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Muhammad Murad Samarkandi. Single-handed combat. Firdawsi. “Shah-nama”. IOS AS Uzbek SSR, MS 1811, f. 82b. 1556-1557. Central Asia
Muhammad   Murad   Samarkandi SINGLE-HANDED COMBAT, Firdawsi. «Shab-nama»


The author creates real atmosphere of the combat. There are no excessive details, not many characters against the background of the hills and a desert.
Soldiers take all picture space. In the centre of it we see horsemen with violent faces who are ready to battle to the last drop of their blood. On the hill slope there are two soldiers watching the combat. The hands and corps of the killed people show us that thin and fragile verge between life and death. This battle scene is quite different from many others where cut off heads are merged into one entity with flowers and shields in the battle field.
This miniature is a great source for ethnography and history of the dresses, armor and harness of “Shah-nama” battles.