Review (2002): 185-208. 48 Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 54. 49 Attar, Darbandi and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 54.

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and a hooked beak. The other, female hawk is in the bottom left corner of the folio, right above

the textbox perched on the protruding rocks observing the Hoopoe at a distance. This hawk is

smaller and more consistently brown with just a slight buff on the belly. As a breed, hawks are

typically known for their speed, agility, fierceness and high soaring flights.50 In the narrative, the

conversation is between the male hawk and the Hoopoe. Like the Homa, the Hawk distains the

Simurgh and celebrates his special relationship with his own sovereign King. The Hawk is

delighted with his life at court and does not want to go on the journey that takes him away from

hunting for his King. Again, the Hoopoe rejects the Hawk’s allegiance to an earthly king and

says the Simurgh is the only true king. The Hoopoe further advises the Hawk to distance himself

from the worldly and political powers of secular courts. The Hawks are representative of the

human flaws of boastfulness, pride, arrogance and attachment to mortal power structures.

There are three herons depicted in Folio 11r. The one closest to the Hoopoe, perched on

the rock with a hawk and two nightingales is white with black winged tips and tail and has

orange legs, beak and eyes. It is the largest of the three herons. The other two herons are stream-

side. One grey heron is standing still surrounded by ducks while the other is in the lower right

corner with one leg raised as though it is going to walk upstream. Both grey herons have raised

heads directed towards the Hoopoe whereas the white heron has its head bent down towards it. In

the narrative, one of the Herons describes its misery related to its earthly plight of loving the

ocean but being confined to the shore. The Heron refuses to leave the sea to embark on the

journey and says that even “the Simurgh’s glory could not comfort me…my love is fixed entirely

on the sea.”51 The Hoopoe advises the Heron not to hide in false worship of the worldly entity of

50 Udvardy, National Audubon Society Field Guide, 431-441. 51 Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 57.

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the ocean and alleges that the true nature of the sea is turbulent and dark; but according to the

Hoopoe, even the ocean worships God. Therefore, the Heron should align itself with the sea and

go on the journey to be unified with God, not the sea itself. The Herons are symbolic of the

human flaws of worshipping false idols, despair and isolation.

The next bird in the narrative is the Owl, but it also is not depicted in the folio. Perhaps it

is because owls are nocturnal, and the gathering of the birds in Folio 11r is illuminated against a

golden sunny sky. The owl expresses its greed for gold and its materialistic ambitions. The

Hoopoe chastises him, calling him a fool, infidel and as “an idol worshipper who merits hell.”52

The Hoopoe declares that it is a waste of a life to focus on a trivial material rather than pursuing

divine riches. The owl is symbolic of greed, materialism and worshipping false idols.

The last bird to directly engage with the Hoopoe in the narrative is the tiny Finch. In the

folio, the Finch is clinging to a small branch arising from a very small rock at the right edge of

the illustration just above the walking grey heron. The finch is so small it is easy to miss. The

Finch in Attar’s narrative presents herself as frightened, frail and cowardly. The Finch says that

she does not deserve to see the Simurgh and the quest is too exhausting for her to consider. The

Hoopoe confronts this excuse as hypocrisy and accuses the Finch of presenting her weakness to

disguise what is actually her attachment to her own goals and desires to stay where she is. The

Finch represents selfishness, deceit and earthly attachments.

All of the birds’ excuses fall under the umbrella of reluctance to embark on the way

towards God which requires the release of: worldly materials and power, the securities of the

known world for the mystery of the divine, the fears of giving their souls and bodies to the

52 Attar, Darbandi, and Davis, The Conference of the Birds, 59.

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arduous journey, and the hesitance to relinquish the mind’s control. The Way entails

surrendering everything the birds associate with their worldly lives and identities in order to

renounce the self for communion with God, and the alignment of their existence with becoming a

conduit for the expression of the will of God.

Literary Foundations: Attar’s Expansion of Bird Symbolism

In his poetic epic, Attar presented his own theological interpretations that were informed

by the traditional uses of bird symbolism in Islamic Mysticism and from the works of three of his

philosophical predecessors: Avicenna,53 Al-Ghazali54 and Sanā’ī55 who all used birds to

represent souls and their growth. Attar’s symbolism diverged from them in important ways.

Whereas Avicenna focused on the journey itself in his narrative, Attar focused on the individual

bird’s development and reflection in relation to spiritual enlightenment through metaphors and

allegories. While Al-Ghazali, Avicenna and Attar all identified negative attributes and errors that

53 Avicenna was a Persian philosophical scholar (c.980-1037), and unlike Attar, in his translation of Risālat al-Tayr (The Epistle of the Bird)—a philosophical treatise tracing the journey of the soul through the allegorical metaphor of a bird who is released from its cage and flies on a journey to find the Great King—he does not specify bird breeds, nor does he focus on conversations between the birds themselves. However, both Avicenna and Attar used birds to represent the human rational soul and had a king figure represent God. Whereas Avicenna focused on the journey itself in his narrative, Attar focused on the individual bird’s development and reflection in relation to spiritual enlightenment through metaphors and allegories. Abdullah Basaran, “Metaphors Between Hermeneutics and Deconstruction: A Textual Analysis of Avicenna’s The Recital of the Bird,” Eskiyeni, no. 30 (2015): 159-174. 54 Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) was a celebrated and humble Islamic mystic theologian philosopher, whose translation of Risālat al-Tayr (The Epistle of the Bird) did not detail bird species, except for birds who came from warm and cold regions and the phoenix, who was symbolic of the king. In Al-Ghazali’s narrative, the birds’ excitement to meet their king washed away any doubt they had whereas the birds in Attar’s narrative remained extremely reluctant and nervous. Both Al-Ghazali and Attar pointed out the negative attributes and errors that interfered with spiritual growth, however a unique cornerstone of Attar’s allegorical rendering of the bird’s spiritual development was the development of supportive spiritual counsel. Nabih Amin Faris, “Al-Ghazzalis Epistle of the Birds,” The Muslim World 34, no. 1 (1944): 46-53, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-1913.1944.tb01323.x. 55 In Tasbih ut-Tuyur (The Rosary of the Birds), Sanā’ī, a Persian poet (1080-1131) analyzed the various calls and language of each bird species, especially in its praises to God into the human language. Like Attar, Sanā’ī specifies each species, but only when it came to their melodic praises of God. Within the text, according to Sanā’ī, when a stork sings “lak lak” it is actually praising God by saying “al-mulk lak al-amr lak,” meaning “The Kingdom belongs to You, Command belongs to You.” In this narrative, Sanā’ī presents himself as a translator of the language of the birds. This contrasts to Attar, whose narrative is not a translation of the calls, but depicts a direct interaction and communication of each bird species with one another and their call-and-advice dialogues with their spiritual guide, the Hoopoe. Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 171.

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interfered with spiritual growth, Attar was the only one who developed and included a supportive

spiritual counsel component to address those negative qualities. Whereas Sanā’ī presented

himself as the translator of the language of the birds, Attar’s work is not a translation of calls, but

instead illustrates direct interaction and communication between each bird species and in their

call-and-advice dialogues with their spiritual guide, the Hoopoe. Attar validates the importance

of both the reasoned dialectic and the unknowable mysteries of religion that can only be hinted

at, in the pursuit of spiritual truths. Attar built upon the established imagery of birds associated

with Islamic mysticism.

