Afrasiyab Killing Naudar, a folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)

This graphic scene depicts the execution of Naudar, the captive king of Iran, by the Turanian ruler Afrasiyab from the Shahnama, the great Persian epic that tells the stories of the ancient kings and heroes of Iran, both historic and mythical. Perhaps to legitimize themselves as a foreign rulers now in control of Persia, the Mongol court in Iran commissioned several manuscripts of the Shahnama. The folio comes from the Great Il-Khanid (Great Mongol) Shahnama, the largest and grandest of these volumes. The Mongols brought examples of Chinese painting and textiles with them across Asia to their court in Iran, which likely provided inspiration for the silk textiles worn by these figures and the craggy, ink-painted rocks in that form the background of this scene.