A payk was a groom running on foot, heralding his master on horse in medieval Persia. The figure of the payk appears in many Persian medieval miniatures, and it became a stock figure. The payk already appears in 1386-88 in the Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or.13297), or commissioned by Jalayirid rulers, such as a , or under Sultan Ahmad (ruled 1382âÂÂ1410) at the end of the 14th century, in works such as Khwaju Kirmani's ' (1396). The payk is generally bare-legged, and equipped with a semi-circular axe.