Romanization of Persian in the context of "Miraj Nameh"

Persian art or Iranian art (Persian: هنر ایرانی, romanized: Honar-è Irâni) has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences from the art of neighbouring civilizations have been very important, and latterly Persian art gave and received major influences as part of the wider styles of Islamic art. This article covers the art of Persia up to 1925, and the end of the Qajar dynasty; for later art see Iranian modern and contemporary art, and for traditional crafts see arts of Iran. Rock art in Iran is its most ancient surviving art. Iranian architecture is covered at that article.

From the Achaemenid Empire of 550 BC–330 BC for most of the time a large Iranian-speaking state has ruled over areas similar to the modern boundaries of Iran, and often much wider areas, sometimes called Greater Iran, where a process of cultural Persianization left enduring results even when rulership separated. The courts of successive dynasties have generally led the style of Persian art, and court-sponsored art has left many of the most impressive survivals.

The Treaty of Gulistan (also spelled Golestan: Russian: Гюлистанский договор, romanized: Gyulistanskiy dogovor; Persian: عهدنامه گلستان, romanized: Ahdnāme-ye Golestān) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy District of Azerbaijan) as a result of the first full-scale Russo-Persian War (1804 to 1813). The peace negotiations were precipitated by the successful storming of Lankaran by General Pyotr Kotlyarevsky on 1 January 1813. It was the first of a series of treaties (the last being the Akhal Treaty) signed between Qajar Iran and Imperial Russia that forced Persia to cede the territories that formerly were part of Iran.

The treaty confirmed the ceding and inclusion of what is now Dagestan, eastern Georgia, most of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and parts of northern Armenia from Iran into the Russian Empire.

The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (Persian: ایلخانان, romanized: Īlkhānān), and known to the Mongols as Hülegü Ulus (lit. 'people / state of Hülegü'). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known as the Land of Iran or simply Iran. It was established after Hülegü, the son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, inherited the West Asian and Central Asian part of the Mongol Empire after his brother Möngke Khan died in 1259.

The Ilkhanate's core territory was situated in what is now the countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. At its greatest extent, the Ilkhanate also included parts of modern Iraq, Syria, Armenia, Georgia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Dagestan (Russia). Later Ilkhanid rulers, beginning with Ghazan in 1295, converted to Islam. In the 1330s, the Ilkhanate was ravaged by the Black Death. The last ilkhan, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, died in 1335, after which the Ilkhanate disintegrated.

An astrolabe (Ancient Greek: ἀστρολάβος, romanized: astrolábos, lit. 'star-taker'; Arabic: ٱلأَسْطُرلاب, romanized: al-Asṭurlāb; Persian: ستاره‌یاب, romanized: Setāreyāb) is an astronomical instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and physical model of the visible half-dome of the sky. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclinometer and an analog calculation device capable of working out several kinds of problems in astronomy. In its simplest form it is a metal disc with a pattern of wires, cutouts, and perforations that allows a user to calculate astronomical positions precisely. It is able to measure the altitude above the horizon of a celestial body, day or night; it can be used to identify stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time (and vice versa), to survey, or to triangulate. It was used in classical antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery for all these purposes.

The astrolabe, which is a precursor to the sextant,is effective for determining latitude on land or calm seas. Although it is less reliable on the heaving deck of a ship in rough seas, the mariner's astrolabe was developed to solve that problem.

Talysh Mountains (Azerbaijani: Talış dağları, Persian: کوه‌های تالش, romanized: kuh-hâye tâleš, Talysh: Tolışə bandon) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Province.

Salah (Arabic: ٱلصَّلَاةُ, romanized: aṣ-Ṣalāh, also spelled Salat), also known as Namaz (Persian: نماز, romanized: namāz), is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'ah, include a specific set of physical postures, recitation from the Quran, and prayers from the Sunnah, and are performed while facing the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca (qibla). The number of rak'ah varies depending on the specific prayer. Variations in practice are observed among adherents of different madhahib (schools of Islamic jurisprudence). The term salah may denote worship in general or specifically refer to the obligatory prayers performed by Muslims five times daily, or, in some traditions, three times daily.

The obligatory prayers play an integral role in the Islamic faith, and are regarded as the second and most important, after shahadah, of the Five Pillars of Islam for Sunnis, and one of the Ancillaries of the Faith for Shiites. In addition, supererogatory salah, such as Sunnah prayer and Nafl prayer, may be performed at any time, subject to certain restrictions. Wudu, an act of ritual purification, is required prior to performing salah. Prayers may be conducted individually or in congregation, with certain prayers, such as the Friday and Eid prayers, requiring a collective setting and a khutbah (sermon). Some concessions are made for Muslims who are physically unable to perform the salah in its original form, or are travelling.

A fire temple (Persian: آتشکده, romanized: ātashkade; Gujarati: અગિયારી, romanized: agiyārī) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, atar and aban (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity.

Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life", which "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity". For, one "who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand ..., is given happiness".

The Chishti order (Persian: چشتیه, romanized: Čištiya) is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city of Ajmer.

The Chishti order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. The Chishti order is primarily followed in Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent. The Chishti order was the first of the four main Sufi orders that became well-established in South Asia, which are the Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi and Suhrawardi Sufi orders. Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti introduced the Chishti Order in Ajmer (Rajasthan, India) sometime in the middle of the 12th century. He was eighth in the line of succession from the founder of the Chishti Order, Abu Ishaq Shami. There are now several branches of the order, which has been the most prominent South Asian Sufi brotherhood since the 12th century.

Manichaeism (/ˌmænɪˈkiːɪzəm/; in Persian: آئین مانی, romanized: Āʾīn-i Mānī; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móníjiào) was a major world religion founded in the third century CE by the Parthian Iranian prophet Mani (C.E. 216–274) in the Sasanian Empire. Variably described as a Christian heresy and a Gnostic movement, Manichaeism was an organized and doctrinal religious tradition in its own right. It taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good spiritual world of light, and an evil material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of the divine.

Mani's teachings were intended to integrate, succeed, and surpass the "partial truths" of various prior faiths and belief systems, including Platonism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Marcionism, Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism, Gnostic movements, Ancient Greek religion, Babylonian and other Mesopotamian religions, and mystery cults. Some forms of Manichaeism see Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster, the Buddha, and Jesus. The Manichaean scriptural canon includes seven works attributed to Mani, written originally in Syriac. Manichaean sacramental rites included prayers, almsgiving, and fasting. Communal life centered on confession and the singing of hymns.

Abbas I (Persian: عباس یکم, romanized: Abbâs-e Yekom; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (Persian: عباس بزرگ, romanized: Abbâse Bozorg), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers in Iranian history and the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty.

Although Abbas would reign over Safavid Iran at its military, political and economic height, he came to the throne during a period of instability in the empire. Under the ineffective rule of his father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's main enemies, its arch-rival the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves. In 1588, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Quli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. However, Abbas soon seized power for himself.