sultan ebrahim mirza significance in safavid art

Iran, in the early tenth century, has undergone political, social, economic changes. These transformations, which pioneered the Safavids into the modern era, gradually surfaced when Safavid dynasty rose to power with King Esmaeil I in 907 Hejri. Researching the Safavid era requires that cultural and artistic issues of the period be paid ample attention. That is because the royalty of this dynasty has held the art and artists significant and most kings and princesses of the period are considered either artists or patrons of the art. The courts in Harat, Mashad, Shiraz, Ghazvin, Tabriz and Isfahan were the active artistic circles and each core political conditions heralded the artistic production of precious value in various fields. The court and the royal library in the significant town of Mashad was ruled by an artistic princess, Abolfath Soltan Ibrahim Mirza, who succeeded to make the town a well-known artistic center for about two decades. A science-loving, artistic patron and himself an artist, he encouraged and patronized artists in various fields such as calligraphy, painting, illumination and music during his reign in Mashad. Through his measures, he transformed Mashad Royal workshop into a significant artistic center in Safavid era.