The Khamsa of Nizami in Painting: Layla and Majnun, Khosrow and Shirin

The Khamsa, or Quintet, of Nizami Ganjavi is a set of five long poems written in the 12th century: Makhzan al-Asrar, Khosrow and Shirin, Layla and Majnun, the Haft Paykar and the Iskandarnameh. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says that together with Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the Khamsa was the most frequently illustrated literary work in Persian painting, and the great illustrated copies return to the same scenes: Khosrow coming upon Shirin as she bathes, Farhad cutting a channel to bring milk to Shirin, Layla and Majnun falling in love at school, Majnun among the wild animals, and the king Bahram Gur visiting his seven princesses in seven coloured pavilions.

This page tells each story in plain English, names the illustrated copies that made these scenes famous and where they are today, and ends with how the stories reach painting now. It is part of our guide to contemporary Iranian and Persian painting. For the single best-known pages, see famous Persian paintings; for the other poets painters read, see Persian poetry in painting.

Key takeaways

• The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Nizami's Khamsa and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh "were the most frequently illustrated literary works" in Persian miniature painting.
• According to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, the five poems were gathered after Nizami's death into one book called the Khamsa (Quintet) or Panj Ganj (Five Treasures), and the oldest dated complete copy, of 1362, is in the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris.
• The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry on Layla and Majnun cites a survey that counts 59 imitations of the poem, more than any other Persian romance, followed by 51 versions of Khosrow and Shirin.
• The British Library's record says its Khamsa of Nizami was copied for Shah Tahmasp in Tabriz between 1539 and 1543 and holds 17 illustrations, several by Sultan Muhammad and Mirak.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns a Khamsa made in Herat and dated 1524 to 1525, with paintings by Shaikh Zada, including Laila and Majnun in School.
• The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the Haft Paykar holds the oldest known version of the tale of the cruel princess later known in Europe as Turandot.

Nizami Ganjavi

Nizami was born and died in Ganja, a city west of the Caspian Sea in present-day Azerbaijan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art gives his dates as 1141 to 1209, and the Encyclopaedia Iranica's survey of classical Persian literature gives 1141 as his approximate year of birth. The Iranica entry on the Iskandarnameh, by Francois de Blois, adds that the date of his death "is not reliably recorded" but was probably not long after 1197. He lived in lands ruled by the Seljuq atabegs, the regional rulers of Azerbaijan, dedicated his poems to princes and was rewarded for them. The Iranica's literature survey says he kept his independence from these patrons, and that his poetry shows "a keen interest in the life of ordinary people" and much curiosity about ancient sites and their legends.

The five poems were gathered into one book only after Nizami died. The Iranica entry on the Khamsa, by Domenico Parrello, explains that after his death the poems "began to appear in codices assembled as an ensemble" called the Khamsa, Quintet, or the Panj Ganj, Five Treasures. A large number of copies survive. The oldest dated manuscript of the whole Khamsa, of 1362, belongs to the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris, and the Iranica entry on Layla and Majnun reports a copy of that poem dated 1318 in the Central Library of Tehran University.

Later poets answered him poem for poem. The Iranica names Amir Khosrow Dehlavi, whose Khamsa was completed in 1301 to 1302, as the first, followed by Khwaju Kermani, Jamali, Hatefi, Jami, "who extended to seven the total of poems", and Navai, who wrote in the Chaghatay Turkish language. Jami's seven poems became the Haft Awrang, the book behind one of the famous Safavid manuscripts described on our page on famous Persian paintings.

