A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an', attributed to 'Umar al-Aqta, Herat or Samarqand, circa 1400

This monumental line originates from the one of the most impressive Qur'ans ever produced, the so-called 'Baysunghur Qur'an'. The manuscript has long been admired for its majestic scale, but its patronage remains under discussion. It was undoubtedly a commission at the highest level of the Timurid courts and scholars have suggested Prince Baysunghur, Ulug Beg, and Timur himself, as possible patrons.

The manuscript from which this line originates was conceived on a colossal scale. In its complete form, the leaves would have measured approximately 200 by 150cm. Despite the margins being cropped, the largest surviving leaves still measure a staggering 177 by 101cm., (Tokatlian 2016, p.1) Each of these enormous sheets displayed only seven lines of a masterful muhaqqaq which served to highlight the majestic scale of the commission. David James estimates that the manuscript would have demanded eight hundred bifolia to contain the entire Qur’anic text (James 1992, p.18).

In the early nineteenth century, James Baillie Fraser, a noted collector of Oriental manuscripts, suggested that the manuscript was penned by Baysunghur himself, and the manuscript became known as the ‘Baysunghur Qur’an’. However, David James disputes this theory suggesting that although Baysunghur was an accomplished calligrapher in his own right, the arduous task of producing such a manuscript would certainly not have gone unnoticed by his contemporaries and would have been recorded in the chronicles of the time (James 1992, pp.18-25). He goes on to suggest that the attribution to Baysunghur was most likely circumstantial since at one stage the manuscript was kept in the mausoleum of his grandfather, Timur, in Samarqand. It remained there until the city was captured by Nadir Shah in the eighteenth century. The Shah's troops dismembered the manuscript and stole many of its leaves, which were later lost or badly damaged.

It has since been suggested that the production of the manuscript fits more naturally under the patronage of Timur himself. Soudavar indicates a passage in Qadi Ahmad’s early-seventeenth century treatise on calligraphers and painters where he states:

“Another famous master of calligraphy was 'Omar Aqta'; he had no right hand and with his left filled the pages in such a manner that the eyes of experts were filled with wonder and the reason of sages was troubled by the contemplation of them. For the Lord of the Time, Amir Timur Gurkan, he wrote a copy (of the Qor'an) … so small in volume that it could be fitted under the socket of a signet ring. He presented it to the Lord of the Time, but as he had written the divine word in such microscopic characters, (Timur) did not approve of it or accept it and did not deign to favor him. 'Omar Aqta' wrote another copy, extremely large, each of its lines being a cubit (dhar') in length, and even longer. Having finished, decorated and bound (the manuscript), he tied it on a barrow and took it to the palace of the Lord of the Time. Hearing that, the sultan came out to meet him, accompanied by all the clergy, dignitaries, amirs, and pillars of the state, and rewarded the calligrapher with great honors, marks of respect and endless favors.” (Minorsky 1959, p.64; Soudavar 1992, p.59).

No other medieval Qur’an manuscript on this immense scale has survived or been chronicled in historic texts, and it would appear most likely that Qadi Ahmad is referring to the manuscript from which this line originates (Soudavar 1992, p.59). Soudavar supports the theory of Timur’s patronage by highlighting the great marble stand whose measurements correspond with the estimated dimensions of the complete manuscript. The stand was commissioned by Ulug Beg after Timur's death in 1405 and was originally located in the main chamber of the Friday Mosque at Samarqand. Soudavar suggests that the stand was most likely made specifically for this Qur'an (ibid.).

The presence of this monumental Qur’an stand has led others to suggest that Ulug Beg commissioned the Qur’an himself (Tokatlian 2016, p.1). Tokatlian supports this by a note written by astronomer Ghyath al-Din Jamshid Kashani, a contemporary of Ulug Beg, which refers to a monumental Qur’an commissioned by the prince of comparable dimensions to the present example (ibid., Tabatabai 1940, pp.50-60). 

Sheila Blair aptly notes that the true grandeur of the manuscript owes to the glorious muhaqqaq adorning its pages which she describes as a “triumph of calligraphy over illumination” (Blair 2006, p.267). The colossal script would have required a special pen whose nib measured more than 1cm. The mastery of the calligrapher is shown clearly by this line through the powerful, yet harmonious, letter forms and the even flow of the ink, achieved in spite of the technical challenges posed by the tools required.

Other pages or fragments are in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha; the Astan-i Quds Library, Mashhad; the Gulistan Library, the Reza-i Abbasi Museum, the Malik Library, the Museum of Ancient Iran, and the National Library of Iran, Tehran; the Metropolitan Museum, New York; The Art and History Trust Collection, Washington D.C.; the David Collection, Copenhagen; the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London. A full page from the Qur'an was sold at Christie's London, 27 April 2004, lot 22, while double lines were sold in these rooms 12 October 2000, lot 15 and 6 April 2011, lot 185. Single lines were sold in these rooms 8 October 2008, lot 17 and at Christie's, London, 31 March 2009, lot 101 and 27 April 2017, lot 33. A partial line was recently sold in these rooms, 26 April 2023, lot 20. See also, Tokatlian 2016, pp.3-10, for an illustrated listing.