Tahmasp’s immediate successors were less important both as rulers and as patrons of the arts but there was a revival under Shah Abbas (1587–1629) when the state had increased power and the arts, ...

And the legacy of Shah 'Abbas's achievement can still be clearly seen in this programme's object, the alam, which was made around 1700. This Shi'a Iran of the Safavid shahs, sophisticated and ...