Payk

A payk was a groom running on foot, heralding his master on horse in medieval Persia. The figure of the payk appears in many Persian medieval miniatures, and it became a stock figure. The payk' already appears in 1386-88 in the Khamsa of Nizami , or in 1396 miniatures commissioned by Jalayirid rulers, such as a Kalila and Dimna , or under Sultan Ahmad at the end of the 14th century, in works such as Khwaju Kirmani's mathnavis (1396). The payk is generally bare-legged, and equipped with a semi-circular axe.

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