Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0034 Pictures From History » CPA0016796

Iran / Persia: Bahram Gur in the Sandalwood Pavilion. From a manuscript of Amir Khusraw's Hasht-Bihisht, Safavid, 1609

Iran / Persia: Bahram Gur in the Sandalwood Pavilion. From a manuscript of Amir Khusraw's Hasht-Bihisht, Safavid, 1609

Bahram V (Persian: بهرام‎) was the fourteenth Sassanid King of Persia (421–438). Also called Bahram Gur or Bahramgur (Persian: بهرام گور‎), he was a son of Yazdegerd I (399–421), after whose sudden death (or assassination) he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Mundhir, the Arab dynast of al-Hirah.

Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted from the woods for use. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: