Baysunghur

Ghiyath ud-din Baysunghur, commonly known as Baysonqor or Baysongor, Baysonghor or (incorrectly[2]) as Baysunqar, also called Sultan Bāysonḡor Bahādor Khan (1397–1433) was a prince of the Timurid dynasty. He was known as a patron of arts and architecture, the leading patron of the Persian miniature in Iran, commissioning the Baysunghur Shahnameh and other works, as well as being a prominent calligrapher.[2]

Scene from the Baysunghur Shahnameh, a Shahnameh commissioned by Baysunghur, 1430

Baysunghur was a son of Shah Rukh, the ruler of Iran and Transoxiana, and Shah Rukh's most prominent wife, Gawhar Shad.[2]

In the view of modern historians, Baysunghur was actually a better statesman than his more famous elder brother, Ulugh Beg, who inherited Shah Rukh's throne,[2] but who "must have envied his younger brother, Baisunghur, whom his father never saddled with major responsibilities, which left him free to build his elegant madrasas in Herat, gather his ancient books, assemble his artists, and drink".[3] He was well-versed in Persian, Arabic, as well his native Chagatai. He was a patron of Persian historians, including Hafiz-i Abru (died 1430), who dedicated his book Zubdat al-tawārīkh-i bāysunghurī to him.[2]

A calligraphic panel with geometrical Kufic attributed to Baysunghur

Baysunghur was living in Herat as governor by 1417. After taking Tabriz, in 1421 he brought back to Herat a group of Tabrizi artists and calligraphers, formerly working for Ahmad Jalayir, who he installed in Herat to add to his existing artists from Shiraz. They became the most important school of artists in Iran, merging the two styles.[4]