Islamic Sufi mysticism has had a longstanding tradition of utilizing the imagery of birds

to represent the human soul. Historically, birds have been viewed as the creature that flies closest

to God, since they fly between earth and the heavens.56 The multifaceted imagery of birds and

flight has been universally used as a symbol for the ascent of the human soul into a higher

reality, or paradise. The established, traditional set of bird symbolism in Sufi Islamic mysticism

includes: symbolizing birds as messengers of God, and as auguries that have the ability to predict

beneficial or harmful events.57 Migrating birds have been interpreted as human souls on the

spiritual pilgrimage towards God in the Divine Kingdom. There have also been other

interpretations of various bird songs as praises of God.58

The establishment of traditional bird imagery in Islamic mysticism and the Sufi

fascination with birds is related to specific references to birds in the Qur’an.59 The Qur’an

56 Ali Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 170-175. 57 Ali Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 170-175. 58 Ali Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 170-175. 59 Verse 41 in Chapter 24 of the Qur’an reinforces that everything of God’s creation, including “birds with wings outspread” worships the same God, and that these creatures are closely intertwined with the rest of God’s creations. Verse 38 of Chapter 6 of the Qur’an discusses the similarities between birds and animal communities with human communities. Other linkages between birds, humans and spiritual qualities abound in the symbolic multilayered bird imagery of Islamic mysticism. For example, the “Fortunate Bird” could represent the Hoopoe of Solomon, peace,

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frequently mentions the language of the birds60 and their melodic songs and calls in relationship

to the development of spiritual knowledge of the soul. Bird songs and melodies have also been

interpreted as the expressions of specific experiences at certain stages of spiritual development.61

The conversational exchanges between each bird and the Hoopoe in The Conference of the Birds

are presumably in bird song and align with this conceptualization.

In Qur’anic verse 27:22, the Hoopoe has returned to report to Solomon his observations

about a distant rival civilization.62 The Hoopoe speaks directly to Solomon saying, “With truthful

news I come to you from Sheba….”63 This verse reinforced the concept that being spiritually

adept included being able to listen to and understand Mantiq al-Tayr, which translates as “the

language of the birds.” It also established the Hoopoe as a spiritual messenger. Another

significant avian character in Islamic mysticism is the Simurgh, an ancient, prominent

supernatural bird from Iranian mythology that has come to symbolize God along with helping

humanity reach divine reunification with the beloved.64 Attar specifically incorporated the

the bird of success, inspiration, the bird of the spirit, a lucky augury, the bird of light who circles the throne, Gabriel or even Muhammad. Persian poet Ruzbihan Baqli described the Prophet Muhammad as “the nightingale of the love of pre-eternities, the Simurgh of the nest of post-eternities.” These examples illustrate how prominent and important birds were as symbolic carriers for prominent figures in Islam like Prophet Muhammad himself, Gabriel, or by extension Solomon. The Sufi saint, Bāyazīd Bistāmī was also referred to as “the bird of the nest of isolation” that referenced the spiritual state, ifrād that was typically associated with him. Persecuted Sufis, or Sufis who have been killed, have also been referred to as the “birds of sanctity.” The intertwinement of humans and birds runs through Islamic mystical writings. Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 170-171 and Ernst, “Symbolism of Birds and Flight,” 356-358. 60 A specific Qur’anic verse, 27:16 alludes to the fact that it is possible for a select few to be blessed with the knowledge and ability to understand the language of the birds. According to that Qur’anic verse, God taught the Prophet Solomon the language of the birds which really intrigued Muslim mystics since it suggested that Solomon, like a Sufi Shaykh, was gifted with a special type of Godly knowledge through which he could decipher and analyze a language that was unfamiliar to others. Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 171. 61 Peacocks, parrots, swans, crows, eagles populate the ‘alam-I mithal, the world of symbols through which a Sufi poet accesses the hidden reality that underlies existence.” Asani, “Birds in Islamic Mystical Poetry,” 171-172. 62 The Koran, trans. N..J. Dawood (London: Penguin group, 2004), 254. 63 The Koran, 254. 64 Ernst, “Symbolism of Birds and Flight,” 362.

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symbolic stock characterizations of the Hoopoe and the Simurgh throughout his allegorical

narrative.

Production History of the Illuminated Manuscript

The illuminated manuscript of The Conference of the Birds that arose from Attar’s

twelfth-century Sufi poem centuries later has a complex production history. The manuscript was

originally made up of sixty-seven folios and had nine illustrations.65 The manuscript was

developed across two powerful Islamic dynasties: the Timurids and the Safavids, each renowned

for their contributions to the Islamic arts of the book. The reasons for illuminating this narrative

remain a mystery. Production of the illuminated manuscript began in 148766 under Timurid

Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r.1469-1506). However, the manuscript seemed to be unfinished,

because four illustration spots were left empty. The manuscript re-emerged over one-hundred

years later in the Safavid court67 of Shah ‘Abbas (r. 1588-1629), but no one knows how or from

whence.68

The Safavids refurbished and completed the manuscript in c. 1600, in Isfahan, Iran.

When the production of the manuscript was picked up by the Safavids, Shah ‘Abbas ordered

artists to remount 67 folios in darkly colored papers speckled with gold, add and/or replace

fifteen text folios, add four contemporary illustrations and a frontispiece in a new binding in

order to reconstruct the manuscript. Habib Allah’s folio 11r was one of four Safavid illustrations

65 Several text and illustration pages have been lost or damaged. Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 132. 66 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 129. 67 In the early sixteenth-century, the Safavids took control of Iran (r. 1501-1722). The Safavids descended from a line of Sufi Shaykhs based at Ardabil in northwestern Iran. The first Safavid Shah, Isma’il (r. 1501-1524) declared Shi’a Islam the official religion of the Safavid state. Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 116-118. 68 It remains a mystery whether or not the manuscript, The Conference of the Birds was always in the Safavid royal library in Qazvin when Shah ‘Abbas became Shah in 1587, or if the manuscript was already at Herat and was transferred to Shah ‘Abbas’s library when he lived there in the 1570s and 1580s. Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 171.

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added during this reconstruction. A Timurid folio is still missing, and scholars believed that it

may have been replaced during Safavid reconstruction or removed at a later time. All eight

paintings in the manuscript were stamped with Shah ‘Abbas’ seal and were inscribed with the

word, waqf, an endowment made by a pious Muslim for religious purposes.69

The Safavids donated the manuscript to the Sufi Shrine of Ardabil70 in 1607-1608. The

Ardabil Shrine has a long history intertwining the significance of Sufism with the emergence of

the Safavid dynasty; it was considered “the birthplace of the Safavid dynasty...founded by

Shaykh Safi al-Din Ishaq Ardabili,”71 who declared Shi’a Islam the official religion. The Safavid

tariqa, the Sufi doctrine and path of spiritual learning, became part of the Safavid Shi’i political

agenda and dynasty. Safavid rulers such as Shahs Isma’il, Tahmasp and ‘Abbas all contributed to

the Shrine’s preservation and expansion through erecting new buildings, decorations, or through

donations of valuable items, such as manuscripts imbued with spiritual significance, like The

Conference of the Birds.

