Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing, From Pictorial Cycle of Eight Poetic Subjects

This image captures the culminating moment in the passionate love affair between Iran’s legendary King Khusraw II (Sasanian dynasty, r. 590–628) and Shirin, an Armenian princess. After days of longing, Khusraw coincidentally encounters Shirin for the first time as she bathes in a pond. Entranced by each other’s beauty, the lovers remain speechless. Although rooted in oral tradition, the tale of Khusraw and Shirin found its greatest expression as one of the five narrative poems of the Khamsa (Quintet), composed by the celebrated Nizami of Ganja (1141–1209), one of Iran’s greatest masters of romantic poetry.