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Husayn Gazurgahi: Madjalis al-Ushshaq; (Assemblies of lovers) (1502) (Herat)

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Taken from: BNF Supplement Persan 1150;  Supplément persan 1559 .

(Also written: Madjales al Ochhaq). Is a biography of the royal princes, eminent people of the age, and famous mystics. Some of the most famous were: Fakhr al-Din Iraqi, Amir Khusrau Dihlavi, Jalal al din Rumi, Hafez-e Sirazi. The love concerned is always of boys (but platonic). Thus Iraqi like Ahmad Ghazali and Auhad al-din Kirmani were referred to as shahedbaz: gazers on the faces of boys as an image of the Divine.

One painting in three different manuscripts of the BNF (French National Library) is called: husaynî et bohémiens; translated as: Husayni and Gypsies. As Gypsies are in Persian originally called Zangis, and as the pictures show they indeed are: so I add them to the collection. I only found two of the three pictures; I still did not find the story behind the pictures. Nor the identity of Husayni.  In both pictures Husayni is accompanied by a young man with a music instrument. And they are in a very primitive encampment where the temporary shelters have roofs of fresh cut branches.

Title of this painting: Husayni and Zangis