Attar’s allegorical narrative altered the way Sufism could be translated and understood;

its reverberations and relevance endured. Attar’s narrative, and the values, ideals and lessons it

disseminated contributed to the successes of both Timurid and Safavid socio-political and

religious agendas, despite the fact that the Timurids and Safavids had opposing ideological

foundations. The Timurids aligned with Sunni Islam, a belief system emphasizing the first four

caliphs were the rightful successors of Prophet Muhammad and believed the leadership of Islam

69 Sims, Marshak and Grube, Peerless Images, 330; Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 120-123. 70 The Ardabil Shrine became the expression of Shah ‘Abbas’s claim to spiritual and political leadership of the Safavid world. Through his pious donations, endowments and pilgrimages, Shah ‘Abbas transformed the Shrine of Shaykh Safi into a complex in which his Sufi lineage would not be questioned, thus validating and substantiating his claim to political power and authority. Shah ‘Abbas honored the source of his political and spiritual dominion, the Shrine at Ardabil, which was the burial place of his ancestors. Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 116. 71 Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 116.

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is determined by the temporal realities faced by the Muslim world, not divine order.72 The

Safavids declared Shi’a Islam the dominant religion for which they implemented powerful

conversion programs. Shi’a Islam is a believe system focusing on the spiritual link for political

and military authority, asserting that the Prophet’s son-in-law, Alī and only his descendants are

the rightful leaders of the Muslim community.73 Both dynasties utilized Sufi traditions and

beliefs in their ideologies for political legitimacy.

Sufism played a pivotal role in the political structures of both the Timurid and Safavid

dynasties and reshaped their cultural contexts. Sufism continued to flourish in the Timurid

capital of Herat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1469-1506) in the fifteenth century.74 The

Timurids asserted their legitimacy and authority from their Mongol descent. Herat was

celebrated for its range of thriving intellectual communities, Sufis being one of them. Sufis

participated in important political roles and produced celebrated mystical literature.75 There was

an overlap, fluidity and exchange between Sufism and Islamic philosophy, theology and sciences

throughout the fifteenth century. In urban settings like Herat in the fifteenth century, Sufi

Shaykhs76 had to differentiate themselves through how they chose to legitimize their authority,

their style of ritual practice, and how they balanced their doctrinal beliefs with their socio-

72 Touraj Daryaee, Oxford Handbook of Iranian History (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014), 275-278.

73 Daryaee, Oxford Handbook of Iranian History, 287-290. 74 Previously, ‘Abdullah Ansari (1006-1089) was a celebrated master of Sunni Sufism and became the city’s patron saint after his death. His shrine was a center of Sufi pilgrimage in the Timurid period. Jürgen Paul, “The Rise of the Khwajagan-Naqshbandiyya Sufi Order in Timurid Herat,” in Afghanistan's Islam: From Conversion to the Taliban, ed. Nile Green (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2017), pp. 71-72. 75 Akbarnia and Leoni, Light of the Sufis, 4. 76 During this time, a Sufi Shaykh could legitimize their position through several different avenues: “the authority of his immediate teacher: the nuclear silsila…hereditary status…the transmission of a sacred object… [and the] personal charisma evidenced by…teaching, ritual practices, and miracles…” Silsila is defined as a principle linking the living Sufi Shaykh to the Prophet and was used to legitimize Sufi activity and teachings. Paul, “The Rise of the Khwajagan-Naqshbandiyya,” 72.

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political status. Successful Shaykhs would tailor their spiritual abilities and their sociopolitical

profiles to address the needs of the intellectual and religious audiences in Herat.

Sufis continued to collaborate and consort with state authorities into the Safavid dynasty

(1501-1722).77 Shah ‘Abbas rose to power (r. 1588-1629) during a tumultuous time of political

decentralization. The Safavid state was weakened, and the Ottoman Turks in the West and the

Uzbeks of the East were encroaching on more and more territory.78 So, Shah ‘Abbas had to

reassert his and the Safavid dynasty’s authority and reclaim lost territories. Religion was a

powerful way to galvanize the people for political action. The Safavids were founded in Ardabil

by Sufi Shaykh Safi al-Din (1252-1334). The Safavids transformed his tariqa79 into a military

movement and later into an established dynasty where they continued to assert their own

religious and political authority.80 Shah ‘Abbas interwove Sufism into his social, artistic and

political policies through refurbishing Sufi shrines, and expressing his devotion, generosity and

piety through his donation of gifts to sacred Sufi shrines and his ancestors.

Attar’s text, The Conference of the Birds was a celebrated Sufi text. So, for the Timurids,

the decision to illuminate Attar’s narrative could have functioned as an avenue through which the

dynasty, and Sultan Bayqara himself could show off their cultural and intellectual prestige and

superiority through the arts of the book. For the Safavids, refurbishing and completing the

77 Cooperating and working with princes and Shahs resulted in endowment gifts for Sufi dervish lodges. Sufi alignment with the people in power became critical for the success of their most successful branches: such as the Naqshbandis and the Safavids. Specifically, the Naqshbandi shaykh, Khwaja Ahrar (1404-1490) held the belief that in order to help the people in need, he had to socialize and work with the elite to gain a platform powerful enough to help them. Lawrence G. Potter, “Sufis and Sultans in Post-Mongol Iran,” Iranian Studies 27, no. 1-4 (1994): 77-78, https://doi.org/10.1080/00210869408701821. 78 Potter, “Sufis and Sultans,” 77-78. 79 Specifically, the Safaviyya order. Tariqa translates to a Sufi order with specific mystical teachings and practices that are needed to achieve the ultimate truth. 80 Potter, “Sufis and Sultans,” 100-101.

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manuscript of a treasured and foundational Sufi doctrine functioned as an important pious

donation at a crucial site of Sufi pilgrimage worship, which reinforced Safavid Shah ‘Abbas’ role

as both a political and spiritual leader responsible for the transmission of the divine. 81

The motifs and organization of folio 11r makes deliberate references to the sociopolitical

and mystical iconographies that extend the impact of the allegory and increase the receptivity to

its messaging and prompt idealistic actions. The Sufi mystical tradition has developed an

elaborate symbolism and imagery related to the celestial bird, symbolic of the human soul,

evident in this folio. These elements were consistently seen in Sufi mystical artworks through

both the Timurid and Safavid eras. The divine affinity in mystical iconography between birds,

souls and the beloved God was a rich and consistent source of inspiration for both Attar’s

narrative and Habib Allah’s illustration.

