Shahnama-yi Al-i Osman
The Shahnama-yi Al-i Osman (or Shahnameh-ye Al-e Osman; "Book of Kings of the House of Osman") is a 1558 Ottoman work of universal and Islamic history written in Persian. It was written in five volumes by Fethullah Arif (died c. 1561-1562), an Ottoman writer and court eulogist, for his patron Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566). Only three volumes are extant.The literary and to a lesser extent visual agenda of Arif's work imitated Ferdowsi's classic portrayal of Iranian legendary history as shown in his Shahnameh ("Book of Kings")," as is clear from the title. Indeed, Arif explicitly showed his model—Ferdowsi's work—by selecting the title Shahnama-yi Al-i Osman.The calligraphers of the work hailed from Shiraz, Shirvan and Herat and were experts in the Nastaliq script. The first book, Anbiyanama ("The Book of Prophets"), starts with Adam and Eve, continues with various Old Testament prophets and significant individuals from Iranian mythology (such as king Kayumars, Zahhak, and notably Jamshid), and concludes with the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascending to heaven.