\"on the timurid flag\", in beiträge zur islamischen kunst und archäologie, band 2,...

$: \"On the Timurid flag\", in Beiträge zur islamischen Kunst und Archäologie, Band 2, Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2010, pp. 143-62$
Beiträge zur IslamischenKunst und Archäologie

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Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort ..................................................................................................................................... vi Spolien im Dienste der Macht: Das Zeugnis der Großen Moschee von Córdoba Antonio Peña ...........................................................................................................................................1 Sevilla, Hauptstadt der Almohaden in al-Andalus Magdalena Valor...................................................................................................................................26 Transformation von Moscheen zu Kirchen in Toledo aus Sicht der Bauforschung Tobias Rütenik.......................................................................................................................................37 Die islamische Keramik der Wüstung Cuncos, Extremadura, Spanien Klaus Graf .............................................................................................................................................59 Der Masǧid-i Gunbad in Sangān-i Pāʼīn (Ḫurāsān/Iran): Architektur, Baudekor und Inschriften Lorenz Korn...........................................................................................................................................81 Kunst mit Botschaft: Der Gold-Seide-Stoff für den Ilchan Abū Saʽīd von Iran (Grabgewand Rudolfs IV. in Wien) – Rekonstruktion, Typus, Repräsentationsmedium Markus Ritter.......................................................................................................................................105 Spätmittelalterliche Handwerkstechnologie: Der Metallfaden im Wiener Gold-Seide-Stoff für Abū Saʽīd Márta Járó...........................................................................................................................................136 On the Timurid Flag Yuka Kadoi ..........................................................................................................................................143 Art fort the International Market: Three Mother-of-Pearl Objects from Sixteenth-Century Gujarat in Early Modern European Collections Barbara Karl .......................................................................................................................................163 Monumental Art East of the Baroque Iván Szántó ..........................................................................................................................................178 Mamluk Influences in Hungarian Art Iván Szántó ..........................................................................................................................................192 Die Moschee im Wünsdorfer ‚Halbmondlager’ zwischen Ǧihād-Propaganda und Orientalismus Martin Gussone ...................................................................................................................................204

Ernst-Herzfeld-Gesellschaft, Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie, 2, Red. Markus Ritter und Lorenz Korn, Wiesbaden 2010, 143-162. © Autorin und Dr. Ludwig Reichert-Verlag, www.reichert-verlag.de

On the Timurid Flag

Yuka Kadoi

In considering the relationship between textiles and rulership in the medieval Islamic world, the flag invites an in-depth discussion as to its political and symbolic connotations. While the idea of state flags and military banners itself is universal, the flag design of some Islamic dynasties intriguingly reflects indigenous cultural traditions. This paper brings the flag of the Timurid Empire into focus. By pinpointing its stylistic variety and emblematic significance through surviving literary and pictorial sources, this article reappraises the characteristics of medieval Islamic flags, as well as offers an alternative avenue to the study of art and material culture in 14th- and 15th-century Islamic states. The Catalan Atlas and the flag – an introduction

In any nation and any culture, the flag is an essential visual tool of political and military propaganda. Often used symbolically, a piece of cloth with simple but ingeniously de-signed signs and colour schemes evokes patriotism and state ideology at once. This sign of territorialisation is however by no means a modern concept. In ancient and medieval times, when a majority of people were illiterate, the flag functioned significantly as a symbol of rulership, and its design and iconographic connotations were exploited from state to state.1 An idea for the use of a distinctive sign was particularly evident at the battle. Not only does the banner convey messages and orders at a glance, but also it stirs military prowess, as if it were a powerful weapon.

My inquisitiveness to the flag of the Timurid Empire (771-913/1370-1507)2 initially arose from delicately rendered small flags that are ubiquitous in Abraham Cresques’s (1325-1387) Catalan Atlas (1375; Espagnol 30, Bibliothèque nationale, Paris; Fig. 1).3 Based on earlier sources, such as the writings of Marco Polo (1254-c. 1325), Ibn Battuta (703-770/1304-1368 or 779/1377) and Odoric (c. 1286-1331),4 the Atlas includes amus-ing anecdotes about several regions alongside the depiction of inland features, such as rivers and mountains, as well as the images of rulers, people and animals. Furthermore, it indicates the approximate extent of both European and non-European kingdoms by using buildings with various flags.5 While Grosjean says that they have nothing to do 1 For a survey of the flag, see Smith 1975. 2 I follow Bosworth’s system, thus citing the Christian year in which the Hijri year begins. See Bos-

worth 1996. 3 Freiesleben 1977; Grosjean 1978. The Atlas is available online at http://www.bnf.fr/enluminures/texte/

manuscrit/aman6.htm (accessed 30 May 2008). 4 Grosjean 1978, 23-4. 5 The flag is a conventional device of 14th- and 15th-century portolan charts for denoting a major city

(see Smith 1975, 50-51; Harvey 1991, 39-49). For further discussion on the flag and the portolan charts, see Campbell 1987, 398-401 (unfortunately, the articles on this subject that have been quoted

Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie 2 144

with the actual flags used in these countries, as there seems to be general agreement as to the inauthenticity of such symbols in medieval maps,6 it is interesting to take a close look at each individual design.

