Shams ad-Din, also Shamsuddin (active until 1374), was a Persian miniaturist from the mid-14th century. He may have been the main artist of the Great Jalayirid Shahnameh.
The art historian, calligrapher, and Persian miniaturist Dust Muhammad, Bahram Mirza Safavi's librarian, who wrote in the mid-16th century a âÂÂTreatise on Calligraphy and Paintersâ states that Shams ad-Din was a disciple of the master miniaturist Ahmad Musa, who was active in Baghdad. Shams ad-Din lived during the reign of Sultan Uvais I of the Jalayirid dynasty, in whose service he worked. However, after the sultanâÂÂs death in 1374, he was unable to find another patron and began to devote himself to pleasures at home.
One of his students was Abd al-Hay, who later became one of the leading artists in the Baghdad library of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir. Abd al-Hay provided financial support to his elderly master, who in return passed on all his knowledge to him.
Dust Muhammad, also mentions another highly talented disciple of Shams ad-Din, Junayd, whose brush was considered the most lyrical among his pupils. No miniature signed by Shams ad-Din has survived. Dust Muhammad notes that the manuscript of the Shahnameh ("Book of Kings") on which Shams ad-Din worked was square in format. Unfortunately, this manuscript has not survived.
Some art historians believe that the miniature titled âÂÂIskander (Alexander the Great) Fighting the Wolves,â from folios of the Book of Kings preserved in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, was painted by Shams ad-Din, although this attribution is not unanimously accepted. It was likely part of the Great Jalayirid Shahnama, which has also been described as the "Shams al-Din Shahnama". This Shahnamah was highly influential, and was reused, referenced and copied by the Timurid Baysunghur. It is sometimes called the "Proto-Baysunghur" Shahnama.