Detail of exquisitely painted woodwork from the Pavilion of CHAHAL SITUN (Hall of Forty Pillars), the Palace at Ispahan built by SHAH ABBAS. The young Shah, who was pleased with the leader of the party (Europeans), gave him royal gifts, Sir Anthony Sherley records (1598), including "forty horses all furnished, two with exceeding rich saddles, plated with gold, and set with rubies and turquoises." To these he added camels, tents, and a sum of money. * * * * * [PAGE 17] her old faith, source of sustaining energy; and continued to radiate into these planets of countries and races of the System, her all-stimulating cultural beams, the reflection of which is discernible in all artistic manifestations of those countries. In the field of literature, which is so little known in the western world, the influence is even greater than in the visual art with which we are concerned. MUHAMMADAN literature, be it Arabic, Turkish, or Persian, is PERSIAN in spirit and feeling.[7] [Footnote 6: "The ascendancy of the Persians over the Arabs, that is to say of the conquered over the victors, had already for a long while been in course of preparation; it became complete when the ABBASIDS, who owed their elevation to the Persians, ascended the throne (A.D. 749). The most distinguished personages at court were consequently Persians. The famous BARMECIDES were descended from a Persian noble who had been superintendent of the Fire Temple at BALKH. AFSHIN, the all-powerful favorite of the Caliph AL-MUTASIM, was a scion of the Princes of USRUSHNA in Transoxiana."--DOZY, "Histoire de l'Islamisme".] [Footnote 7: "With the rise of PERSIAN influence, there opened an era of culture, toleration, and scientific research. The practice of oral tradition was also giving place to recorded statement and historical narrative,--a change hastened by the scholarly tendencies introduced from the East."--SIR WILLIAM MUIR, on the rise of the Abbasid Dynasty.] The fusion of MUHAMMADAN doctrine with this Aryan (Persian) culture of old,[8] is an important event in the history of Art. For out of this fusion came forth into being a new phase of artistic expression completely different, in form and spirit, from its predecessors. Probably of equal importance is the fact that, although practised by divers races and subjected to many developments, fluctuations and variations, it has retained throughout the centuries its identical characteristics. What was the vital force that brought about this cultural evolution and unification? The answer appears to be RELIGION, as we shall see.