One of the eye-catching images in the Atlas is found in the area of Iran and Central Asia. The caravan is portrayed as being “heading towards from the Empire of Sara to go to China,” according to the caption written nearby; it is surrounded by a river connect-ing to the Caspian Sea or the Aral Sea, presumably meant to be either the Am Darya or the Syr Darya, and a mountain range, possibly the Tian Shan Mountains or a generic indication of the Silk Road. Their travel is further highlighted by a number of mosque-like domed buildings adorned with a variety of flags: a yellow flag with a red square in the centre suggests a territory around the river (Fig. 2a); a flag in similar design but with a yellow square on a white ground is found in the right side (Fig. 2b); a brown or origi-nally silver flag with a mysterious symbol in black is on the left side (Fig. 2c); and fi-nally a brown or originally silver flag with three circles or balls is used in the territory beyond the mountain (Fig. 2d). In the light of the time when this map was produced, these flags are likely to have signified the territories of the Golden Horde (624-907/1227-1502) and the Chaghatay Khanate (624-764/1227-1363 [the Western Chagha-tay Khanate]; the Eastern Khanate remaining in power until the late 17th century), as well as the earlier dominions of the Timurid Empire.

Although it is hard to reconstruct the original context of how such flags would have been viewed by the target audience for this map – presumably not only displaying the cartographer’s knowledge but also intending for an actual use among navigators and travellers – these unique, almost enigmatic flag designs are undoubtedly something more than fancy cartographical marks. In fact, this raises a number of questions: how far do the representations of flags in the Catalan Atlas reflect reality? If they are not based on the first-hand knowledge of the cartographer, why these designs were chosen in this particular geographic area? And to what extent does this reflect the vexillological tradi-tions of the eastern Islamic lands?

By looking at the four types of flag and their symbolic significance, the following discussion is centred on the Timurid flag and its related art-historical issues. Rather than questioning about its actual existence, this study seeks its research potential, not only as a novel contribution to the study of Islamic flags, a subject which has relatively been untouched, but also as a notable approach into the layers of symbolic and iconographic meaning in the art of the Islamic world during its transitional period, namely from the time of early Turco-Mongolian nomadic occupation towards the post-medieval renais-sance under the Safavids (907-1135/1501-1722), the Ottomans (late 7th century-1342/ late 13th century-1924) and the Mughals (932-1274/1526-1858).

by Campbell [ibid. 399, n. 227] are unavailable at the time of writing this article). It is also interesting to observe how flags are incorporated into Islamic portolan charts (see Sezgin 2000-2007, figs. 37-38, for example).

6 Grosjean 1978, 23; Campbell 1987, 399.

Yuka Kadoi: On the Timurid Flag 145

Early Islamic flags – a survey

In order to identify the four types of flag depicted in the Catalan Atlas, it is essential to trace the development of flags and banners in the pre-Timurid Islamic world so as to discern their characteristics, whether they are Islamic, Iranian, Central Asian or some-thing beyond such categories.

Both textual and visual sources suffice to give a reasonable overview of flags and banners in the Islamic world as early as the age of the Prophet Muhammad,7 leading the discussion towards the post-Timurid periods, especially the Ottoman dynasty which left rich sources of vexillological information, both primary and secondary.8 The flag ap-pears to have already fully been established in early Islamic states in the course of the Muslim conquest, based on pre-Islamic Arab tribal standards,9 and traditions often refer to the flags of Muhammad, such as a long piece of white fabric fixed to a lance, called ‘uqab (“the eagle”), and a black flag called raya.10 A more detailed observation can be made on 7th-century Arab banners in terms of design, as Hinds has dealt with this topic in his study on the banners at the Battle of Siffin in 37/657.11 The banners already show a far more rich variety of shapes and motifs, including the crescent moon (hilal),12 but their principal design component appears to have remained colour. In fact, as an idea for the distinction of state symbols developed, the colour of the banner eventually reflected religious or political affiliations in the Islamic world.13

Further information about the flag is available from the ‘Abbasid (132-656/750-1258) period onwards. The ‘Abbasid flag is known for its use of black, the official col-our of the state.14 This period also yields visual evidence for the Islamic flag, for exam-ple the banner depicted in lustre wares of 9th- and 10th-century Mesopotamia (Fig. 3).15 Perhaps the most famous visualisation of the ‘Abbasid banner is found in the illustra-tions of the Paris Maqamat of al-Hariri (Baghdad, 634/1237; MS. arabe 5847; Biblio-thèque nationale, Paris).16 The banners portrayed here are impressive for their subtle choice of colours and bold arrangement of inscriptions.

