The Mongol Ilkhanate (1256-1353) was established in north-west Iran after the invasions led by Hulegu, the grandson of Genghis-khan.  Despite the initial destruction that the conquests brought, Ilkhanid rule heralded a period where the arts of the book flourished with the production of both religious and secular texts.

Of particular note are the number of beautifully illuminated Qur'ans produced for the Ilkhan Uljaytu (r.1307-1314) which Alison Ohta of the Royal Asiatic Society will discuss in more detail.  

Alison’s talk is part of a series of events organised by the York Islamic Art Circle, a collaboration between the University of York’s Islamic Society and Department of History of Art.

Dr Alison Ohta is Director of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Please register for tickets at the Festival of Ideas event website

The Mughal Emperors of South Asia were famous patrons of art and architecture, and much is known about the artistic influence of emperors such as Akbar and Jahangir, and Shah Jahan who commissioned the Taj Mahal.  However, less is known about the impact of the equally powerful and wealthy female queens of the Mughal Empire.

Mehreen Chida-Razvi of SOAS, University of London, introduces Nur Jahan, wife of Emperor Jahangir and aunt to Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built, as a great architectural patron in her own right. Join us and learn about the influence of a Muslim queen.

Mehreen’s talk is part of a series of events organised by the York Islamic Art Circle, a collaboration between the University of York’s Islamic Society and Department of History of Art.

Dr Mehreen Chida-Razvi is a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London. She studied Art History at the University of Florida, Gainesville (BA), the Courtauld Institute of Art (MA) and SOAS (MA, PhD). She is a specialist on the art and architecture of Mughal South Asia and has lectured on various aspects of Islamic and Indo-Islamic art at SOAS, the Courtauld Institute of Art, the V&A Museum, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Oxford University and Morley College.

She participated in and was an academic consultant for an Open University educational film on the Religious Arts and a documentary on the Taj Mahal. Mehreen is Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Islamic Architecture .

Please register for tickets at the Festival of Ideas event website