Shah 'Abbas introductory video

In the seventeenth century the Iranian king Shah `Abbas transformed the social, economic, and religious landscape of his country. 

He built one of the loveliest cities in the world – Isfahan. 

He gathered round him a court of thinkers, as well as artists and craftsmen. He ushered in a golden age of Iranian art. And revitalised Shi’a Islam as the state religion.

The third of the British Museum’s series on world rulers, this major exhibition helps us towards an understanding of Iran today.