Illuminated Folio (recto) from a Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (c. 1213–1291)

In the border surrounding the Persian poetical text, deer and a lion coexist peacefully in a forest. This imagery may reference the rule of a righteous king. The text is from the Gulistan, one of the most celebrated works of Persian literature, completed around 1258. Gulistan means “Rose Garden” in Persian; just as a rose garden is a collection of flowers, the contents are a collection of anecdotes. This page is from the section “On the Conduct of Kings.”