A Timurid-era masterpiece preserved in Paris

🔴The 600-year-old epic of the “Bird of Fortune”

🔴A unique manuscript among masterpieces to be presented in Uzbekistan

Khwaju Kermani’s renowned epic Humay and Humayun is considered a true gem of Timurid-era manuscript art. The work was copied in Herat in 1437 during the reign of Shahrukh Mirza and is now preserved in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris.

Khwaju Kermani (1280–1352) was born in the city of Kerman, Iran, and took his pen name from the local form of the word “Khwaja.” His works are rich with Sufi ideas, themes of love, and spiritual purification. He spent most of his life in Shiraz, where he passed away in 1349.

His literary heritage is vast and diverse. In addition to his large Divan, Khwaju followed in the footsteps of his predecessors and composed his own version of the famous Khamsa cycle. His complete works, copied in Herat in 1439, contain both his Khamsa and Divan, which significantly enriched the literary milieu of the Timurid era.

Although Humay and Humayun was written in Persian, scholars believe that the poet drew inspiration from Turkic folklore, as the name “Humay” in Turkic mythology refers to the bird of fortune.

The epic tells of the love adventures, heroism, and spiritual trials of Humay, the son of the King of Syria, and Humayun, the daughter of the Chinese Khan, portrayed with exceptional poetic mastery. The work consists of 4,407 couplets and is written in the same meter as Nizami’s Iskandarnama.

The value of this manuscript lies not only in its content but also in its exquisite miniatures. The decorations and illustrations clearly demonstrate that the art of manuscript illumination had already reached a high level before the time of Kamoliddin Behzad.

The fact that this manuscript is preserved in Paris underscores the significance and place of Timurid literary heritage in world culture. At the same time, its scholarly study and presentation to a wide readership remain a relevant task today.

This masterpiece has been included in the Gems of Uzbekistan’s Manuscript Heritage book-album published by the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, where it is recognized as another priceless example of the nation’s cultural legacy.

Durdona Rasulova
P.S. The article may be republished with a reference link to the Center’s official website.