Russia and China; and extended his empire from Mongolia to Europe。
C。 1141–1209: The Persian poet Nizami lived。 He wrote the romantic epic the
Quintet; prised of the following stories; all of which have inspired
miniaturist painters: The Treasury of Mysteries; Hüsrev and Shirin; Leyla and
Mejnun; The Seven Beauties and The Book of Alexander the Great。
1258: The Sack of Baghdad。 Hulagu (reigned 1251–1265); the grandson of
Genghis Khan; conquered Baghdad。
1300–1922: The Ottoman Empire; a Sunni Muslim power; ruled south…
eastern Europe; the Middle East and North Africa。 At its greatest extent; the
empire reached the gates of Vienna and Persia。
1370–1405: Reign of the Turkic ruler Tamerlane。 Subdued the areas that the
Blacksheep ruled in Persia。 Tamerlane conquered areas from Mongolia to the
Mediterranean including parts of Russia; India; Afghanistan; Iran; Iraq and
Anatolia (where he defeated the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I in 1402)。
1370–1526: The Timurid Dynasty; established by Tamerlane; fostered a
brilliant revival of artistic and intellectual life; and ruled in Persia; central Asia
and Transoxiana。 The schools of miniature painting at Shiraz; Tabriz and Herat
flourished under the Timurids。 In the early fifteenth century Herat was the
center of painting in the Islamic world and home to the great master Bihzad。
1375–1467: The Blacksheep; a Turkmen tribal federation; ruled over parts of
Iraq; eastern Anatolia and Iran。 Jihan Shah (reigned 1438–67); the last
Blacksheep ruler; was defeated by the Whitesheep Tall Hasan in 1467。
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1378–1502: The Whitesheep federation of Turkmen tribes ruled northern
Iraq; Azerbaijan and eastern Anatolia。 Whitesheep ruler Tall Hasan (reigned
1452–78) failed in his attempts to contain the eastward expansion of the
Ottomans; but he defeated the Blacksheep Jihan Shah in 1467 and the Timurid
Abu Said in 1468; extending his dominions to Baghdad; Herat; and the Persian
Gulf。
1453: Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror took Istanbul。 Demise of
the Byzantine Empire。 Sultan Mehmet later missioned his portrait from
Bellini。
1501–1736: The Safavid Empire ruled in Persia。 The establishment of Shia