The earliest surviving examples of the Islamic flag have been preserved in Spain. Among the best known example is an early 13th-century banner from Burgos, the so-

7 For a brief survey of Islamic flags, see Nicolle 1996, 278-83; Baker 2004, 212-217. 8 The art of the Ottoman flag has been discussed in detail by Żygulski (Żygulski 1992). For Ottoman

banners, see also Denny 1974; Shalem 2000. 9 David-Weill 1960, 349. 10 Ibid. However, the definition of these terms has been a matter of scholarly debate. 11 Hinds 1971. 12 See Ettinghausen 1971. 13 Nicolle 1996, 281. It is not my present purpose to exploit the whole issue of colour symbolism in the

Islamic world, but I do hope to have an opportunity to tackle this topic as a sequence of the study of the Timurid flag in the near future. For the moment, see Morabia 1986.

14 See Bosworth 1993. 15 For other examples, see Nicolle 1993, 43; Pancaroğlu 2007, cat. no. 11. 16 For example, the scenes of the imperial military band (fol. 19; Ettinghausen 1962, 118) and the pil-

grim caravan arrives at Juhfa (fol. 94v; ibid. 119) in the Paris Maqamat.


called Las Navas de Tolosa Banner.17 The design ranges from a central medallion com-posed of an eight-pointed star with geometric motifs, the eight circular lobes at the bot-tom to the bands of Qur’anic inscriptions. This advanced stylistic treatment, together with its visually compelling size (3.30 × 2.20 m), demonstrates that the banner was no longer a mere military tool, but it is more likely to have been treated as a work of art at that time.

No textiles safely identifiable as the state flags of the Ayyubid (564-late 9th/1169-15th century) and Mamluk periods (648-923/1250-1517) are known to survive. Yet an increasing concern for armorial insignia is evident among the Ayubbids and the Mam-luks, judging by the extensive use of heraldic symbols (rank) in their buildings, coins and decorative arts.18 One relevant example of Mamluk textiles is a fragmentary em-broidery in the form of two joined tabs, possibly with a blazon of the owner of this tex-tile, in the Newberry Collection (1984.35, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).19 Such tabs were supposedly used to ornate a banner’s edge so as to make it recognisable from a distance.

Little is known about the flags of the eastern Islamic world before the Mongol pe-riod, apart from types of banner attributable to Ghaznavid (366-582/977-1186) rulers according to contemporary literary sources.20 Saljuq flags cannot be fixed to any abso-lute chronology, due to the lack of relevant literary and visual evidence, although it would not be surprising if pre-Islamic Turkic vexillological traditions, for example flag-pole finals, were to some extent in existence in the Saljiq cultural sphere.21

In view of the flags in question, all of which seem to belong to states of nomadic ori-gin, one may be tempted to relate them to flags used in the Mongol Empire, particularly the Ilkhanid state (654-754/1256-1353), asking to what extent the nomadic traditions of flags were brought into the Islamic world at the time of the Mongol occupation of West Asia during the late 13th and early 14th centuries and whether post-Ilkhanid Islamic flags were developed along nomadic lines. Medieval Mongol flags were varied, includ-ing totemic standards, made of metal, wood and animal hair.22 Among others, the white standard (chagha’an tuq) with the nine tails, which is said to have set up by the Mon-gols at the proclamation of the Mongol state23 and to have been used by Genghis Khan to denote his position at the battle,24 functioned as the royal insignia, owing to a specific connotation of white in steppe ideology as a symbol of good fortune and kingship.25 Surviving textiles attributable to the Ilkhanid period are in the main concerned with

17 For a recent study of this banner, see Ali-de-Unzaga 2007. Two banners from the Battle of Salado

(1340) are now preserved in Toledo. 18 See Mayer 1933; Allan 1970; Kurz 1977; Leaf 1983; Rabbat 1995. 19 Ellis 2001, no. 51. Ellis has identified some twenty tabs attached to one of the Maqamat banners (ibid.