The five poems at a glance

The five poems of Nizami's Khamsa, with completion dates as proposed by Francois de Blois and lengths as estimated in the Encyclopaedia Iranica

Poem	English title	Completed	Length	The story	Scenes painters chose
Makhzan al-Asrar	The Treasury of Secrets	In or soon after 1166 (another Iranica entry gives 1174)	2,260 couplets	Twenty chapters of moral advice, each with a short tale	Sultan Sanjar and the old woman; Anushirvan and the owls
Khosrow o Shirin	Khosrow and Shirin	Between 1176 and 1186, with an epilogue by 1191	6,500 couplets	The Sasanian king Khosrow II and the princess Shirin	Khosrow sees Shirin bathing; Farhad cuts a channel for Shirin; the musician Barbad plays for Khosrow
Leyli o Majnun	Layla and Majnun	1188	4,600 lines	Two young lovers kept apart; Majnun goes mad with love and lives in the desert	The lovers at school; Majnun among the animals; Majnun brought in chains to Layla's tent
Haft Paykar	The Seven Portraits, or Seven Beauties	1197, the last of the five	5,130 couplets	The Sasanian king Bahram Gur, his seven princesses and their seven stories	Bahram in the seven coloured pavilions; Bahram's hunting feats; the slave girl Fitna carrying an ox
Eskandar-nameh	The Book of Alexander	1194	10,500 couplets in two parts	Alexander as conqueror, then as sage and prophet	Alexander and Darius; Alexander and Queen Nushaba; Alexander and the wise men

The Encyclopaedia Iranica gives the lengths as estimates, and copies differ. It also notes that although the Haft Paykar was probably written last, most manuscripts place it before the Iskandarnameh.

Makhzan al-Asrar, the Treasury of Secrets

The Encyclopaedia Iranica's literature survey describes Nizami's first major poem as "a series of ethical counsels for the benefit of the prince", written in twenty chapters, "each containing a didactic message and an exemplum serving as an attractive illustration". The survey says it was influenced by the Hadiqa, the Garden of Truth, of the poet Sanai. The Iranica entry on the Khamsa reports Francois de Blois's date of 1166 or shortly after; the literature survey gives 1174.

Painters chose the short tales. Harvard Art Museums owns a page painted in Shiraz in 1584 showing Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman. Harvard tells the story: an old woman complained to the Seljuq ruler Sultan Sanjar, who died in 1157, about the harsh treatment she had received from his police, described his own bad conduct, and warned him "that his tyranny and lack of justice would lead to his demise". In Harvard's painting the sultan rides with his men under a parasol, and the old woman is "a minor figure" in a meadow below a hill whose rocks "suggest human faces". The Met's 1524 to 1525 Khamsa from Herat has its own page of the same scene. In Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa at the British Library, the first painting is Anushirvan and the owls, inscribed with the name of the painter Mirak and the year 1539 to 1540.

Khosrow and Shirin

The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Paola Orsatti says the poem "recounts the amorous relationship between the Sasanian king Khosrow II Parviz (590-628 CE), and the beautiful princess Shirin". Shirin was a historical person: Byzantine and Armenian writers of the 7th century mention her as a Christian and one of Khosrow's most influential wives. The Iranica says Ferdowsi's Shahnameh shows her in a bad light, while Nizami follows a tradition in her favour and makes her "a chaste, albeit passionate, woman", firm in resisting Khosrow's attempts to seduce her. The Iranica's literature survey describes her as an Armenian princess, says Farhad, "secretly in love with Shirin", finally falls victim to the king's jealousy, and says Shirin takes her own life over the body of her murdered husband.

Scenes painters chose

The best-known scene is Khosrow coming upon Shirin as she bathes; the Iranica calls it "the famous episode of Khosrow and Shirin at the spring". The Met's page from the 1524 to 1525 Khamsa "captures the moment when Khusrau first catches sight of Shirin, bathing in a stream", and notes that the pool, now "tarnished to near black", was painted in shining silver beside a golden sky. In Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa, the British Library records Khusraw Watches Shirin Bathing by Sultan Muhammad.

Farhad's story gave painters a second subject. The Met's page Farhad Carves a Milk Channel for Shirin explains that Farhad, "the talented sculptor and stonemason", cut a channel from the goats' mountain pasture to a pool at Shirin's palace when she wanted milk, and shows Shirin visiting him when the work is done, with a goat at the top of the hill. The British Library's Khamsa adds court scenes: Khosrow enthroned by Mirak, Khosrow and Shirin listening to stories told by Shirin's maidens, also by Mirak, and Khosrow listening to the musician Barbad play the lute, by Mirza Ali.

