Iskandar's Iron Cavalry Battles King Fur of Hind (text, recto; painting, verso), illustrated folio from the Great Ilkhanid Shahnama (Book of Kings)

Although Firdawsi completed the Shahnama (Book of Kings) in 1010, the earliest surviving illustrated manuscripts of the text can be dated no earlier than the first half of the fourteenth century. The finest and most important of these early manuscripts is the "Great Mongol Shahnama" believed to have been created for the last of the Ilkhanid rulers of Iran, Abu Saᶜid (r. 1317-35). The 57 surviving illustrations, which are unusually large, include dramatic compositions and eclectic details drawn from Islamic, Chinese, and European sources. Although Firdawsi’s long section about Iskandar (Alexander the Great) forms part of the historical section in the Shahnama, much of it derives from a more popular Alexander romance tradition in Persian. After conquering Iran, Iskandar turns his attention to King Fur, ruler of Kanauj, India. Hearing about the massive elephants in Fur’s army, Iskandar’s troops are reluctant to engage in battle, so he orders his blacksmiths to build iron horses and riders filled with naphtha. The terrified Indian soldiers flee before the fiery iron horsemen. Historical versions of this epic encounter, the Battle of the Hydaspes (Jhelum), make no mention of flame-spouting cavalry. But Iran’s Mongol rulers, for whom this painting was produced, would have appreciated its portrayal of intimidation as a tool of conquest. Here the silver pigment used for the horsemen has tarnished to dark gray, rendering them even more threatening.