The Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan, Grandson of Timur — Shiraz, 1411

On 18 April 1411, the court astrologer Mahmud al-Kashi presented a 27-year-old prince with the sky exactly as it stood at the moment of his birth. The prince was Iskandar Sultan, grandson of Timur (Tamerlane) and ruler of Shiraz. This double-page painting is the heart of the book made for him, one of the finest illuminated personal horoscopes to survive from the medieval Islamic world.

At the centre, a great gold planisphere maps the heavens on 25 April 1384, the day Iskandar was born. Twelve lapis-blue medallions hold the signs of the zodiac (the ram, the bull, the twins, the crab and on around the wheel). Between them the planets appear as figures in their houses: Mars as a warrior with sword and severed head, Venus as a woman playing the lute. Four crowned, winged angels fill the corners. Two tall panels of white calligraphy on lapis and gold frame the whole composition like the covers of a book.

The stars promised a long and fortunate reign. History disagreed. Within three years Iskandar had minted coins in his own name and risen against his uncle, the emperor Shah Rukh. He was captured at Isfahan in 1414, blinded, and executed in 1415 at about thirty-one. The painters of his Shiraz workshop were carried off to Herat, where they helped shape the golden age of Timurid painting.

Digitally restored by Aurah Living from museum archives, including the worn fold down the centre where the two pages of the book meet. Printed in rich lapis blue and gold with a warm-white mat, in a landscape format that shows the full spread.