Layla and Majnun

Majnun means "possessed". The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab says the name was given to a half-historical Arab poet, Qays, and that the legend began in 7th-century Arabia as scattered short anecdotes. Nizami wove them into one story in 1188, at the request of the ruler of Shirvan. He gave it a Persian setting, made the lovers aristocrats, and moved their first meeting from the desert camps to a school, where they study with other children.

The Iranica summarises the plot. Qays falls in love with Layla at school, and her father forbids any contact. Qays sings of his love in public until people call him Majnun, and he goes to live in the desert among the wild animals. Layla is married against her will but keeps herself apart from her husband and meets Majnun in secret; they recite poetry to each other from a distance. After her husband dies, Layla dies of grief, and Majnun dies at her grave. They are buried side by side, and in a dream at the end they are united in paradise.

Scenes painters chose

The Iranica notes that "in pictorial presentations, Majnun is depicted as an emaciated ascetic", a thin man who has given up food and sleep. Three scenes recur in the collections on this page. The meeting at school appears in the Met's Laila and Majnun in School from the 1524 to 1525 Herat Khamsa, which the Met compares to Romeo and Juliet, and in a page of the same subject from a Khamsa made in Herat in 1431 to 1432, written by the calligrapher Ja'far Baisunghuri. Majnun among the animals appears in Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa, painted by Mirak. The same manuscript holds Majnun Brought in Chains by the Old Woman to Laila's Tent, painted by Mir Sayyid Ali.

Painters outside Iran used the stories too. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art owns a painting made in Lucknow, India, c. 1775, that shows Layla and "the emaciated Majnun" beside Khosrow on horseback seeing Shirin on a riverbank. LACMA notes that the painting includes Layla's camel, a detail LACMA traces to the pictures made for Amir Khosrow Dehlavi's later version of the story.

The Haft Paykar

The title can mean "seven portraits" or "seven beauties", and the Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Francois de Blois says Nizami "doubtless exploited intentionally" both meanings. The poem is a romantic life of the Sasanian king Bahram Gur. Raised at the court of the Arab king No'man, Bahram finds a locked room in the palace of Khawarnaq with the portraits of seven princesses, one from each of the seven regions of the world, and falls in love with them. As king he wins all seven as brides. His architect builds seven domed pavilions, each in the colour of the planet that rules its princess's region. Bahram visits one each day: on Saturday the Indian princess in the black dome, on Sunday the Greek princess in the yellow dome, and so on through the week. Each princess tells him a story that matches her colour, and by the Iranica's estimate these seven stories take up half the poem.

The ending turns to justice. While the king enjoys his pavilions, an evil minister takes power. A shepherd who has hanged his faithless guard dog shows Bahram his mistake; the king hears seven victims of injustice, has the minister put to death, and turns the seven pavilions into fire temples. Riding out on a last hunt, he disappears into a cave: the Iranica explains that he seeks the wild ass, gur, and finds his tomb, also gur. The Iranica adds that the story told by the fourth, Russian, princess is the oldest known version of the tale of the cruel princess that Europe later knew as Turandot.

Scenes painters chose

The pavilions gave painters a set of seven rooms in seven colours. The Met's 1524 to 1525 Khamsa includes Bahram Gur in the Green Palace on Monday, where he sits with the princess of Khorezm in a garden pavilion; the Met says the objects around them "provide a glimpse of the luxury goods of the early sixteenth century". The same manuscript has a page of Bahram Gur in the Dark Palace on Saturday. Bahram's hunting also appears often. In Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa, the British Library records Bahram Gur shooting an ass and a lion with one arrow, by Sultan Muhammad, and Bahram, "in the likeness of Shah Tahmasp", pinning an ass's hoof to its ear with one arrow to impress the slave girl Fitna, by Muzaffar Ali. Muhammad Zaman added a painting in 1675 to 1676 of Fitna proving her strength by carrying an ox on her shoulders. The British Library's list for this poem also includes the Ascent of the Prophet on Buraq, guided by the angel Jibra'il and escorted by angels.

The Iskandarnameh

The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Francois de Blois describes Nizami's Iskandarnameh, the Book of Alexander, as two separate poems, usually called the Sharaf-nameh and the Eqbal-nameh, completed probably in 1194 and dedicated to the ruler of Ahar. The first part tells of Alexander the conqueror: his war with the Persians, the death of Dara, the Darius III of Greek history, and Alexander's marriage to Dara's daughter; his visit to Queen Nushaba of Barda'a, near Nizami's home town, and her court of women warriors; his wars with the Rus; and his failed search for the water of life. In the second part Alexander becomes a sage and a prophet who debates with Greek and Indian philosophers. The Iranica notes that strong female characters stand out in three of the poems, Queen Nushaba here and the princess Shirin among them.

Scenes painters chose

The Met's Herat Khamsa of 1524 to 1525 includes a Battle between Alexander and Darius and Alexander at a Banquet. In Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa, the British Library records Iskandar looking at his own portrait while Queen Nushaba watches, by Mirza Ali. The British Institute of Persian Studies shows a page from the British Library's Khamsa Or 6810 in which Iskandar, "in the likeness of Husayn Bayqara", visits a wise man in a cave, so Alexander carries the features of the ruler of Herat at the time the book was painted.

The great illustrated copies

Timurid Herat

The British Institute of Persian Studies says the 15th century under Timurid rule "can be considered the most classic period" of Khamsa painting, and describes two Timurid copies illustrated in the 1490s under Sultan Husayn Bayqara, when Behzad was the most celebrated of the painters whose names are known. The Encyclopaedia Iranica names them as Add. 25900, where paintings were added to a text copied in 1442, and Or 6810, dated 1495, and lists both among the manuscripts often linked with Behzad. Earlier in the century, in 1431 to 1432, a Khamsa was written in Herat by the calligrapher Ja'far Baisunghuri; the Met owns pages from it, including its illuminated title page for Layla and Majnun.

Herat under the Safavids, 1524 to 1525

The Met's Khamsa dated 1524 to 1525 was written by the calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Nur and painted by Shaikh Zada. The Met explains that Sultan Muhammad Nur had worked in Herat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara "along with the famous painter Bihzad", and that by the time this copy was made the city had come under Safavid control, yet its paintings keep "the fine drawing and jewel-like finish" of Sultan Husayn's workshop. It was a gift of Alexander Smith Cochran in 1913. The Met also holds a Khamsa made in Shiraz in 1509 to 1510, notable for its binding of burgundy leather with blue and gold.

Tabriz, 1539 to 1543: the Khamsa of Shah Tahmasp

The copy made for Shah Tahmasp is the one the British Library keeps as Or 2265. Its record says it was copied for Shah Tahmasp in Tabriz between 1539 and 1543 by the calligrapher Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, in nastaliq in four columns, and holds 17 illustrations, six illuminated headings and margins decorated throughout in gold with birds, animals, mythical beasts, trees and plants. Fourteen full-page paintings came from "some of the most famous court artists of the mid-16th century", and Muhammad Zaman added three more in 1675 to 1676. Its painted Qajar covers of 1797 show Fath-Ali Shah copying the hunting feats of Bahram Gur. The manuscript was shown in the exhibition Traces of the Poet at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore in 2015 to 2016 and at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in 2016. For the script on its pages, see types of Persian calligraphy.

How the stories reach painting today

Painters still work in the classical tradition these manuscripts belong to. One example in our gallery is Kamal al-Din Ghotb, whose artist page says he has practised Persian painting for 41 years and paints in oil and gold on paper. His Mi'raj shows the Prophet's ascent on Buraq through gold clouds with a host of angels, the same subject the British Library records among the paintings of Shah Tahmasp's Khamsa. His works are in the Kamal al-Din Ghotb collection, and his artist page offers commissions.

