Ottoman illumination in the context of "Tughra"

Islamic miniatures are small paintings on paper, usually book or manuscript illustrations but also sometimes separate artworks, intended for muraqqa albums. The earliest examples date from around 1000, with a flourishing of the artform from around 1200. The field is divided by scholars into four types, Arabic, Persian, Mughal (Indian), Ottoman (Turkish).

As in the art history of Europe, "miniature" is generally reserved for images including people, with abstract or geometrical decorative schemes on the pages of books called "illumination". These are much more common, and less sensitive, often found in grand copies of the Quran, as for example in Ottoman illumination.

Ottoman miniature (Turkish: Osmanlı minyatürü) is a style of illustration found in Ottoman manuscripts, often depicting portraits or historic events. Its unique style was developed from multiple cultural influences, such as the Persian Miniature art, as well as Byzantine and Mongol art. It was a part of the Ottoman book arts, together with illumination (tezhip), calligraphy (hat), marbling paper (ebru), and bookbinding (cilt). The words taswir or nakish were used to define the art of miniature painting in Ottoman Turkish.

While Ottoman miniatures have been very much inspired by Persian miniatures, Ottoman artisans developed a unique style that separated themselves from their Persian influences. Ottoman miniatures are known specifically for their factual accounts of things such as military events, whereas Persian miniatures were more focused on being visually interesting. The inclusion of miniatures in Ottoman manuscripts was more for the purpose of documentation, and less about aesthetics. Miniatures were used to demonstrate many important chronicles and themes, especially historical and religious events. Ottoman miniatures are particularly known for their specific and accurate details. This can be found in many miniatures of armies or court scenes.

The Zubdat al-Tawarikh ('Essence of History') is an Ottoman genealogy written in Turkish nashki script by calligrapher Sayyid Loqman Aşuri and illuminated throughout with miniatures by painters al-Sayyid Lutfi, Molla Kasım (Mulla Qasim) and Ustad Osman and their workshop, in 1583, for Sultan Murad III. The manuscript is in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul (TIEM 1973).