The Iconography of Folio 11r

In folio 11r, the landscape setting of the congregation of the birds references the

iconography of the celestial garden: an idealized landscape that includes the features of a stream,

a mountain slope, a tree with a nest and mountain peaks. These elements had specific visual

meanings; for example, the mountain peaks were symbolic of celestial spheres.82 The habitat of

the bird (symbolic of the human soul) is the nest, which is seen as a symbol of transcendence

revealing that the bird’s home is not earth but heaven.83 The nest is typically found in the Tuba

Tree in the heavenly garden.84 The image of the bird nest perched high in the branches of the tree

in folio 11r may reference the Tuba Tree in the heavenly garden. This imagery reinforces Attar’s

81 Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 171. 82 Basaran, “Metaphors Between Hermeneutics and Deconstruction,” 159-174. 83 Ernst, “The Symbolism of Birds and Flight,” 353-366. 84 Ernst, “The Symbolism of Birds and Flight, 353-366.

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allegory of souls departing this world to seek divine wisdom. The celestial garden, the Tuba tree

and the bird nest mystical iconography are all components of the setting of a spiritual

congregation, illustrated by Habib Allah in folio 11r.

There are many clues in folio 11r that help date the piece within the Safavid court along

with inclusions of motifs that were used to align the folio with its Timurid predecessors. In the

upper right corner of folio 11r, there is a hunter that is standing behind rocks and a shrub holding

a gun. This was not included in Attar’s narrative. This gun type was not developed before the

sixteenth century. The inclusion of this figure, especially since it was not part of the narrative,

could have been a strategic visual clue to help identify the later, Safavid date of this Timurid-

appearing illustration. The gun also could have been painted because it was a popular motif of

the Safavid court culture used by the celebrated court painters, Riza ‘Abbasi and Habib Allah

himself. The barrel of the gun, along with the branches of the tree extend into the margins. This

is similar to another contemporary Safavid illustration in The Conference of the Birds, folio 22v,

“Shaikh San’an and the Christian Maiden,” (1600) (Fig 2) where the staff of one of the male

figures extends into the margin. These projections serve as evidence that the paintings were

added to the manuscript when the pages were remounted and re-margined.85

Even though Habib Allah was a major proponent of the Safavid Isfahan style, he made a

distinct choice not to use those stylistic techniques consistently throughout folio 11r. In fact, the

design elements of Habib Allah’s folio are the farthest from the contemporary, realistic Isfahan

style of his era. Habib Allah’s painting has many stylistic elements of the Timurid period, which

has been attributed to a desire to make the illustrations consistent throughout the manuscript.86

85 Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 344. 86 Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 344-346.

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In folio 11r, Habib Allah’s depiction of a snake that is climbing up a branch towards the

nest in the tree is reminiscent of the same motif used in folio 35r “The Funeral Procession” in

The Conference of the Birds (Fig 3), which was produced in the Timurid court atelier in Herat

under Sultan Husayn Bayqara. Habib Allah may have included this feature in his painting to be

consistent with the original Timurid illustrations of the manuscript. Further, the snake

approaching the nest in the tree was a motif connoting the transience of worldly existence.87

Similarly, the goats peering through the rocks jutting out at the top of the image were creatures

not specified in Attar’s narrative. But their presence added to the Timurid atmosphere in the folio

by referencing similar imagery used in the Timurid illustration of Hasht Bihisht of Amir Kusraw

in 1496 (Fig 4).

Habib Allah’s folio 11r incorporates several late fifteenth century Timurid stylistic

conventions: the idealized landscape with rich jewel-toned colors like the emerald green grasses

lining the streambed; the deep teal of the peacock; the saturated green and orange of the parrot;

the golden skies; the detailed attention to the foliage and imagery; the attention to detail and

individual characteristics exemplified by the different bird species; the rocks of certain shapes

and the differently colored plants. In addition, the combination and mixings of the jewel-toned

accent colors with the softer background coloring like the lavender ground of the slope; the

meticulously arranged composition with a tilted plane giving two perspectives, level and as if

looking down from above; and the idealized, stylized renderings of the stream and the floral and

87 Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 142.

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rock landscapes were all representations of styles handed down from Sultan Bayqara’s later

phase of Timurid court ateliers.88

In Timurid court ateliers, there was a shift away from the previous, static formal

compositional elements towards more dynamic scenes with varied movements and gestures.89

Folio 11r captures an interaction full of individualized, natural gestures and movements that

align with that aesthetic: one bird is flapping its wings, another is walking, the various heads of

the birds are tilted in a variety of ways. Safavid artists like Habib Allah utilized these Timurid

motifs and styles to make the additional illuminations of The Conference of the Birds appear

more Timurid-like, so they could better match and be consistent with the original Timurid pages.

During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas, some evidence suggests that there was a revival of

Timurid art, even though the Safavids had their own contemporary, realistic flourishing style,

introduced by court artists such as Riza-yi ‘Abbasi and Muhammad Qasim in the Safavid capital,

Isfahan.90 This insertion of illustrations by Safavid court artists, such as Habib Allah’s folio 11r,

“The Concourse of the Birds,” into Timurid manuscripts, as done in the fifteenth-century

manuscript, The Conference of the Birds, supports this suggestion. It remains a mystery as to

why the Safavid illustrations of the manuscript were not in the official court style that was seen

in the paintings of that time.

The unique iconography of Habib Allah’s folio 11r has not been fully explicated: it

relates both directly to the text, and to the socio-political and mystical visual languages of the

Timurid and Safavid dynasties. Identifying the iconographies that support Attar’s symbolic

88 Traditionally, Sufi mystical illustrations incorporated imagery related to birds, so the pairing of the presence of birds within the Timurid-like idealized landscape in Habib Allah’s illustration reinforces the use of birds as spiritual pilgrims. Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 339-352. 89 Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 339-352. 90 Canby, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, 171.

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assignments of the birds, for example, the Hoopoe as the spiritual leader, and the pictorial

elements that express the spiritual nature of the setting, lends credence to the hypothesis that

these aspects of the folio 11r were intentional visual expressions of an invitation to depart upon a

spiritual journey.

The iconographic complexity of Habib Allah’s illustration arises from the variety of

influences that are integrated into the artwork: the political structural organization of princely

court scenes;91 the methods of establishing leadership from associations with past heroes;92 the

cultural literacy of metaphors paired with the motifs of the idealized landscape from poetic

illustrations;93 and the subject matter and composition of the Sufi mystical illustrations.94

Traditionally, illustrations of the thematic categories listed above depicted people, but Habib

Allah utilized these conventions, and populated them with birds, to reflect Attar’s symbolism and

to depict Attar’s allegory.