74; Ettinghausen 1962, 118). See also Ellis 2001, nos. 52-53. 20 Khan 1943, 114-117. 21 See Esin 1972. 22 Nicolle 1996, 283-284. 23 Cleaves 1982, 141 (quoted in Allsen 1997, 59). For the white standard, see Chiodo 1995. 24 Nicolle 1990, 42. 25 Allsen 1997, 58-59.


clothing and large-sized architectural furnishing.26 But representations of flags are am-ply found in the battle scenes of Ilkhanid painting, such as those seen in the Jami‘ al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din27 and the Shahnama of Firdausi.28 Although most of these are conventional and less characteristic, military banners such as those depicted in one of Jami‘ al-Tawarikh illustrations (Fig. 7), sometimes projecting out over margins, are structurally unique; they serve to create a composition balance and to enhance a sense of heights, together with elongated horsetail standards (tugh).29 In fact, some standards represented by Ilkhanid painters are refreshingly distinctive, perhaps reflecting the changing pictorial role of flags and banners whose function became more concerned with their wider iconographic use than their reservation to battle scenes.30

The flag with a red square

The above survey of Islamic flags serves to ascertain their diverse traditions, ranging from Spain to Central Asia, from the 7th century onwards. Yet none of the examples mentioned above provide definitive clues to the identification of any flags in the Catalan Atlas, and it is therefore difficult to assess the four flags within the historical framework of Islamic flags.

Although the captions of the Atlas do not specify the flag design, there must have been certain sources of vexillological information available for the cartographer. As far as literary evidence is concerned, medieval Spanish sources are particularly relevant to the identification of the flags in the Catalan Atlas. The first key treatise is the work enti-tled The Book of the Knowledge of All the Kingdoms, Lands, and Lordships that Art in the World, and the Arms and Devices of Each Land and Lordship, or of the Kings and Lords who Possess Them,31 one of the earliest vexillological references which was writ-ten by an anonymous Spanish Franciscan monk (b. 1305) in the middle of the 14th cen-tury. Although undated, it is generally assumed that this book was compiled in the pe-riod between 1350 and 1360,32 at the time when the Ilkhanid state was virtually falling apart. Like Polo’s Travels, the authenticity of the author’s travel to the East remains a

26 For example, see Komaroff and Carboni (eds.) 2002, cat. nos. 69-78. See also Markus Ritter’s article

in the present volume. 27 For the Edinburgh copy (Tabriz, 714/1314; Arabic MS 20, Edinburgh University Library), see Rice

1976, nos. 38-39, 43-44, 48, 51, 54-58, and 60-61; for the London copy (Tabriz, 714/1314; MS 727, Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London), see Blair 1995, K21 and K24.

28 Among the surviving copies of the illustrated Shahnamas datable to the Ilkhanid period, see in par-ticular the Small Shahnamas for flags and banners (Simpson 1979, figs. 3, 16, 55-56, 67, 72, 82 and 104).

29 See Brend 2000, 40-41. For the tugh, see Bosworth 2000. 30 For example, an illustration of the funeral procession of Rustam and Zavara in the Great Mongol

Shahnama (probably Tabriz, c. 1330; Komaroff and Carboni [eds.] 2002, fig. 124) shows mourners who bear two banners: one is a red oblong banner with a dragon and a black textile attachment with arabesque motifs; another is an oblong banner in red and green with an image of a tiger-looking ani-mal. Both are decorated with tughs.

31 Markham 1912. 32 Ibid. viii.


matter of debate. Yet narrating his journey through the Caspian region, the Franciscan monk gives an intriguing description about Persia and its flag:

I departed from Armenia and came to the great city of Toris (Tabriz) which is the capital of the empire of the Persians. It is one of the grandest cities in the world, well supplied, rich, and in a good climate. For this reason the Persians are wise and well versed in all the sciences. They have learned men with a profound knowledge of the stars. The Emperor of Persia has for his device a yellow flag with a red square in the middle […].33

If the book was compiled in the mid-14th century, it would make sense to consider it as one of the references for the use of a yellow flag with a red square for the area of the Persian Empire in the Catalan Atlas of 1375. Indeed, the description of the Persian flag in the Book of the Knowledge is comprehensive enough to convey an image of the flag portrayed in a cartographical style. If this is a mere literary cliché in medieval Spanish travels and maps, how this cliché was established is another point to be considered. It is nevertheless difficult to decipher the square and the yellow colour in any cultural con-texts, for these are among the popular elements seen in flag design throughout the ages.

