An immensely rich visual culture has always existed in modern-day Iran and the surrounding regions from late antiquity, often shaped by encounters with different zones of contact and patronised by ruling elites and dynasties with a myriad of artistic and cultural traditions, needs and agendas. This book explores these encounters and the art they produced. Covering the multifaceted aspects of art, architecture and material culture of the Persian cultural realm, it encompasses West Asia, Anatolia, Central Asia and South Asia. Each chapter examines the historical, religious or scientific role of visual culture in the shaping, influencing and transforming of distinctive Persian aesthetics across the various historical periods, ranging from pre-Islamic, through the medieval and early modern Islamic period, to modern times.