semi-nomadic Turkic dynasties, and also probably underscoring the offi-
cial, public, and non-romantic nature of their interaction.
Both Firdausi’sandNizami’s stories use the image to underscore the
prescience of female rulers described as the most powerful, wealthy, and
beautiful of their eras. Both describe the palatial pomp, glorious clothing,
and splendid settings as intimidating Alexander. The rulers are celebrated as
exceeding restrictive gender stereotypes through their deployment of stra-
tegic wisdom instead of brute force. The extra-Islamic setting enables the
inversion of both gender and the image, arguing against the binary sphere of
permissibility or prohibition. Instead, in the hands of woman, the image
becomes a pragmatic tool reflecting intelligence, key to Alexander’seduca-
tion as a paradigm of ideal governance in the Islamic world, the power of
which emerges through its capacity to acquire transcultural knowledge.Figure 6Anonymous,Queen Nushaba Recognizes Alexander from His Portrait, from
theKhamsaby Nizami of Ganj, 1485. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, MS. Or. Quart 1665186 The Transcendent Image