Seven armed, elephant-legged Shapour or Saturn? (Study an Image in Iskandarnāma Naghali(1856-57AD)

Iskandarnāma Naghali as the last version of Alexander’s story in the Safavid era, which was republished and illustrated in Qajar dynasty, became one of the most popular folk tales of that time. The story of Alexander has got a special place among folkloric literature due to the various versions of its in prose and poetry and numerous narratives of it in Greek, Pahlavi, Farsi and so on. Thus, the vast and combined flavor of this book, which reflects the Islamic and Shiite thoughts of the late Safavid dynasty and, on the other hand, the Iranian and pre-Islamic myths, is a good platform for studying the visual art and changing the culture of this era of Iranian history. The tumultuous story line of the book is full of historical, heroic and magical motifs. Although it has historical and epical content, it is also full of strange people, creatures and supernatural events. In describing some creatures such as seven armed, elephant-legged Shapour, mythological term, Metamorphoses can be used. This means that the appearance and capabilities of such phenomena has been changed especially by supernatural means. The aim of this study, is describing and analyzing the specific transformed sample and study its pictorial and mythological roots. The method of this research using library resources is descriptive-analytical and the images are analyzed by Panofsky’s Iconography. Using Saturn's representation in Islamic iconography for creating the figure of Shapour by Manouchehr Khan Hakim is one the results of this study. Also interpreting this specific illustration according to similar and relevant examples has revealed the cultural, religious and social aspects of the Safavid and Qajar dynasties.