For the symbols painters used in these love stories, such as the garden and the cypress, see symbols in Persian painting. For the Book of Kings, which shares the figures of Khosrow, Bahram Gur and Alexander with the Khamsa, see the Shahnameh in painting.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Khamsa of Nizami?

The Khamsa of Nizami is a collection of five long narrative poems by the 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi: Makhzan al-Asrar, Khosrow and Shirin, Layla and Majnun, the Haft Paykar and the Iskandarnameh. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the five were gathered into one book after his death, and that the Khamsa and the Shahnameh were the works Persian painters illustrated most.

Who was Nizami Ganjavi?

Nizami Ganjavi was a Persian poet from Ganja, in present-day Azerbaijan, whom the Metropolitan Museum of Art dates 1141 to 1209. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says he dedicated his poems to local princes yet kept his independence, and that his poetry shows a keen interest in ordinary people and in ancient sites and their legends. His five narrative poems form the Khamsa.

What does Khamsa mean?

Khamsa means "Quintet", a set of five, and names the five poems of Nizami gathered into one book after his death. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the collection was also called Panj Ganj, "The Five Treasures". Later poets such as Amir Khosrow Dehlavi wrote their own Khamsas in answer, and Jami extended the number of poems to seven.

Where did Layla and Majnun first meet in Nizami's poem?

Layla and Majnun first meet at school in Nizami's poem. The Encyclopaedia Iranica explains that Nizami moved the old Arabic legend from the desert camps to a school where the lovers study with other children. The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns a painting of the scene from a Herat Khamsa dated 1524 to 1525, full of pupils reading and practising writing.

Why do painters show Majnun so thin?

Majnun appears thin in paintings because Nizami describes him as a lover who gives up food and sleep and lives alone in the desert. The Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that in pictures Majnun is depicted as an emaciated ascetic, a man who denies himself comfort. Painters also show him among the wild animals of the desert, where Nizami says he lived.

Who was Farhad in the story of Khosrow and Shirin?

Farhad was the sculptor and stonemason who loved Shirin in Nizami's Khosrow and Shirin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art explains that he cut a channel from a mountain pasture to carry goats' milk to a pool at Shirin's palace. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Farhad, secretly in love with her, finally falls victim to King Khosrow's jealousy.

What are the seven pavilions of the Haft Paykar?

The seven pavilions of the Haft Paykar are domes that King Bahram Gur builds for his seven princesses, each painted in the colour of the planet ruling its princess's region. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Bahram visits one on each day of the week, starting with the Indian princess in the black dome on Saturday, and each princess tells him a story.

Which European story first appears in the Haft Paykar?

The story of the cruel princess known in Europe as Turandot first appears in the Haft Paykar, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. The Iranica says the tale told by the fourth, Russian, princess is the oldest known version, and that Europe learned the princess's name, Turandokht, from a later retelling translated by Petis de la Croix.

What does Nizami's Iskandarnameh tell?

Nizami's Iskandarnameh tells the life of Alexander the Great in two parts. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the first part follows Alexander the conqueror, from his war with the Persian king Dara to his visit to Queen Nushaba and his search for the water of life, while the second shows him as a sage and prophet debating with philosophers.

What is the story of Sultan Sanjar and the old woman?

The story of Sultan Sanjar and the old woman is a tale from Nizami's Makhzan al-Asrar. Harvard Art Museums explains that an old woman complained to the Seljuq ruler Sanjar about his police, described his own misconduct, and warned that his tyranny would bring his fall. Harvard owns a painting of the scene made in Shiraz in 1584.

Which Khamsa manuscripts are linked to Behzad?

Two Khamsa manuscripts in the British Library, Add. 25900 and Or 6810, are often linked to Behzad, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. Or 6810 is dated 1495, and Add. 25900 has paintings added to a text of 1442. The British Institute of Persian Studies shows a page of Or 6810 in which Alexander has the features of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the ruler of Herat.

