The sixteenth century saw a flowering of classical painting in Persia. Art flourished under the aegis of the Shahs, and the pages reproduced in this volume represent the most unusual and dazzling miniatures in these Safavid manuscripts. within settings exquisitely portrayed, a world of great luxury and delicacy unfolds on every folio as palaces open onto fountains and gardens, lovers and warriors sign or are vanquished - all realized in shimmering, jewel-like painting that delight the eye and please the mind. Stuart Cary Welch, Honorary Curator of Manuscripts at the Harvard college Library and Lecturer in the fine Arts at Harvard University, traces the historical development of the Safavid Rule and clarifies the fine points of each miniature reproduced here. - Publisher.