No particular information is available about another square flag, namely a white flag with a yellow square, in the treatise. Given its stylistic association with the yellow flag of the Persian Empire, the distribution of a similar square-bearing flag across West Asia in the Atlas was presumably intended to underline the extent of the Persian cultural sphere. Alternatively, if the yellow square flag is meant to signify Ilkhanid territory in a narrow sense, and this might be the case as the Franciscan monk refers to major Ilkha-nid centres, such as Tabriz and Sultaniyye, as well as Abu Sa‘id (r. 716-736/1316-1335) and his political career,34 it would not be a total mistake to regard the white square flag as that of the Chaghatayids, whose control reached Transoxiana, eastern Turkestan and at some stages northern India, and to view the square flag design as a cartographical mark of the Mongol domain. This interpretation gives a clue that helps to identify yet another curious flag found in northern India – a brown or originally sliver flag with a vertical black line – as the flag of the Delhi Sultanate (602-962/1206-1555). While the Indo-Persian border line is vaguely indicated by an elephant in the Atlas, a close exis-tence of the Chaghatay flag and the Delhi Sultanate flag is somewhat ironic: this evokes the threat from the Chaghatay state in northern India during the reign of Muhammad Shah I (r. 695-715/1296-1316). It is unlikely that the cartographer was well-informed about such a complicated historical fabric of this region, but there must have been a certain idea about the extension of the Mongol Empire in his minds.

The flag with a “sign”

Despite the use of unfamiliar place names, the monk’s description is sufficient enough to visualise what he is alleged to have seen on the north side of the Caspian Sea:

33 Ibid. 52-53, pl. 17, 80. 34 Ibid. 54 in particular.


I departed from the city of Bacu (Baku) and went by Gudaspu … Quillan (Gilan?) along the shores of the Sea of Sara (Caspian). They are to the south, in the Empire of Persia. Then I went along the shore on the other side to the north, by the Gulf of Monimenti, to Trescargo, Contulicanchi, and to the great city of Sara (Sarai) where Uxbeco (Özbek Khan of the Golden Horde, r. 713-742/1313-1341) was crowned Emperor of the Tartaros. This city is situated in the Gulf of Monimenti, and on the river Tanay (Volga), along the banks of which there are many rich cities, but it is a very cold country. The device of the Emperor of Sara is a white flag with a red sign.35

In contrast to fairly detailed geographical information about the Caspian region, the flag described here is too general to ascribe it to any of those illustrated in the Catalan Atlas. A key to identify the flag of the Kingdom of Sara, however, lies in a type of flag illustrated in the codices of this treatise which are datable to the 15th century (Fig. 4).36 Although this flag is, strictly speaking, not identical to the flag with a sign found in the Atlas, they visibly share the same design concept. The flag of the Emperor of Sara is represented as a white banner with an undefined “sign” in red, curiously combining an element derived from the cross form, apparently the crux ansata (“handled cross”), on one side with the crescent moon on another side. This intriguing iconographical mixture of Christian and Muslim symbols could be a whim of the illustrator or probably due to the conventional use of this sort of flag design for this geographical area in the Euro-pean maps of this period.37 Yet in view of the religious background during the reign of Özbek Khan, it is possible to view this design as the symptom of harmonious or inhar-monious co-existence of Christianity and Islam in the Golden Horde.38

The flag with three circles

Having identified the three types of flag in the Catalan Atlas, the remaining problem is the flag with a three-circle pattern. While the Franciscan monk gives little evidence for the definition of this flag design, Ruy González de Clavijo (d. 1412), a Spanish ambas-sador who visited the Timurid court in 1404, tells us a relevant emblematic design adopted by Timur:

The special armorial bearing of Timur is the three circlets set thus to shape a triangle, which same it is said signifies that he Timur is lord of all three quarters of the world. This device Timur has ordered to be set on the coins that he has stuck, and on all buildings that he has erected (…) These three circlets which, as said, are like the letter O thrice repeated to form a triangle, further are the imprint of Timur’s seal, and again by his special order are added so as to be seen patent on all the coins stuck by those princes who are become tributary to his government.39

35 Ibid. 59. 36 For the codicology of this treatise, see ibid. vii-viii. 37 See a mid-14th century portolan chart attributed to Angelino Dulcert (Add. Ms. 25691, British Li-

brary, London): Harvey 1991, fig. 34). 38 See DeWeese 1994, 90-158. Özbek Khan is often mentioned in the context of Islamization in the

Golden Horde, but he is also known to have extended favours to Christian communities in his realm, including the Franciscans (ibid. 96-97).

