Folio from the Shahnama Iran, Shiraz, Safavid period, 1575-1590 Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper 2002.50.34, cat 99 For three years, Iskandar (Alexander the Great) has been battling the last Achaemenid ruler, Dara (Darius III, r. 336-330 BCE). While the Achaemenid forces are in retreat, Dara is stabbed by two of his ministers, who expect Iskandar to reward their treachery. In Firdawsi's narrative, Iskandar, who has just learned that he is Dara's half-brother, instead rushes to the scene of the attack and tenderly comforts his mortally wounded opponent. In this painting, Iskandar weeps into a blue hankerchief as he cradels the head of the dying Dara. Mournful and bewildered soldiers encircle the two kings. At the left, the two traitorous ministers, arms bound and heads shaved, await execution. Although Dara is the elder brother in Firdawsi's tale, it is Iskandar who is here depicted with a white beard.
aperture=f2.8 focal length: 60.0 mm exposure 1/40 sec ISO: 2000