Court and coronation scenes, like folio 33b “The Court of the Sultan” from The Divan of

Sultan Husayn Bayqara95 (Herat, c. 1540) (Fig 5) and “The Coronation of Husayn Bayqara”96

91 Examples include: folio 33b “The Court of the Sultan” from The Divan of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, Herat, c. 1540 and “The Coronation of Husayn Bayqara” attributed to Mansur, Herat c.1469. 92 As seen in folio 214r from The Poems of Nizami, Herat, c. 1495/95, attributed to Bihzad, from the British Museum. 93 Examples include: the folio illustrating “Firdausi and the Court Poets of Sultan Mahmud,” from Muhammad Juki’s manuscript of Firdausi’s Shahnama, Herat, c. 1440 and folio 214r from The Poems of Nizami, Herat, c. 1495/95, attributed to Bihzad, from the British Museum. 94 Examples include: “Dancing Dervishes” from the Divan of Hafiz, Herat, c. 1480 attributed to Bihzad, and the double page frontispiece illustrations, folio 0v-1r from The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di, Isfahan, c. 1615, painter: Riza ‘Abbasi, calligrapher: Mir ‘imad. 95 Timurid Sultan Bayqara had been immersed in the intensely literate, Persian-focused climate as his predecessors had, so the creations of illuminated manuscripts and collections of poetry, like The Divan of Sultan Husayn Bayqara were a fundamental tool in legitimizing his rule and exercising his power. Folio 33b most likely depicts the key players of Bayqara’s court, including various poets, artists and statesman. This scene could be representative of the popular literary gathering of the period, known as majlis where rulers and influential aristocratic men discussed and analyzed literature, signifying how pertinent and pervasive literature, like Attar’s celebrated mystical work The Conference of the Birds, was in the court of Herat. Attar was one of Sultan Bayqara’s favorite poets. Kamada, “A Taste for Intricacy,” 129-175. 96 This coronation scene also represents the powerful political climate of Timurid Sultan Husayn Bayqara. Bayqara’s dedication to maintaining the literary tradition, and the socio-political prestige that resulted from that tradition

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attributed to Mansur (Herat c.1469) (Fig 6) epitomized and communicated the power, cultural

wealth, material affluence and political prestige of Timurid Sultan Bayqara and his court through

the pictorial elements of kingship.97 Habib Allah utilized princely iconography to reinforce and

highlight the Hoopoe’s leadership role as the birds’ spiritual guide.

Traditionally, in princely scenes, such as folio 33b and “The Coronation of Husayn

Bayqara,” the convened figures are arranged in a semi or circular fashion with a central focus on

the main figure, who is demarcated by their positioning: often on a platform or in an enclosed

structure and flanked on either side by attending figures, emphasizing the powerful hierarchy of

the ruler and ruled, or the leader and the followers. Just as the gazes of most of the figures of the

court scene and the coronation scene are looking at Sultan Bayqara, the birds’ attention is

focused on the Hoopoe.

In the coronation scene, figures are carrying and holding books, swords, a golden crown

and a golden parasol98 and encircle the Sultan who is kneeling on an elevated throne. In folio

33b, the court scene, the gestures of the figures’ arms vary from presenting a dish from the figure

on the left side of the Sultan, to the figures in the foreground playing the harp, lute and

tambourine to the various figures gesturing to the right of the Sultan. Sultan Bayqara is

demarcated as the central figure by sitting cross-legged in an architectural enclosure. The diverse

actions of the attendees in the court and coronation scenes are similar to the variety of postures

of the birds in folio 11r: the heron and the falcon are peering down, the white bird standing on

throughout his reign is signified in this scene by the books being held by the two most prominent figures of the scene: the Sultan himself on the throne with the elder who is reading to him. 97 Both pieces were symbolic of Timurid Sultan Husayn Bayqara’s sociopolitical climate and his emphasis on a strong literary tradition and visual culture in Herat. Herat became a major artistic center of production under Sultan Bayqara. The arts of the book became an important commodity in the transactions of political power and prestige. 98 These were all crucial pictorial elements of kingship in the Timurid dynasty. Habib Allah also utilized calligraphic inscriptions below a central tree in a golden sky, consistent with the iconography of princely scenes, seen in the “Coronation of Husayn Bayqara,” Herat, c. 1469, attributed to Mansur. Freer Sackler Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, “Coronation of Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara,” Smithsonian Institution (2012): 1.

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the top of a rock on the far left side has its wings outstretched, the grey heron on the lower right

has its left leg stretched out and wings spreading out and the smaller birds encircling the Hoopoe

all have their necks craned towards the Hoopoe. The Hoopoe is depicted on a raised rock

platform analogous to a throne; its raised feather crest serves as a crown; the birds are focused on

and encircle the Hoopoe.

Habib Allah also utilized the methods of establishing the central figure’s leadership,

legitimacy and power through developing connections and associations with past heroes. A great

example of this symbolic association is folio 214r from The Poems of Nizami, (Herat c. 1495/95,

attributed to Bihzad) (Fig 7), which depicts Timurid Sultan Bayqara in the place of Iskandar

(Alexander the Great) and is illustrated with the seven sages.99 Sultan Bayqara appears in “proxy

portraiture” within the illustration of the story of Iskandar, a powerful visual statement that

promotes and expresses himself as an ideal King. In this way, the Hoopoe is representative of a

Sufi Shaykh, and the all-powerful Simurgh bird is representative of God and divine love in

Attar’s narrative. Both folio 214r and folio 11r include main figures that represent the prominent

figures central to their narratives: an ideal King referencing the historical, celebrated conqueror

of Iskandar, and a bird representing a Sufi Shaykh.

Habib Allah’s illustration also references the visual language of poetic illustrations such

as the folio illustrating “Firdausi and the Court Poets of Sultan Mahmud” from Muhammad

Juki’s manuscript of Firdausi’s Shahnama (Herat, c. 1440) (Fig 8). The folio, “Firdausi and the

Court Poets of Sultan Mahmud” signified the literary prestige and sophisticated intelligence that

is associated with poetry and was used to elevate the Timurid leaders who commissioned poets

99 Freer Sackler Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, “Coronation of Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara,” 1.

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and generated literary competitions. 100 The illustration depicts four men partaking in a

competition of poets within a garden that illuminates the poetic, springtime ideal.101 The

springtime ideal landscape may have inspired Habib Allah’s depiction of the celestial garden.

Both illustrations have a golden sky, and a deep indigo stream with ducks and birds wading

through it. They also each have areas with naturalistic, earthly elements like the trees, rocks and

plants in their landscapes that contrast with the jewel-toned colors surrounding the streams,

which in turn heighten the realistic colors of the figures and further accentuate their individuality

and gestures. Firdausi’s contest of wit and skill in poetry, illustrated by “Firdausi and the Court

Poets of Sultan Mahmud” paid homage to the prominent literary tradition and intellectual power

and prestige flourishing during the Timurid period, just as folio 11r portrayed the struggles,

lessons and virtues of Attar’s allegory which were fundamental to the Safavid claim to power

and their socio-political and religious agendas.

The folios that most closely resemble Habib Allah’s folio 11r in both subject matter and

composition are those that illustrate specific Sufi practices. The organization, metaphors and

symbolisms that pervaded both Timurid and Safavid eras are reflected in “Dancing Dervishes”

from the Timurid Divan of Hafiz (Herat, c. 1480, attributed to Bihzad) (Fig 9) and folios 0v-1r

from the Safavid work, The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di (Isfahan, c. 1615) (Fig 10). These

works arise from the common foundation of Sufi mysticism shared with folio 11r. All works

depict figures engaged in some form of spiritual pursuit. “Dancing Dervishes” from the Divan of

Hafiz show a ring of Sufi dervishes who are playing various instruments, like the tambourine to

100 This folio depicts the story where Firdausi defeated the three court poets of Sultan Mahmud with his wit, skill and erudition in a test of poetic dexterity set in a lyrical, idealized garden outside the city of Ghazna. Sims, Marshak and Grube, Peerless Images, 169-170. 101 This ideal is represented by the flowering, flourishing meadow, a deep indigo pond with swimming ducks where a breeze gently sways the delicate branches of the trees in the back of the landscape. Soaring birds and clouds float in the golden sky of the sun. Sims, Marshak and Grube, Peerless Images, 169-170.