39 Clavijo 1928, 208-209.


None of the surviving Timurid buildings with this emblem are known to survive; nor do any decorative objects datable to the Timurid period bear this symbol. It is neverthe-less highly conceivable that the emblem was in actual circulation throughout the empire during Timur’s reign, thanks to convincing numismatic evidence for this design (Fig. 5).40

As Clavijo interprets the design as a symbol of the expansion of Timur’s territory across Asia, namely Central Asia, West Asia and India, a similar territorial idea is sug-gested by a wider distribution of the three-circle flag in a far eastern side of the Atlas up to the border of the Gog and Magog, a mythical land that is located above China.41 Yet the reason behind the choice of this peculiar design requires further investigations. This decorative device has often been discussed in relation to a motif which eventually came to be known as çintamani in Ottoman art.42 Despite its Buddhist-tinge term, the tri-partite pattern is more concerned with early Eurasian ideology;43 it is very likely to have initially been derived from animal symbolism – in this case the pattern gives an indeli-ble impression of leopard skin patterns – which was widely shared among indigenous inhabitants of Inner Eurasia.44 Its intrinsic associations with animals is also reflected in the etymology of this kind of tribal brand, called the tamgha, a sign or seal which was originally placed on livestock or personal property in nomadic society.45 It is intriguing to see how such indigenous ideas were incorporated into the material culture of the east-ern Islamic world.

Further to nomadic connections to Timurid insignia, Clavijo excitingly narrates his finding of corner poles attached to Timurid tents and poetically describes their style as “a very tall staff crapped with an apple of furnished copper above which is a crescent”.46 This is suggestive of the tenacity of the tugh in the Timurid cultural sphere and a good supporting evidence for the remains of nomadic-style standards at that time.

An attempt can also be made to contextualise this flag design in a wider context of Iranian material culture. Iran has a rich vexillological tradition, whose history can easily be traced back to the Achaemenid period.47 Pre-Islamic Iranian standards are known for their stylistic variety and significant role in royal iconography, like a legendary royal standard of Sasanian kings, known as the derafsh-i kavian, described by Firdausi.48 40 Album 2001, pl. 43, nos. 839-840. See also ibid. nos. 818, 828, 841-843, 848-852, 931 and 1748-

1749. 41 For the notion of the Gog and Magog, see Anderson 1932. 42 For a recent study of çintamani and its origin, see Kadoi 2007. 43 See Baldick 2000, 12-14. The early Eurasians saw the universe as being divided largely into (1) the

sky; (2) the space between the sky and the earth; and (3) the earth (ibid. 14). 44 See Kadoi 2007, 35-36. 45 Leiser 2000. Distinctive brand-marks, which the Mongols call tamaga, are still used for horses - the

most important form of property in nomadic society - to denote ownership in Mongolia (see Wadding-ton 1974).

46 Clavijo 1928, 239. 47 For Iranian flags, see Ackerman 1981; Calmard and Allan 1985; Melikian-Chirvani 1989; Shapur

Shahbazi 1996; Shapur Shahbazi 2001. 48 Khaleghi-Motlagh 1996. Firdausi says, “he (Faridun) entered the new prince’s court, who marked the

apron on the spear and hailed the omen. He decked the apron with brocade of Rum of jewelled pat-


None of the ancient Iranian flags are closely associated with the flags depicted in the Atlas, apart from that Ackerman has pointed out one of the standards found in a Sa-sanian or Sogdian silver plate in St. Petersburg which has a decorative device evocative of the three-circle pattern (Fig. 6)49 and has described it as an astral symbol. Although this is an isolated example, it would be interesting to surmise that this symbol has an ancient origin and recurred in the Timurid flag as a reminder of ancient Iranian tradi-tions. Finally with regard to the relationship between animal symbolism and the flag design identifiable as that of Timur, Khaleghi-Motlagh has commented on some materi-als associated with the derafsh-i kavian, for instance according to 10th-century histori-ans, the kavian flag was made of panther skin.50 This does indeed indicate an insepara-ble iconographical relationship between the animal and the flag of the Iranian cultural domain, though it should not be taken into account as an absolute justification for the adoption of animal skin patterns in the design of the Timurid flag. What is incontro-vertible, however, is that the use of animal-related symbols did to a certain extent con-stitute the Iranian stock of vexillological ideas.

How the flag is represented in Timurid painting

Assuming that the last type of flag in the Catalan Atlas, namely the three-circle flag, has a close association with the Timurid Empire, the question now arises as to how the flag was observed by contemporary Timurid artists. While the total lack of surviving exam-ples of flags and textile fragments safely attributable to the Timurid period precludes a further discussion on the design of the Timurid flag in a wider context of the art of the loom in this period,51 it is possible to embark on an intriguing observation of types of flag which may have been employed in the Timurid Empire by using pictorial sources.

It seems to be the case that, as Timur is generally known as a patron of architecture, much emphasis was given to wall-painting during his reign, and little evidence for his

terns on a golden ground, placed on the spearpoint a full moon – a token portending gloriously – and having draped it with yellow, red, and violet, he named it the Kaw[v]ian flag. Thenceforth when any Shah acceded to the throne, and donned the crown, he hung the worthless apron of the smith with still more jewels, sumptuous brocade, and painted silk of Chin. It thus fell out that Kaw[v]a’s standard grew to be a sun amid the gloom of night, and cheered all hearts” (Warner and Warner 1905-1925/ 2000, 1, 157).

