English: In the Palace of the ‘Abbasid Caliph, Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan

Accession Number:AKM272.f37v

Creator:Author: Ahmad b. Muhammad Ghaffari, Persian, died 1567 Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi

Place:Iran, Shiraz (probably)

Dimensions: 38.7 cm × 25 cm × 6.4 cm

Date:1573-74 CE/980 AH/AH 980

Materials and Technique:Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper

The miniature painting "In the Palace of the ‘Abbasid Caliph" is from an intact manuscript of Kitab-i Nigaristan, a collection of anecdotes and historical incidents written in prose by the historian and scholar Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari (1504–1567/68) of Kashan in 1551–2. This illustrated manuscript, dated 1573, was probably produced in a Shiraz workshop.

The miniature painting illustrates the moralizing tale of Jaʿfar Barmaki,[1] minister of the famous ʿAbbasid Caliph Harun al-Rašid[2] (786–809) in Baghdad. It displays the same compositional features as the interior court scenes[3] of Shiraz illustrations of the period. The image is placed in a rectangular frame between two textboxes above and below it. The crowned figure, the vizier Jaʿfar Barmaki, sits on a rug at the highest level of the room. On his right is his guest, who points and seems to converse with him. The figures in the lower part of the picture plane are women who hold percussion instruments and are presumably musicians or dancers.

The scene depicts a banquet with wine and music, during which the minister receives a guest who is a close relative of the caliph Harun al-Rašid. Despite his close relationship to the caliph, he is asking the minister for a favour. The anecdote points out the power and influence of the minister, Jaʿfar Barmaki.

This anecdote belongs to a genre known as nadira, which means "a strange event or happening." Within this genre, anecdotes about oddities and miracles refer to a historical or literary source and are narrated within a historical context. These strange events and miracles occur to rulers, scholars, viziers, and ordinary people in Iranian history from the introduction of Islam to the time of the Safavids (1501–1677). They offer an idealized version of history and often contain a warning or moral lesson. Ghaffari, as a historian, has produced the Nigaristan in such a way that the narratives are carefully sourced, but the content is mostly an idealized version of the history and is told for the benefit of the ruler. This approach to historiography was popular in Safavid Iran.