The Miniatures of the Zubdat Al- Tawarikh

Source: Turkish Treasures Culture /Art / Tourism Magazine, 1978

See the entire article at http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Ext/Zubdat.html

Below are pictures by Turkish artists of the late 16th century (about 1585).

The Zubdat-al Tawarikh is a summary of Biblical and political world history covering the creation of the world, stories of the prophets and prominent historical figures of the past, and Turkish history.

Adam and Eve

The stories of the prophets start with Adam and Eve. An interesting interpretation of this story is found in a miniature where Adam and Eve are shown with their thirteen twin children. As the text indicates, all of Adam's children were twins and each son had to marry the twin sister of a brother. Abel was asked by his father to wed Cane's twin sister, but Cane, whose twin happened to be the most beautiful wanted to keep her. This is how the dispute started between the two brothers. To end the dispute Adam asked both sons to make an offering to God and Abel's was accepted. As a result of jealousy, Cain killed his brother Abel. The artist's figures are dressed in sixteenth century Ottoman garments.

Noah and the Ark

Noah's ark is caught in the thunderstorm and the heavy rain that will flood the earth. Noah had been told that the earth would be flooded because of God's anger at their sins. Noah was told to take a male and female of every animal onto an ark (large boat) to save them. With his family, they escaped the destruction of the world.

Abraham and Isaac

There are two stories in this picture. Above, Abraham is shown sharpening his knife and when he is about to sacrifice his son, an angel suddenly comes, into the scene holding the sacrificial ram. Ishmael, his eyes closed, is waiting calmly.

Below, the prophet has been cast into fire by Nimrod as a punishment for destroying his father's idols, but he is seated in the midst of flames, miraculously unharmed. Nimrod, the devil, and the magician are watching the incident with great astonishment.

Jonah and the Fish

In the upper section is found the story of Jonah and the fish. Jonah, the text tells tried to avoid his mission by sailing away but was caught by a violent storm. He was then swallowed by a fish and after three days left on shore. In the miniature Prophet Jonah is shown trying to hide nis nakedness in the midst of bushes. Below him is a brook full of brightly colored fish.

On the upper left hand corner, another prophet is represented. Sitting among trees and animals according, to the text, Prophet Jeremiah, grieving over the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonians, hid in a wild forest. A similar story is narrated in the text for Prophet Uzeyr, depicted in the lower section of the miniatures, who also grieved over the destruction of the Holy City but his grief was so deep that God took his soul and gave him life, years after Jerusalem was reconstructed. The building on the lower right hand corner undoubtedly symbolises the rebuilt city of Jerusalem, yet it is the accurate rendering of a typical sixteenth century Ottoman building with a dome and an arched portico. The ruins of the once destroyed city, on the other hand, are indicated by broken arches and columns on the left.

Joseph

Joseph is shown in Egypt. (His brothers had sold him into slavery, but because of his ability to interpret the pharoah's dreams and predict a famine of seven years, he was raised to a high position.) Joseph is shown enthroned and is talking with his father Jacob and his brothers. The story tells how Joseph wished his brothers would bring their father to Egypt and how his brothers had to ask him for food because of the famine.

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