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Shahdokht Darya of Ferdowsiyan Eranshahr (Persia)

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Description

A Concept Drawing of a Persian (Post-Arab Conquest & Islamic Persia) Woman Warrior in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited, which is roughly based on the Middle ages covering 800s AD to 1400s AD. She represents Persia after the Muslim conquest, which includes the time of the Caliphate and the native Persian Muslim dynasties that ruled Iran as well as the early Turko-Persian Dynasty.

Inspired by the music: Jordi Savall - Alfonso X Ductia / Orient- Occident


INTRODUCTION

When the Sassanid Persia crumbled before the might of the Arab Conquest, the world shed its tears to the passing of one of the greatest classical civilization. Indeed, the Islamic conquest of Persia is still a subject of much historical studies by scholars and would forever be a controversial topic within the academic circle. Nevertheless, what is remarkable despite the arrival of Islam is that, Persian culture and language survived to this days. In fact, it was thanks to the ingenuity of the Persian society that the world was able to experience the Islamic golden age, one that would be felt centuries later in Europe as renaissance. From art and poetry, to science and architecture, many of these Persian marvel quickly became adopted within the newly found Islamic society and perhaps, laying the foundation of the Islamic image seen from the 10th century AD onward. Nevertheless, the Islamic conquest of Persia is not without its turbulence. The Rashidun Caliphate may have found governing Persia easier, since most of the Arabic governors had already adopted persian culture and spoke persian. Besides, the native Zoroastrian population was mostly left alone and their conversion was rather slow. On the other hand, rebellions were rampant and in the mountainous region, lies the remnants of the Sassanid persia who were stubbornly defiant of the new caliphate rule. When the Ummayads took over the caliphate, they began a policy of "Arabization", a move that alienated many of the Persianized Arab and Persian governors which led to much disapproval. This was later amended by the Abassids, who themselves adored the Persian culture and reversed the policy of Arabization. In a sense, the Abbasids were more tolerant compared to its predecessor, a move that lead to the birth of many native Muslim Persian dynasties and lords as well as rapid conversion of its populace to Islam. However, while that seemingly helped the Abassids in governing their subjects, in reality, many of the local Persian lords were inclined more towards independence. The most successful out of all these native Muslim Persian dynasties were the Samanids, who cemented the Persianate culture that would influence many later Indo-Persian and Turko-Persian dynasties in the next centuries. But history had its own course and by the late 10th century AD, it was not the Arabs nor Persian that ruled greater Iran, but rather, the newly converted Muslim Turkic people from central Asia that would later give birth to major Turko-Persian empires as we know today.


ARTIST COMMENTARIES

Persia provided rich references for any historical artist that wishes to dwell into its history, though getting it right is a matter of one's personal choice. Besides, from what I have seen, there's always the challenge in drawing something that you are not used to. In this drawing, Princess Darya is drawn in one of the finest 10th-11th armor availabe, one that's very elaborate in its construction but also very heavy. Her Metal cuirass is a sophisticated design which lies between lamellar and scale construction, worn on top of a mail hauberk for added protection. The single piece helmet with full face coif itself is intricately decorated, which goes the same for her belt, indicating her prestige and wealth. Underneath that, she would have world a finely woven silk dress, befitting a princess of a wealthy empire.

Despite the beautifully decorated attires, her armaments indicates that she is no pushover. She holds a beautifully decorated Lion-head mace as a symbol of authority, while also being equipped for archery, sword-fight and mounted warfare. By this time, she would have used a curved sword/sabre influenced by the nomadic Turks of central Asia. Such influence can also be seen in her bow quiver, a design common among the nomads of Eurasian Steppe. On the other hand, her retainers in the background are portrayed with less ornate design, though they are still heavily armed and armored. The lord on her left is pictured with a single piece helm with mail coif, metal lamellar armor and mail hauberk, a design commonly associated with the heavy cavalry of the Khwarizmian Dynasty. As for the officer on the right, his armor is not as heavy as the other two, being mostly associated with infantrymen rather than nobles who fought on horseback.


REFERENCES AND OTHER RELATED MEDIA


Maybe related to the following:

Medieval Persian Women Warrior Sketch

and the Other Persian/Persianate Women Warrior

Shahdokht Soraya of Bahramiyan Eranshahr (Persian) by GambarginUrma Khatun of Temuriyan Eranshahr (Turko-Persian) by GambarginBeylerbayan Apek of Orhanli Beylerbeylik (Turkish) by Gambargin

A Part of the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited - You can find more on the various faction on the map here:

HWS Medieval Revisited - Faction Map v.1.32 by Gambargin

Image size
2966x4375px 4.7 MB
Shutter Speed
1/14 second
Aperture
F/2.2
Focal Length
5 mm
© 2015 - 2024 Gambargin
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Bokrai's avatar
Why you wrote abuse on flag ? 😐😐😐😐
Please study about our ancient then do these , sassanid had diffrent alphabet that called : Dēn Dabire (Avestan alphabet)