This course is an introduction to Ottoman and Safavid miniature painting. It aims to investigate the artist who translated the historical and literary narrative sources into manuscript illustrations; to study their modes of rendering; and to develop an understanding towards the interpretation of themes and subjects by building a familiarity with the examples of book painting and a close reading of the existing scholarly literature. It introduces some princely manuscripts produced at the Ottoman painting workshops by Ottoman painters depicting subject matter drawn from Islamic-Persian literature.