On Timurids and their Astrologers: Examining a Royal Horoscope in the Wellcome Institute

Bethany J. Walker

The Timurid kitabkhana provided a vehicle for royal patronage of a wide range of arts and sciences, supporting poets, copyists, illustrators of manuscripts, and astronomers. An active interest in astrology in the 15th century was reflected in official patronage of astrological charts and personal horoscopes. A Persian manuscript of 1411 A.D. in the Wellcome Institute is characteristic of royal workshop production of the period. It is a lavishly illuminated and gilded double-page illustration included in a treatise of astrology. The composition consists of a lifetime horoscope dedicated to the Timurid ruler Iskandar Sultan on his birthday. The lush illumination and detailed astrological calculations conform to the standards of the kitabkhana. An examination of the format of the horoscope, however, reveals amusing idiosyncrasies of the artist and sheds some light on the complex relationships between patron and artist-scholar during the early Timurid period.

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