Perzische miniatuur - Rijksmuseum public domain dedication

Iran, or Persia, is home to one of the world's oldest major civilizations, with first known urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel names the Persians as the first Historical People. The Persian civilization begins in the Iron Age. The First Persian Empire was the only civilization in all of history to connect over 40% of the global population, accounting for approximately 49.4 million of the world's 112.4 million people in around 480 BC. They were succeeded by the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Empires, who successively governed Iran for almost 1000 years. The Muslim conquest of Persia (633–656) ended the Sasanian Empire of classical antiquity and was a turning point in Iranian history. Islamization of Iran took place during the eighth to tenth centuries and led to the eventual decline of Zoroastrianism in Iran as well as many of its dependencies. The achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic civilization. Persia's arch-rival was the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire.

Islamic art refers to the visual arts that were produced in the Islamic world, which encompasses a vast geographical area stretching from Spain and North Africa in the west to Central Asia and India in the east. Islamic art is characterized by its focus on religious themes and its emphasis on the representation of spiritual truths. Islamic art is also known for its distinctive aesthetic features, including the use of calligraphy, geometric patterns, and arabesque designs. Islamic art covers a wide range of media, including architecture, painting, calligraphy, ceramics, and textiles. In the narrowest sense, the arts of the Islamic peoples might be said to include only those arising directly from the practice of Islam. More commonly, however, the term is extended to include all of the arts produced by Muslim peoples, whether connected with their religion or not. In this article, the subject includes the arts created in pre-Islamic times by Arabs and other peoples in Asia Minor and North Africa who eventually adopted the Islamic faith.