Great Mongol Shahnameh
The most important manuscript of the Shahnameh epic poem from the Ilkhanid period
The Great Mongol Shahnameh (Persian: شاهنامه بزرگ ایلخانی) also known as the Demotte Shahnameh or Great Ilkhanid Shahnama, is an illustrated manuscript of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran, probably dating to the 1330s. In its original form, which has not been recorded, it was probably planned to consist of about 280 folios with 190 illustrations, bound in two volumes, although it is thought it was never completed. It is the largest early book in the tradition of the Persian miniature, in which it is "the most magnificent manuscript of the fourteenth century", "supremely ambitious, almost awe-inspiring", and "has received almost universal acclaim for the emotional intensity, eclectic style, artistic mastery and grandeur of its illustrations".
It was produced in the context of the Il-khanid court ruling Persia (modern day Iran) as part of the Mongol Empire, about a century after their conquest, and just as the dynasty was about to collapse. It remained in Persia until the early 20th century, when it was broken up in Europe by the dealer George Demotte, and now exists as 57 individual pages, many significantly tampered with, in a number of collections around the world.
Miniatures
Like other Persian manuscripts, it uses paper. Excluding blank margins, the pages are 41 by 29 cm, with the text in six columns of 31 lines where not interrupted by the miniatures. These mostly take the full width of the page, and are placed at various heights within it. None are full page. Some miniatures use irregular "stepped" shapes to suit the subject.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Great Mongol Shahnameh” as the most important manuscript of the Shahnameh epic poem from the Ilkhanid period. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as the most important manuscript of the Shahnameh epic poem from the Ilkhanid period. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5797140. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Great Mongol Shahnameh” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.