Mirzaei (2026 Congress)

Maryam Mirzaei
(Tehran University of Art)

Abstract of Paper
presented at the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies
(Kalamazoo, 2026)

2026 International Congress on Medieval Studies: Program

Session on
“Magic, Manuscripts, and Material Culture”

Sponsored by

  • Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
  • Rossell Hope Robbins Library and Koller–Collins Center for English Studies
    at the University of Rochester
  • Polytheism-Oriented Medievalists of North America (P.-O.M.o.N.A.)

Organized by

Anna Siebach–Larsen (University of Rochester)
Mildred Budny (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)
Phillip Bernhardt–House (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)
Derek Shank (Research Group on Manuscript Evidence)

Paper Title:

“Factors Determining Occult Sciences:
Text–Image Signifiers
in the Persian Manuscript of Zakhīri-i Iskandarī”

Abstract:

This paper investigates the semiotic dimensions of occult sciences in the Persian manuscript Zakhīrah-i Iskandarī, a work situated within the Islamic talismanic–medical tradition while also drawing on Hermetic and Aristotelian legacies. The central question is: which signifiers classify a work as belonging to the occult sciences, and how does the interaction of text and image construct its quality of gharībī (strangeness)?

The analysis unfolds in two stages. First, it distinguishes between occult writing (magical and cryptic scripts) and occult illustration (symbolic visual forms). Among the manuscript’s 28 talismanic images, only five—hybrid or composite figures—embody strangeness, while the others function as simpler figurative depictions of humans or animals. The study also considers whether traces of talismanic approaches can be observed in Safavid-period manuscript illustration. This distinction provides a new lens for reconsidering the differential roles of text and image in occult knowledge.

Second, ten potential signifying factors were identified through discourse analysis of the manuscript’s textual and visual elements; five key ones are emphasized here: intended ailment or benefit, cosmic or terrestrial timing, geometric form, color, and magical writing. These elements integrate textual and visual dimensions to activate talismanic efficacy and channel celestial forces.

As the first focused study of Zakhīrah-i Iskandarī from a semiotic perspective, based on my doctoral research, this article offers an original contribution to understanding the cultural transmission of occult knowledge in medieval Islam.

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