A study of a spectacular manuscript copy of the Iranian national epic. << The shanama (Book of Kings), which chronicles the history of Iran for tme Creation to the Islamic conquest, was written by the poet Firdawsi at the turn of the 11th century. Its cenral importance to Iranian culture is reflected in the thousands of copies, presented to Quen Victoria in 1839, is one o fthe finest treasures among the collection of Islamic manuscripts now in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Its 148 colourful images, which are in superb condition, show heroes, mythical beasts and bloody combats and are complemented by particularly sumptuous marginal illumination in gold. << B.W. Robinson relates the history of the Shanama's composition, and describes the Windsor manuscript and the circumstances under which it came to Britain. He also provides a lively summary of the narrative to accompany black and white illustrations of every painting. Over fifty of these are also shown in full-colour plates. Eleanor Sims discusses in detail the likely attribution of the paintings in the Windsor volume, and compares other 17th century Shanama maunscripts; she also examines the wider cultural milieu reflected in the paintings. A sequence of appendices raises questions for further investigation. << AUTHOR: The late B.W. Robinson (1912-2005) was an authority on many aspects of Islamic and Japanese art. His catalogues and exhibitions of Persian miniature painting provided a basis for its dating and classification on which scholars still depend. << Eleanor Sims, formerly of the MEtropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the editor of Islamic Art, is an independent scholar who has written widely on Iranian art. << 51 colour & 170 b/w illustrations