49 Ackerman 1981, 2770, 2778, fig. 960, pl. 233B. 50 Khaleghi-Motlagh 1996, 315. 51 A few examples of Timurid textile work have been attributed vaguely to 15th-century Iran or Central

Asia (for example, see Lentz and Lowry 1989, cat. nos. 116-117; see also Baker 1995, 80-81), yet none of these provide credible evidence for their Timurid date and provenance. It has been assumed that Iranian textile traditions were exploited at the Timurid royal workshop in Samarkand, particularly under the inspiration of imported Chinese textiles (Lentz and Lowry 1989, 216-217). This can be at-tested by the depictions of the richly woven fabric for tents found in Timurid painting (for example, see Lentz and Lowry 1989, 265; see also Andrews 1999, 667-820). Equally little is known about the history of Timurid carpets (for example, see the “chess board” carpet [CA 019, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha] that has been attributed to 14th- and 15th-century Central Asia; reproduced in Thompson 2004], cat. no. 20), and it is therefore difficult to deal with Timurid design in a wide context of the art of the loom.


patronage of book painting can thus be detected.52 Surviving illustrated manuscripts which at least fit in the period of his reign include the Collection of Epics of 800/1397 (probably Shiraz), now divided into Dublin and London.53 The manuscript has been attributed to the patronage of Timur’s grandfather Pir Muhammad b. ‘Umar Shaykh, then the governor of Shiraz, but stylistically related to the workshop of Iskandar Sul-tan.54 It contains two depictions of flags at battle scenes,55 yet none of these evoke the designs of flags under discussion. Other illustrate manuscripts belonging to the same period, although these have been considered to belong to the Muzaffarid (713-795/1314-1393) school on stylistic grounds, are the so-called Bihbihani Anthology (Fars, 801/1398) in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul (T 1950),56 and the Cairo Shahnama of 796/1393.57 But little attention is paid to the elaboration of flags in these manuscripts.

More relevant examples can be found in two apparently late 14th-century Shahnama illustrations from the Istanbul Saray Albums (H. 2153, fols. 52v-53 and 102, Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul).58 Both illustrate battle scenes and contain a detailed depiction of oblong banners with elaborate tughs. The flag design here is not based on a single distinctive motif, but it is composed of figural images, for example angels, zigzag pat-terns and inscriptions. Although none of the flags are stylistically related to the Catalan flags, they are of great importance as antecedents of the evolution of flag images in 15th-century manuscript painting produced in the Iranian world. The role of the flag as an important visual and iconographical tool is particularly discernable in the illustra-tions of the Shahnama of Muhammad Juki (c. 1440-1445; MS 239, Royal Asiatic Soci-ety, London).59 The flag is ubiquitous in the illustrations of the manuscript,60 but the oblong banner found in the scene of Rustam and Isfandiyar (fol. 296; Figs. 8a-b) has its own iconographic right: bearing the title of Muhammad Juki, thus being considered as evidence for the approximate date of production, the image of the flag is enlivened by the use of intense colour schemes, ranging from red to green, the presence of a Chinese-style dragon in gold as a central design, as well as the inclusion of an elaborate tugh and a flying textile attachment.

52 Gray 1961, 65. See also Lentz 1993. 53 Per 114, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin; Or. 2780, British Library, London. For these manuscripts,

see Lentz and Lowry 1989, cat. no. 16A-B. For a recent study of the Dublin manuscript, see Wright 2004.

54 Wright 2004, 76. 55 Fol. 38, Per 114 (reproduced in Wright 2004, figure 6.4) and fol. 49v, Or. 2780 (Brend 2000, pl. 3).

The former is a simple red banner, while the latter shows flags with a dragon motif. 56 For a recent study of this manuscript, see O’Kane 1999-2000. 57 O’Kane 2006. Exceptions are, however, banners depicted in folio 154 (ibid. fig. 7). 58 Gray 1961, 43; Gorelik 1979, pls. 46-47. 59 For this manuscript, see Wilkinson 1931; Robinson 1979; Robinson 1998, 1-8. Barbara Brend is pre-

paring for a monograph on this manuscript (due to be published in 2010). 60 For example, see Wilkinson 1931, pls. VIII, IX, X, XIX, XXII and XXIII; Robinson 1998, pls. 5-6, 9-

10.


