The Sacred King in the Shah Tahmasp Shahnama The Tree as a Generative Idea of the “Idea of Kingship” Negar Habibi University of Geneva ORCID: 0000-0003-2498-1758 Shervin Farridnejad University of Hamburg ORCID: 0000-0001-8119-1360 Abstract This paper aims to trace the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian concept of “royal divine glory” (farr) through its visual translations within the Iranian manuscript cultures in the Safavid period, specifcally in the illustrations of the Shahnama-yi Shahi in the 16 th century. Reviewing the longue durée idea of Iranian kingship perceived within the Safavid royal ideology in the reigns of the frst two mon- archs, we delve into the Shahnama paintings to see the artists’ assets for showing the divinity and dignity of Iranian kings and how they managed to mark a diference between the profane and Shiite iconographies. We took as case studies nine illustrations of Zahhak’s story, the most tyran- nical legendary King in Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama. Indeed, to analyse the artistic manifestations of the Royal farr, we examined the scenes where the “true” king is literally absent. Keywords Farr, Shah Tahmasp Shahnama, Zoroastrianism, Natural Elements, Plane Tree, Cypress This article was received on 30 July 2022 and published on 9 October 2023 as part of Manazir Jour- nal vol. 5 (2023): “The Idea of the Just Ruler in Persianate Art and Material Culture” edited by Ne- gar Habibi. How to cite Habibi, Negar, and Shervin Farridnejad. 2023. “The Sacred King in the Shah Tahmasp Shahnama: The Tree as a Generative Idea of the ‘Idea of Kingship.’” Manazir Journal 5: 100–124. https://doi.org/10.36950/manazir.2023.5.6. Bern Open Publishing ISSN: 2673-4354 © 2023 Negar Habibi & Shervin Farridnejad 2023 | Manazir Journal Vol. 5 | DOI: 10.36950/manazir.2023.5.6