"Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, nomadic horsemen burst out of Mongolia in the thirteenth century and began their sweep across Asia, creating the largest empire the world has ever known. Particularly in Iran and China, the results were far-reaching: the Mongols imposed enormous changes but at the same time were profoundly influenced by the highly developed civilizations of their new subjects. Greater Iran was ruled for a century (1256-1353) by the Mongol dynasty known as the Ilkhanids. These Mongol masters first opposed and then enthusiastically adopted Islam. They became sponsors of a brilliant cultural flowering that encompassed the writing of histories, city-building, and many branches of the arts. Local Persian artistic traditions were themselves transformed by Mongol preferences and by contracts with the arts of Europe and especially China, as wares and craftsmen from China and Iran traveled back forth across the empire.". "More than two hundred outstanding objects exemplifying all these branches of the arts are illustrated in color and fully described in this catalogue. Eight distinguished scholars in the field present the historical and political background of the Ilkhanid era and address such subjects as manuscript illustration, religious art, and the transmission of design motifs across Asia. Also included are two technical studies, maps, a genealogical chart, and a complete bibliography."--BOOK JACKET.