THE DESCRIPTION OF PRINCE TIMUR'S LAMENESS IN LIGHT OF MANUSCRIPTS ILLUSTRATIONS AND THEIR RECORDED DESCRIPTIONS IN THE HISTORICAL SOURCES

Manuscripts paintings are mirrors of the age as they document everyday life. They are
considered as illustrating documents that can be utilized in determining people’s descriptions
and attributes. Therefore, the current study used them to match the description of Timur’s
lameness in his right foot with the descriptions in the historical resources. The right foot of
prince Timur appeared extended forward and was put on a foot stool in front of the throne,
while he could not sit cross-legged (called in Arabic Altarbiaa), and could not sat on hips
(called in Arabic Altawarok). These sittings were common for sultans and princes. Manuscripts
paintings appear here with very realistic drawing of the phenomenon of lameness. However,
facial features differed in some paintings. For example, the painting drawn by Behzad was
very realistic although it was painted in a later period of the reign of Timur. Thus, Behzad might
relied on historical resources. It was observed that the sittings, illustrating this phenomenon
(i.e. lameness), for prince Timur were for those who sat on the throne. The study utilized
paintings, which manifested lameness in manuscripts, such as Zafarnama (Book of Victory)
and the descriptions of that phenomenon in the historical resources, e.g. Ibn Arabshah (Ajaib
Almaqdoor - in Arabic), Ibn Khaldun (Tarikh Ibn Khaldun - in Arabic), and other historical sources.