At the time of his death in 1259, Badr al-Dīn Luʾluʾ had ruled the city of Mosul for more than forty years. In the course of his remarkable career he rose from mamluk to sultan, taking over the throne of his master’s progeny and establishing his rule in his own name. Artworks from the period of his reign, probably executed under his patronage, feature various royal representations. As such, this body of work constitutes a most important visual documentation of the royal image as conceived by the patron and his artists. Representations of Badr al-Dīn Luʾluʾ in illuminated manuscripts such as Kitāb al-aghānī and Kitāb al-diryāq contain visual features that bear royal significance and transmit the message of hierarchy and sovereignty. Other features proclaim divine kingship and present the ruler as the axis mundi, joining heaven and earth. The association of Badr al-Dīn Luʾluʾ's representation with heaven’s grace, as well as with dynastic continuity, just rule, and salvation and redemption, bestows legitimacy on his ruling status. The core of this paper is the message conveyed by these artworks, and the visual means of its delivery. It examines these images in light of their visual origins from east and west. This examination helps our understanding how the medieval Islamic ruler was presented by visual means, and our picturing the royal iconography of the time.