RELIGION And PERSIAN MINIATURE during the Reign of King tahmasp as two sources for Political legitimacy

Abstract

The Safavid kings drew on shi’ism to unify their territory and
to bring about political division between neighboring territories
and that of their own. Nevertheless, they seem to have
encountered certain difficulties in this scheme. To overcome
these problems and establish further concrete legitimacy, they
began to support and promote art and artists, though modifying
their relationship with them as demanded by the circumstances
and the needs of their state. Inevitably, this kind of behavior led
to inconsistent, at times even paradoxical, behavior on the part
of the rulers. Among these rulers, King Tahmasp is particularly
apt for the present study. Despite being an ardent patron of
Persian miniature in the first decade of his reign, not only did he
publicly renounce this art but he also notoriously continued to
mistreat artists for the rest of his life.