Of equal note is the depiction of the flag found in the illustrated copies of the Zafar-nama (“Book of Victory”), a eulogistic prose text which was compiled by Sharaf al-Din ‘Ali Yazdi in 828/1424.61 Images of the flag or related textiles can be found in a dis-persed copy the Zafarnama dated 839/1436 (Shiraz), one of the earliest surviving copies of Sharaf al-Din’s Zafarnama and most probably commissioned by Ibrahim Sultan.62 In several miniatures, Timur is present under the parasol,63 a traditional Persian symbol of kingship, to suggest his possession of farr-i izadi (“the divine glory”).64 The curious fact is that the parasol shown in folio 16v (Figs. 9a-b) contains three-dotted patterns.65 If the parasol, which evokes the dome, functions as a metaphor for the sky, it would make sense to have a star-looking spotted pattern so as to enhance the glory of the king as the cosmic ruler. Whether this is the painter’s whim or a mere decorative device is difficult to answer. Yet taken together, the notion of the three-dotted pattern is visibly absorbed into a certain aspect of Timurid art and material culture.

Conclusion

It is a thorny problem to identify the flags of the Catalan Atlas, due to the nature of this map that belongs to a particular period of European cartography, from the medieval mappa mundi to the scientific map. The mixture of disparate elements derived from various literary and iconographic sources permeated in the Atlas are indeed confusing. But as a reference to the end of the Middle Ages, the cartographer successfully captures the spirit of the era.

A close look at one cartographic element in this Atlas has led to a fascinating obser-vation of Islamic flags in general and the Timurid flag in particular. While it remains uncertain as to a clear identification of the square-patterned flag and the flag with a cross-and-crescent sign due to the lack of definitive evidence, one can reasonably con-clude that the flag with a tri-partite motif had a certain iconographic association with the Timurid Empire. Besides this finding, an in-depth discussion of this motif has ideally illustrated a wider aspect of the art and material culture of the eastern Islamic world in pre-modern times.

Having been singled out as one of the earliest sources for the Timurid flag, a myriad of flag designs found in the Catalan Atlas encourages a further research endeavour, which will shed new light on the flags found in other parts of the Islamic world.

61 For illustrated copies of the Zafarnama, see Sims 1973. The text often mentions banners and standards

but does not specify their design (for example, see Thackston 1989, 67, 70 and 72). 62 For this manuscript, see Sims 1990-1991. 63 Timur or one of his sons appears under a parasol in 13 of 37 illustrations of this manuscript (Sims

1993, 78); for further discussion on the parasol in Iranian art, see Sims 1973, 298-301. 64 Soudavar 1992, 62. For this notion, see Gnoli 1999. A parasol is found in fols. 16v, 207v, 249v, 290v,

305v, 331v, 345, 359v, 360, 380v and 413v (Sims 1990-1991, figs. 7-8, 11, 14, 16-17, 21, 25-26, 29 and 36).

65 A similar tri-partite decorative device can be found in the scene of the conquest of Baghdad by Timur (fol. 345v; Sims 1990-1991, fig. 21).


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Żygulski, Zdzisław Jr. 1992. Ottoman Art in the Service of the Empire, New York. Postscript – After the submission of the manuscript for publication, the following two refer-ences came to my attention: Michael Fedorov, Boris Kochnev, Golib Kurbanov, Madeleine Voegeli, Buhara / Samarqand, Sylloge Numorum Arabicorum Tübingen, XVa Mittelasien / Cen-tral Asia I (Tübingen/Berlin, 2008), for the study of Timurid coinage; Michael Meinecke, “Zur mamlukischen Heraldik,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 28 (1972), 213-287, for note 18. I am indebted to Lorenz Korn for information on these references. The author would also like to thank Markus Ritter for his comments on this article.


Fig. 1 Iran and Central Asia, from the Catalan Atlas of Abraham Cresques. 1375. Espagnol 30, Bibliothèque nationale, Paris.

158 Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie 2

Fig. 2d A flag, from the Catalan Atlas (detail of fig. 1). Fig. 2c A flag, from the Catalan Atlas (detail of fig. 1).

Fig. 2a A flag, from the Catalan Atlas (detail of fig. 1).

Fig. 2b A flag, from the Catalan Atlas (detail of fig. 1).


Fig. 3 Lustre bowl. Iraq, 9th-10th century. MAO23, Musée du Louvre, Paris (drawing: Y. Kadoi).

Fig. 4 Flag of the Emperor of Sara, illustration from the Book of the Knowledge (after Markham 1912, pl. 16, 79).

Fig. 6 Sasanian or Sogdian standard (after Pope and Ackerman [eds.] 1981, fig. 960, pl. 233B).

Fig. 5 Coins, minted in Samarkand, dated 785/1383. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.


Fig. 7 Battle between Abu‘l Qasim and the Samanid Muntasir (top); Muntasir crossing the frozen river Jay-hun (bottom), page from the Jami‘ al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din. Tabriz, 714/1314. MS Arab 20, fol. 122, Edinburgh University Library.


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