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compliment another group of dervishes who were performing a celestial dance, known as

‘Sama.102 Folios 0v-1r from The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di illustrates young Sufi students

preparing food for the dancers depicted on the other side who have gathered on a mountain slope

and were also performing an ecstatic dance in order to get closer to God.103 Habib Allah’s folio

11r illustrates the birds gathering before they depart on their arduous spiritual journey to remove

themselves of their material possessions, annihilate their mortal shells and reunite with God.

In folio 11r, each illustrated bird species embodies one of Attar’s allegorical assignments

of a specific human flaw and impediment to the spiritual path. However, in both the Divan of

Hafiz and The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di, it is the individual costumes of the figures and

their gestures that are the focal points of emotional and spiritual meaning. The sleeves of each

garment and the individual’s positioning of their arms serve “as metaphors for the emotional

state whether it is…contemplation, reverence, trepidation [or] intoxication.”104 In both

illustrations, the positioning of some of the flailing sleeves of the dancers are understood to

represent bird wings, but it is the dance, not flight delivering them to God. This dovetails with

Attar’s use of birds flying on a spiritual journey to encounter their God.

The depictions of Sufi celestial dancing in the folios from both the Divan of Hafiz and

The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di contrasts with the still, focused arrangement of the birds in

folio 11r105 and the process of self-discipline and sacrifice represented as the spiritual path in

102 The dance, ‘Sama was believed to take performers “out of themselves” which resulted in the ecstatic condition known as wajid (finding). The mystics in the foreground have reached a trance-like state and have experienced self-abandonment. This extreme process was seen by some Sufis as one-way mystics could have a direct encounter with the divine along with established rituals and prayers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011), 190. 103 Akbarnia and Leoni, Light of the Sufis, 60. 104 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art,” 190. 105 Habib Allah’s folio 11r, “The Concourse of the Birds,” pictorializes the innovative moment of Attar’s allegory. The visual representation of this dialogical exchange is significant in how it captures the complexity and mystery of

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Attar’s narrative, The Conference of the Birds. However, all the illustrations share specific

landscape elements, structural arrangements and color assignments. The portrayals of Sufi

celestial dancing are set in idealized landscapes, which include a stream on a mountain slope and

trees and peaks rising beyond encircled figures. All folios incorporate jewel-toned colors and the

flowering botanical elements that are rendered with very similar shapes and scale, especially

those bordering the streams. These elements of the celestial garden reinforce the transcendent

nature of the setting as the backdrop for the Sufi ritualistic practices.

The illuminations of folios 0v-1r were executed in the typical Safavid Isfahan style106

whereas the “Dancing Dervishes” folio from the Divan of Hafiz was typical of the Timurid style

of court paintings from Herat under Sultan Bayqara.107 The landscapes in folio 11r and the

Safavid double-page frontispiece from The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di most closely

resemble each other. They both contain fluid, wave-like forms of the mountains executed in

muted pastels and contain a single large tree in the upper left corner with branches reaching over

the mountain peak and extending into the margin. Both folio 11r and the Safavid frontispiece

utilize a blend of pale, muted colors for the slopes and rocks of the mountains. Habib Allah’s

folio 11r integrates these natural forms seen in Timurid and Safavid illustrations of Sufi

congregations.

the Sufi path and reinforces how the attainment of consciousness is not an explainable or fixed process, instead it is a reflective, personal and individualized pursuit of an idealistic action. 106 The Safavid court style included a shift towards the more realistic depiction of figures including the oval shape of heads, thick eyebrows, narrow slanting eyes, large noses, petite mouths, curly hair and bright garments usually in reds, blues, yellows and purples. The intensity of the colors, the dramatic renderings of both the bodies and the upper landscape features in this folio with their sinuous curves convey the spiritually charged state of the euphoric dervish dance. Grube, “The Seventeenth-Century Miniatures,” 339–352. 107 There is special attention to detail when illustrating the variety of figural types, the expressive facial features, the natural and dynamic movements and intense emotions of the individuals. The naturalism and muted but rich color variety and the action-packed scenes are features of the Bihzadian style in Herat. Lukens, “The Fifteenth-Century Miniatures,” 317–338.

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The characters in both folio 11r, and the folio from the Timurid Divan of Hafiz are

positioned on both sides of the stream in a loose circle. Both of these folios depict the characters

realistically. The birds of folio 11r have highly articulated feathers, breed and gender-specific

coloring and faces that include accurate markings, beaks, crests and eyes. In the folio from the

Divan of Hafiz, the figures’ garments are adorned with carefully selected buttons, sashes, ropes,

head pieces, necklaces and belts. Habib Allah’s iconographical references to Attar’s Sufi

allegory include both Timurid and Safavid associations that are significant contributors to the

understanding of the artwork.

The allegorical meanings imparted by Attar, as rendered by Habib Allah, explicate the

doctrines of Sufism in a relatable way and are being used to communicate religious values the

way the iconography of courtly and poetic folios communicated the political and secular values

of a dynasty. In addition, the organization, metaphors and symbolism found in Sufi mystical

illustrations ground Habib Allah’s illustration in a familiar context. Having birds instead of

humans in the recognizable idealized landscape accentuated the new meanings, activations and

reverberations of Attar’s allegory. These traditional iconographic references, pulled from both

the specific sociopolitical climates and the Islamic mystical symbolisms, have been intentionally

combined with the specific creatural assignments from the text to deliver allegorical messages to

inspire idealistic actions.

A Modern Iteration of Folio 11r’s Visual Formula

The illustrations of allegories are one of the most powerful avenues to directly teach,

explain and warn the viewer. Illustrations of allegories can function as translators of experience

and as provocative commentaries on specific human conditions, concerns and realities.

Typically, illustrations of allegories were used to disseminate traditional values and lessons to

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the populace, such as respect for authority, modesty, proper codes of conduct and religious

guidance.108 Both the traditional iconographic references from the arts of the book and the

creatural assignments in allegory have endured through the centuries and are evident in

contemporary Iranian art. The enduring practice of using creatural imagery combined with

pertinent sociopolitical iconographic elements, in order to communicate sacred and secular ideals

is seen in the recent work of Iranian artist, Shiva Ahmadi.

Comparing Shiva Ahmadi’s contemporary painting, Safe Haven (2012, watercolor and

ink on aquaboard, 305 x 154 cm) (Fig 11), with Habib Allah’s folio 11r, “The Concourse of the

Birds,” (Fig 1) reveals the longevity and power of allegorical renderings that use avian-animal

imagery and symbolism to deliver insight into the flaws of humanity in order to provoke a

corrective course of action. The avian-animal imagery and the traditional princely and court

iconography used in both Habib Allah’s and Ahmadi’s artworks empower and expand the

delivery and reception of the allegorical messaging. Ahmadi’s paintings also present a powerful

critique, commentary and dissenting call to action to incite people to resist the pull of worldly

corruption and power and to stand up and defy the oppression and injustices in the modern

political climate.