Who wrote imitations of Nizami's Khamsa?

Imitations of Nizami's Khamsa were written by Amir Khosrow Dehlavi, the first, completed in 1301 to 1302, then by Khwaju Kermani, Jamali, Hatefi, Jami and Navai, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. Jami extended the set to seven poems, and Navai wrote his in Chaghatay Turkish. Layla and Majnun alone inspired 59 imitations, by one survey the Iranica cites.

References

1. KHAMSA OF NEZAMI. Domenico Parrello, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 1 January 2000; Internet Archive copy of 6 September 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The five poems, their lengths and dates, the oldest manuscript, the imitations, and the Khamsa's place in painting.
2. KHOSROW O SHIRIN AND ITS IMITATIONS. Paola Orsatti, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 August 2006; Internet Archive copy of 5 September 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The subject, the historical Shirin, Nizami's portrait of her and the scene at the spring.
3. LEYLI O MAJNUN. Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 July 2009; Internet Archive copy of 5 September 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The origin and plot of the poem, the school scene, Majnun in pictures and the count of imitations.
4. HAFT PEYKAR. Francois de Blois, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 2002; Internet Archive copy of 21 May 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The title, the plot, the seven domes and the Turandot tale.
5. ESKANDAR-NAMA OF NEZAMI. Francois de Blois, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 1998; Internet Archive copy of 21 May 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The two parts of the poem, its date and episodes, and the date of Nizami's death.
6. IRAN viii. Persian Literature (2) Classical. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 2006; Internet Archive copy of 22 September 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. Nizami's life and the content of the Treasury of Secrets and Khosrow and Shirin.
7. BEHZAD, KAMAL-AL-DIN. Priscilla P. Soucek, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 1989; Internet Archive copy of 29 August 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The British Library Khamsas Add. 25900 and Or 6810.
8. Or 2265: Shah Tahmasp's 'Khamsah' of Nizami. British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The date, calligrapher, decoration, paintings, painters, binding and exhibitions of the manuscript.
9. Treasures of Herat: Two Timurid Khamsah of Nizami Manuscripts. British Institute of Persian Studies. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The Timurid period of Khamsa painting and the Iskandar page of Or 6810.
10. Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman, folio from a manuscript of the Khamsa (Makhsan al-Asrar) by Nizami. Harvard Art Museums. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The story and the Shiraz painting of 1584.
11. "Khusrau Catches Sight of Shirin Bathing", Folio 50 from a Khamsa of Nizami. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 1 March 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The scene and its silver pool.
12. "Farhad Carves a Milk Channel for Shirin", Folio 74 from a Khamsa of Nizami. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 16 March 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The story of Farhad's channel.
13. "Laila and Majnun in School", Folio 129 from a Khamsa of Nizami. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 1 March 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The school scene, the painter and the other pages of the manuscript.
14. "Bahram Gur in the Green Palace on Monday", Folio 224 from a Khamsa of Nizami. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 15 April 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The pavilion scene and the princess of Khorezm.
15. "Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman", Folio 17 from a Khamsa of Nizami. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 16 March 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. The calligrapher Sultan Muhammad Nur and the Herat style of the manuscript.
16. Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja, Shiraz, 1509 to 1510. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Undated; Internet Archive copy of 10 July 2026. Accessed 27 September 2026. Nizami's dates and the Shiraz binding.
17. "Laila and Majnun at School", Folio from a Khamsa of Nizami, Herat, 1431 to 1432 (object record). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access API. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The date and calligrapher of the 1431 to 1432 Khamsa.
18. Layla and Majnun, and Khusraw and Shirin, Illustrations of Themes from Persian Poetry. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The Lucknow painting of c. 1775 and Layla's camel.
19. Mi'raj, by Kamal al-Din Ghotb. VanArtHub. Undated. Accessed 27 September 2026. The subject of the painting.

Checked 27 September 2026. If something here is out of date, write to us and we will correct it.