A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent.

Peter Garland (born January 25, 1952 in Portland, Maine) is a composer best known for publishing Soundings Press, one of the few sources of new music scores and articles while in print. A student of James Tenney and Harold Budd, much of Garland's work could be considered post-minimal although many of his postminimal works such as "The Days Run Away" (1971) were written in the early 1970s at the same time as the first minimalist works. He is also an expert on American Indian music. He is the author of Gone Walkabout: Essays 1991-.\

Peter Garland started his Soundings Press series in 1971 after attending a publishing workshop with Dick Higgins at CalArts.

He lives in Bath, Maine.

Compilations

The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), codenamed Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991) commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a UN-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf War, Gulf War I, or the Iraq War, before the term "Iraq War" became identified instead with the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as "Operation Iraqi Freedom").

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.

Mahmoud Farshchian (Persian: محمود فرشچیان‎, Mahmud Faršciyân; born January 24, 1930) is a master of Persian painting and miniatures. He was born in the city of Isfahan in Iran, a place famed for its art and artists, and it was here where he started to learn art, painting and sculpting.

His masterpieces have been hosted by several museums and exhibitions worldwide. He's the most modernizer of the field of miniatures, an art form which was first established in Ancient Persia and later spread to China and Turkey and other Middle eastern countries.

Master Mahmoud Farshchian was born in the city of Isfahan on January 24, 1930. His father, a rug merchant, was an art aficionado who instilled a love for the arts in his son. Young Mahmoud showed an interest in arts quite early in life and studied under the tutelage of Haji Mirza-Agha Emami and Isa Bahadori for several years. After receiving his diploma from Isfahan's high school for the fine arts, Farshchian left for Europe, where he studied the works of the great Western masters of Painting. Consequently, he developed an innovative artistic style with universal appeal.

Riza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually "Riza" or Reza Abbasi also Aqa Riza (but see below) or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī (c. 1565–1635) was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I. He is considered to be the last great master of the Persian miniature, best known for his single miniatures for muraqqa or albums, especially single figures of beautiful youths.

Riza was possibly born in Kashan, as Āqā Riżā Kāshānī is one of the versions of his name; it has also been suggested that he was born in Mashad, where his father, the miniature artist Ali Asghar, is recorded as having worked in the atelier of the governor, Prince Ibrahim Mirza. After Ibrahim's murder, Ali Asghar joined Shah Ismail II's workshop in the capital Qasvin. Riza probably received his training from his father and joined the workshop of Shah Abbas I at a young age. By this date, the number of royal commissions for illustrated books had diminished, and album miniatures had to a considerable extent replaced them in giving employment to the artists of the royal workshop.