From a 1543 CE edition of the 鈥楰hamsa' published in Shiraz; this illustration shows the Sassanid prince Bahram Gur visiting the red pavilion of the Slavic princesses. The Khamsa; or Hamsa; is a series of five lengthy epic poems written by the Persian poet Nezami-ye Ganjavi in the 12th century. The first of these five poems; all of which were composed in the 鈥楳asnavi' form; is the didactic work Makhzan ol-asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries); the next three are traditional love stories; and the fifth; the 鈥楨skandar-nameh'; records the adventures of Alexander the Great.