Whereas Habib Allah pulls on a twelfth-century Sufi text and Attar’s innovative allegory,

Ahmadi describes how growing up in a tumultuous context, the conditions of her childhood in

Iran, generated the “cautionary tales”109 that her work reflects. Ahmadi was born in Tehran, Iran

in 1975.110 She grew up in a climate of war and political upheaval.111Ahmadi experienced the

108 Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, Soody Sharifi: Of Miniature Serenades & Maxiature Moments, February 4-February 22, 2011 (New York: LTMH Gallery, 2011). 109 Michelle Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” in Shiva Ahmadi, ed. SKIRA (Geneva: SKIRA Publishing, 2017), 77. 110 Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77. 111 Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77-79.

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turmoil of global instability during her childhood in Iran in the 1970s, including the 1979

revolution, the 1980s during the first Iran-Iraq War, and then as an adult in the 1990s, through

the first and second Gulf Wars between Iraq and the United States.112 She comments:

“…[I] grew up in instability, it was revolution, then war, then [I] immigrated. So when life becomes quiet, becomes stable then I get very unsettled because I don’t know a world that

can be peaceful…I am always waiting for the next explosion, the next upbringing….”113

That chaos has informed the conceptual framework and development of her work which focuses

on revealing the tensions within the Middle East, and between the East and West.114 She

explicates the relationship between absolute power and corruption, a major proponent of the

struggles of Iran’s modernization.

Ahmadi moved to the United States in 1998 where she furthered her artistic studies.115 In

graduate school, she developed an interest in the imagery and iconography from Persian

miniature paintings in illuminated manuscripts.116 Her artworks are multifaceted and utilize the

genre of traditional Persian miniature painting as a vehicle to create allegories revealing the dark

side of human nature such as violence, power, greed and corruption in the service of repression.

The formal language of Persian painting is a cornerstone of her works. Ahmadi manipulates

traditional Persian miniature motifs in her action-packed and multilayered works which reveal

and confront the lies and corruption behind secretive, crooked autocracies. When asked how she

blended traditional and modern motifs in her works, Ahmadi stated:

112 She was influenced by her predecessors from the avant-garde movements in Iran from the 1950s to the 1970s such as Parviz Tanavoli and Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, who utilized classical art forms to express their political views and opinions. Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77-79. 113 Shiva Ahmadi, interview by Grace Landon, May 6, 2019, interview 14:56min, transcript. 114 Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77-79. 115 She attended Wayne State University in Detroit and then Cranbrook Academy of Arts in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where she received her MFA in painting in 2005. Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77-79. 116 Yun, “Shiva Ahmadi: Witness,” 77-79.

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“The subject of my work is about the contemporary issues about the corruption and politics and everything that surrounds us…when I was researching and learning about miniature painting, I found out that it’s funny, the formal element structure is old, but it was about the king at that time, it was all about the heroic actions he has done, everything that is associated with it, and in a way what is happening right now in the world and in the Middle East especially is the

same thing, it’s just that we have a different way of saying these stories now….”117

Ahmadi compared the traditional depictions of courtly and heroic miniature scenes, which

glorified the king’s power, to contemporary propaganda representations of the government,

rulers and political actions in Iran. Ahmadi integrates traditional iconographical elements from

courtly scenes with imagery of suffering and violence that are not included in the government’s

propaganda.

In Safe Haven (2012) (Fig 11), the foreground of the image is comprised of a collection

of animals including monkeys, birds, camels, and antelopes battling, being beheaded, tied up

with ropes, hanging from rocks and buildings, playing with metal debris, standing and throwing

missiles at one another and chaotically running around against a mottled, ivory background

scattered with brown, green and red, blood-soaked leaves. None of the birds in the image are free

and flying, they are on the ground, one is tied to a post with a rope. Consistent with the structure

and hierarchy of traditional princely and court illustrations, a centralized faceless figure is

demarcated as the leader by its position: the figure is seated on a throne hovering above the

chaos. The throne is dripping with blood, symbolic of the casualties and violence needed to

acquire a corrupt system of power. The floral and geometric ornamentation of the throne is

reminiscent of the detail and precision seen in traditional miniatures. Similar motifs can also be

seen on a smaller scale by the grey figure hunched over to the left of the central throne. The

character is holding a grenade in the palm of its hand, and its dark grey head is illuminated by a

117 Shiva Ahmadi, interview by Grace Landon, May 6, 2019, interview 14:56min, transcript.

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golden halo that surrounds it. This figure is seated on a golden platform, embellished with red

carpeting, and is being held up and carried by four smaller servant-like figures. To the right of

the central throne is another faceless figure riding a beheaded camel, protected by a golden,

intricately detailed howdah (camel carriage). The central throne, smaller golden platform and the

howdah are all reminiscent of the detailed floral and geometric filigree design and ornamentation

seen in traditional miniature paintings.

Behind the throne, several dull grey and brown cylindrical and square buildings with

pipes emerging from all sides line the horizon. Three of the grey structures are topped with a

gold-flecked purple dome, which is reminiscent of architectural ornamentations seen in

traditional miniature painting demarcating a sacred space. The coloring of the domes matches the

arch over the central throne, deifying the figure occupying that seat. The interlocking pipes in the

background are symbolic of the corrupt global capitalist endeavor of oil production, each pipe

pulsing with profit. All the figures in the composition are engaged in individual, dynamic

actions. Ten figures directly below the central throne are arranged in a half circle, kneeling and

bowing down, celebrating the enthroned faceless character. This semi-circular arrangement is

consistent with the organization of courtly iconographies utilized by Habib Allah in folio 11r. In

the upper right portion of the illustration, a figure is sitting in a meditative pose on top of a pile

of precariously balanced rocks, holding up a grenade in each hand. A multitude of other

characters are engaged in various forms of violence scattered throughout the painting.

Ahmadi incorporates specific visual elements from the established iconographies of

leadership, like the ornamental throne and elaborate architectural detailing and domes from the

traditional miniature format and then abstracts the figures and environment as a whole into a

large, bloody watercolor. The backdrop of this illustration incorporates jewel-toned colors, such

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as the rich, deep green, red, orange and yellow tones seen in the vegetative and rock details

dotting the landscape, mimicking the natural elements of the celestial garden. Ahmadi’s

landscape references the heavenly garden by being its opposite. There are no trees, there are no

streams, only trickles of oil, and the birds, animals and figures in the scene are captive and

mutilated; all is unnatural, symbolic of an environment populated by the vestiges of man’s greed

for wealth and power. The monkeys, birds, camels and antelopes are the main players in an

intricate drama that references the sociopolitical hierarchies of discriminatory and violent

regimes.118 This animal symbolism comments on the cross-cultural conflicts ubiquitous in

current societies.

