This painting depicts a scene from the epic poem, Shahnama of Firdausi. It shows Kay Khusrau, the son of an Iranian prince Siyavush, on horseback, capturing the King of Makran, seen here standing without his turban. Kay Khusrau was in pursuit of his grandfather Afrasiyab, an arch-enemy of the Iranian, who had murdered his father. The King of Makran had refused to supply provisions to Kay Khusrau's army and is killed but accorded a royal burial.The Shahnama (the Book of Kings) is a legendary epic tale on the history of Persia by the 10th century poet Firdausi. The Shahnama has 62 stories, 990 chapters, and contains 60,000 rhyming couplets. Firdausi started his composition of the Shahnama in the Samanid era in 977 CE and completed it around 1010 CE during the Ghaznavid era. The Shahnama tells the mythical and historical past of Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century.
