A Comparative Study between the Images of Caliph and Shah in Sani ol Molk’s Art Works (Malek Zu-olmakan and Naser al-Din Shah Qajar)

One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories that belong to the Orient. The fundamental basis of the book is the Iranian book called "Thousand Legends" which seems to belong to the Achaemenid and Parthian Dynasties. The book was translated into Arabic during the third century AH and became "One Thousand and One Nights" with changes over time. The first Persian version of the book available today is a translation of the Arabic text was written in the thirteenth century AH by Mirza Abdul Latif Tsuji, ordered by Bahman Mirza Qajar. This book published in Tabriz in 1263 AH. Nasser al-Din Mirza, who lived in Tabriz, became interested in the anecdotes. Upon arriving at the monastery, The One Thousand and One Nights manuscript was ordered by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar and accomplished under the supervision of the painter, Sani ol-Molk. It was completed in six volumes and took seven years (from 1268 to 1275 AH).
There is a hypothesis that Sani ol-Molk has been influenced by the life of Iranians of his time in painting The One Thousand and One Nights manuscript. This hypothesis provides a way to compare the images of The One Thousand and One Nights manuscript with the life of courtiers or other people during the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah. One of the highlights in this field is a comparative study between the images of Caliph in One Thousand and One Nights and Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar. The story of the Caliph Noaman in One Thousand and One Nights is an epic in which the painter has attempted to portray Zu-olmakan, one of the sons of Caliph Noaman, similar to Nasser al-Din Shah. So, in this research, the images of Malek Zu-olmakan in One Thousand and One Nights were reviewed in order to compare them with the images of Nasser al-Din Shah, based on the semiotic approach. In other words, the question is: what is the relevance between the images of Zu-olmakan with the images of Nasser al-Din Shah that were drawn by Abolhassan Khan Sani ol-Molk?
This research is a descriptive-analytical study that collects and analyzes historical evidences to interpret and evaluate historical events. Resources such as books, articles, documents and images have been used to gather information. In this regard, the signs of the images of Zu-olmakan and Nasser al-Din Shah were examined and compared with each other based on the semiotic approach. The studied images also were chosen in which both kings (Nasser al-Din Shah and Zu-olmakan) were in the same position. Subsequently, the semiotic comparison of the life story of Nasser al-Din Shah and Zu-olmakan also discussed.
It was concluded that Sani ol-Molk’s intention was likely to create a similarity between the images of Zu-olmakan and Nasser al-Din Shah. He drew both of them in the same positions of sitting and gesture of hands, the same types of clothing and faces details. Furthermore, referring to the historical facts and the life stories of the two kings, it was concluded that there are so many common points in the lives of them. They were both young kings whose births were the result of a union of two cultures or two civilizations to unite and increase the power. Both were born after years of their families waiting and were anxious for the royal family to continue generations. Despite the custom of raising many children in the royal family, the two kings had only one sister, which there was a close relationship between them. Both kings faced many fights against stronger and more powerful rivals over the succession of their fathers. Also, they fight with their religious and cultural enemies after their reign, and both eventually overcome. Therefore, Sani ol-Molk had many facts to draw Zu-olmakan, similar to the king of his time, Nasser-al-Din Shah. Sani al-Molk may likely have tried, in other cases, to portray some events in the One Thousand and One Nights paintings similar to the reality of Iranian life that would require further studies to prove this hypothesis.