Ahmadi’s works function as sociopolitical critiques interwoven with traditional arts of

the book practices. Instead of presenting a journey to spiritual realms, her work is grounded in

the realities of this world; her call to action is for the transformation of this world through

activism and resistance to the current political reality. She exposes the corrupt forces of power,

pointing out violence and oppression that the authorities would prefer to obscure. She is

presenting an honest depiction of the downstream effects of the human flaws of greed, deception,

and extreme violence. Her work rejects the spins and political manipulations and offers a

counternarrative of reality. She is not controlled by the current government’s prevailing

narratives, she is an objector.

Both Habib Allah’s folio and Ahmadi’s watercolor are structured around the theme of a

leader and followers. Ahmadi comments that:

“…traditional miniature painting had a king and a follower around the king, and [everyone] is listening to everything that he is saying and following his orders…so the characters are always

kind of the minions…always in action and the king is always sitting still…I felt like animals had 118 Shiva Ahmadi, Talinn Grigor and Michelle Yun, Shiva Ahmadi (Milan: Skira, 2017), 39-43.

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a similar structure…especially monkeys who are the followers that follow whatever the leader is saying…”119

Ahmadi adapted animal imagery to reinforce the negative minion-dictator relationship

whereas Habib Allah rendered a positive spiritual leader-follower relationship through bird

symbolism. Both artists utilize animal imagery and allegory to spotlight human flaws and

weaknesses. The Hoopoe is the central figure in Habib Allah’s illustration. The Hoopoe

functions not as a dictator, but as a spiritual guide encouraging and motivating human souls to

embark upon the spiritual journey. Conversely, Ahmadi presents the leader as a dictator and uses

the pictorial arrangement of the followers to display the chaotic, carelessness and violence

committed against one another in the name of greed and bloodthirsty power. In both pieces, the

followers encircle the leader; each identify human errors in an attempt to provoke consideration

of a more idealistic course of action, a path away from the constraints of worldly attachments.

Ahmadi references the influence of George Orwell’s literary portrayal of political power

and oppression in Animal Farm wherein dissolute leadership is supported by propaganda and

intimidation that oppresses the worker animals. In an interview, Ahmadi describes how she was:

“…influenced by George Orwell’s Animal Farm…traditional miniature painting had a king and a follower around the king, and is listening to everything that he is saying and following his orders…so the characters are always kind of the minions…always in action and the King is always sitting still…I felt like animals had a similar structure…especially monkeys who are the followers that follow whatever the leader is saying….”120

The allegorical subject matter of both Orwell’s narrative and Ahmadi’s painting flesh out the

horrors of despotic leadership and obsequious supporters in an attempt to awaken civil

disobedience.

119 Shiva Ahmadi, interview by Grace Landon, May 6, 2019, interview 14:56min, transcript. 120 Shiva Ahmadi, interview by Grace Landon, May 6, 2019, interview 14:56min, transcript.

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Both pieces are calls to action. Habib Allah illuminates Attar’s narrative calling people to

work through their flaws to embark on the spiritual path. Ahmadi’s counternarrative to

government propaganda illustrates the horrors of human flaws involved in wars and corruption in

an attempt to inspire activism against oppressive regimes. The impact of both illustrations resides

in the linkage of human error and suffering with a call to action. However, Ahmadi is using her

work to provoke activism to change the political climate, not asking people to depart from this

world on a spiritual journey. Her messaging arouses resistance to corrupt government and efforts

to transform this worldly reality. The Sufi messaging behind Habib Allah’s folio 11r encourages

a reorganization of one’s inner world in order to more positively impact the world one returns to

after communion with the Divine. In both these cases, combining the elements of animal-avian

symbolism, the features of mystical landscapes, and the organizations of sociopolitical

iconographies to identify human flaws accrue to present an alternative and idealistic course of

action and extend the valence and reception of the allegorical messaging.

Conclusion

This thesis effectively refutes Yumiko Kamada’s claim that there was no iconographic

significance behind folio 11r. The analysis articulates the multitude of sociopolitical and

mystical iconographies effectively employed by Habib Allah to deliver the allegorical messaging

of a key plot point in Attar’s narrative. This paper also asserts that the visual formula of:

allegorical subject matter related to the negative trajectory of human frailties and flaws plus

pertinent cultural iconographies combine to generate a call to action, specifically the pursuit of a

spiritual or idealistic path. Finally, the comparison of this prescriptive equation identified in

Habib Allah’s seventeenth-century painting, folio 11r to the equivalent elements applied by

Shiva Ahmadi in her contemporary painting, Safe Haven attests to the enduring effectiveness of

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this visual language. The coupling of textual and visual allegories is a rich and powerful avenue

for commentaries about the human condition. Human suffering is both the generator of sacred

and secular doctrines and the hindrance of their adherence. The evocative and esoteric nature of

allegorical works will continue to endure, thanks to their ability to inspire positive change.

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Illustrations

Figure 1. Habib Allah, folio 11r “The Concourse of the Birds,” painting added to a late fifteenth- century copy of Farid ud-din Attar’s Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds), Isfahan, Iran, c. 1600, ink, opaque watercolor, silver and gold on paper, 8 3/16 in. x 13 in., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Figure 2. Folio 22v, “Shaikh San’an and the Christian Maiden,” painting from a late fifteenth- century copy of Farid ud-din Attar’s Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds), Isfahan, Iran, c. 1600, opaque watercolor, silver and gold on paper, 8 5/16 in. x 12 7/8 in., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Figure 3. Calligrapher: Sultan’Ali al-Mashhadi, Folio 35r “Funeral Procession,” painting from a late fifteenth- century copy of Farid ud-din Attar’s Mantiq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds), Herat, Afghanistan, c. 1487, opaque watercolor, silver and gold on paper, 8 ½ in. x 13 in., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Figure 4. Illumination from Hasht Bihisht of Amir Kusraw, Herat, Afghanistan, c.1496, opaque watercolor, silver and gold on paper.

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Figure 5. Folio 33b, “The Court of the Sultan,” painting from The Divan of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, Herat, Afghanistan, c. 1540, opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, 10 in. x 6.2 in., Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Figure 6. Attributed to Mansur, “The Coronation of Husayn Bayqara,” Herat, Afghanistan, c. 1469, opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper.

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Figure 7. Attributed to Bihzad, folio 214r, “Sultan Bayqara/Iskandar with the Seven Sages,” from The Poems of Nizami, Herat, c. 1494/95, opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, The British Museum.

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Figure 8. “Firdausi and the Court poets of Sultan Mahmud,” from Muhammad Juki’s Manuscript of Firdausi’s Shahnama, Herat, Afghanistan, c. 1440, opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper.

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Figure 9. Attributed to Bihzad, “Dancing Dervishes,” from the Divan of Hafiz, Herat, Afghanistan, c. 1480, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 11 3/4 in. x 7 1/2 in., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Figure 10. Painter: Riza ‘Abbasi, Calligrapher: Mir ‘Imad, folios 0v-1r, double-page frontispiece from an illustrated manuscript of The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di, Isfahan, c. 1615, ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 10 5/8 in. x 6 1/2 in., Washington D.C., Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

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Figure 11. Shiva Ahmadi, Safe Haven, 2012, watercolor and ink on aquabord, 120 in. x 60 in., Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

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