On the Cover

In this issue of Perspectives on History, historians reflect on assessment—how they determine whether they and their students met their goals for a course or program. Al-Khidr, depicted on the cover, appears as a teacher in a Qur’anic parable. His student, Moses, fails all three of his teacher’s tests. Iconography portraying Al-Khidr often shows him traveling on the river of life on the back of a fish. See this month’s Endnote for more about Khidr iconography. The image is from the album Miniatures, portraits et modèles d’écriture des Indes, published in 1760 and held by Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Réserve OD-60 PET FOL, f. 19. {{PD-US}}