The wall painting entitled Battle of Chaldiran, located on the west wall of the main reception hall of the Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan, is a fresco of the 19th century dating to the Qajar period. This large‑scale scene is one of only a few narrative paintings on the palace’s interior walls that depict historical events. The work attracts attention not only for its traditional Iranian miniature style but also for its use of perspective, volume, and shading techniques in line with the prevailing visual trends of its time.
There is no direct artist’s signature or document indicating who executed the fresco. Such monumental wall paintings in Chehel Sotoun Palace were generally produced collaboratively by master artists and apprentices working within the palace’s affiliated nakkašḫāne (painting workshop).
The event depicted in the fresco is the Battle of Chaldiran, which took place on August 23, 1514, between Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim and Safavid ruler Shah Ismail, and ended in a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire.
Battle of Chaldiran Wall Fresco (Ninara, Flickr)
Historical Background
The Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 marked a turning point in the long‑standing political, military, and sectarian struggles between the Ottoman state and the Safavids. Acting to secure the Sunni Ottoman realm against the Shiite Safavid threat in the east—and to defend the creed of Ahl‑sunnah—Yavuz Sultan Selim pressed beyond mere territorial ambition. Safavid ruler Shah Ismail, through Shiite propaganda in Anatolia and the mobilization of Qizilbash forces, had threatened Ottoman territorial integrity.
On August 23, 1514, on the Çaldıran Plain in northwestern Iran, the disciplined Ottoman army, equipped with firearms and employing strategic formations, routed the Safavid forces. Shah Ismail was forced to withdraw from the battlefield; the defeat tarnished his military prestige and led to his prolonged political seclusion. Yavuz Sultan Selim’s victory at the Battle of Chaldiran not only secured the eastern frontier but also reinforced the Ottoman claim to leadership within the Islamic world.
Subject Matter and Staging
The Battle of Chaldiran fresco stages the famous 1514 confrontation between the Safavids and the Ottomans. At the center of the composition stand the two sovereigns: on the right, Yavuz Sultan Selim in full armor, upright and resolute; on the left, Shah Ismail, his horse turned away, in retreat. This arrangement visually underscores the Ottoman triumph.
In the foreground, Ottoman infantrymen with spears and muskets advance in disciplined ranks, while the Safavid army appears scattered and in flight. In the background, amid clouds of dust, cavalry units clash and fallen soldiers lie strewn across the field, conveying the battle’s violence and chaos. The figures’ gaze directions and body postures imbue the scene with a dynamic sense of movement. Yavuz Sultan Selim’s face bears determination and calm, whereas Shah Ismail’s expression reveals anxiety and disappointment.
The figurative language is shaped by classical Persian painting yet enriched with Western shading and perspective techniques. The battle scene is constructed as a narrative of heroism and victory: Yavuz Sultan Selim’s central placement and the disciplined advance of his troops exalt the legitimacy of conquest and Ottoman power. Conversely, the unambiguous portrayal of Shah Ismail’s defeat transforms the period’s political memory into a striking visual narrative.
Technical Features
The wall painting is executed in secco technique—pigment applied to dry plaster rather than to wet—to the palace’s interior walls. This method was commonly employed in late‑period Iranian court painting.
The fresco occupies a large rectangular expanse on the west façade of the hall, measuring several meters in height and width (approximately 4 m high and 6–8 m wide), arranged at eye level for the viewer. The composition’s centralized structure and symmetrical layout foster a direct relationship between the work, the architectural space, and its audience.
Color usage is vivid and high‑contrast: saturated blues, reds, gold‑yellows, and greens dominate the foreground. A clear distinction between sky and ground is maintained; pale tones in the background evoke the dusty battlefield atmosphere, while darker, more defined colors delineate the dramatic encounter. The linear style occasionally echoes the delicacy of Persian miniatures, while Western‑style modeling—through light and shadow—creates a sense of volume, particularly evident in facial features and folds of garments.
Perspective is limited; spatial depth is achieved primarily through the overlapping of figures. A broadly horizontal narrative was chosen to reflect the battle’s chaotic nature and multifaceted action. This approach guides the viewer’s eye across the scene, organizing the story into a coherent visual flow.
Battle of Chaldiran Wall Fresco (Ninara, Flickr)
Conservation Status
Since the 17th century, the Battle of Chaldiran fresco in Chehel Sotoun Palace has suffered significant deterioration from fires, earthquakes, and environmental factors affecting the building. The surface shows darkening, paint loss, and crack lines. In the second half of the 20th century, under the leadership of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization and the Italian IsMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente), comprehensive cleaning and surface‑protection efforts were carried out throughout the palace. During these interventions, soot, white lime deposits, and later overpainting were carefully removed, though no extensive repainting was undertaken.
Today the palace operates as a public museum in Isfahan. The fresco remains on display in its original location on the west wall of the reception hall. Visitors may view these historic paintings via guided tours inside the structure. A protective barrier prevents physical contact, and museum regulations restrict the use of direct flash photography to safeguard the fragile work.
