Isfandiyar's Third Exploit: He Kills a Dragon

In this image we can see writing on top of the image with a fight between a dragon and warriors and more writing below the image. This folio contains a lot of writing compared to drawing. On the left side of the art, there is a large dragon with a mountain behind it. The dragon has horses and a carriage in its mouth. The body of the dragon is black highlighted with blue and gold. On the right side of the work, there are 5 warriors who are all dressed in red and gold armour. There is only one man fighting and has charged at the dragon with his sword. This man has a brave and angry look on his face.  There are also other men are mounted on horses. Behind them is a man bearing a flag. This folio is inspired by the original Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. In this 1341 recreation, we see an image with Isfandiyar, the son of Gushtasp, in combat with a dragon. The story is very similar to my other object called Rustam kills a dragon. In this story, Isfandiyar was also on a journey in which he had to face many labours similar to Rustam’s seven labours on his way to rescue Kay Kavus. He was on this journey to save his sisters who were captured during the war between Iran and Turan. Isfandiyar shows his strength by taking a shortcut to rescue his sisters from the Turanian fortress and encounters a dragon along the way.

 I chose this piece because it demonstrates bravery in fighting a dragon. It shows contrast to Sekandar because Isfandiyar has lost two horses and his carriage due to his tactic of brute force. When Sekandar and Daniel defeated dragons by strategizing, they did not have to lose any people or possessions. This work of art also depicts how frightening and dangerous dragons were through Ferdowsi’s interpretation.