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Portrait of Mirza Ali

Mirza Ali

1510 – 1570

Iranian illustrator (c. 1510 - d. before 1576)

IlluminatorPainter Illustrator
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About Mirza Ali

Lived 1510 – 1570 (aged 59–60). Mirza Ali was an illuminator, painter and illustrator.

The Sasanian emperor Khosrow II listening to Barbad playing the lute, Made by Mirza Ali as part of the Khamsa of Nizami in 1539–43 at Tabriz. Stored in the British Library. Mirza Ali (; ) was a painter of Persian miniatures in the 16th and 17th centuries. He was the son of the prominent painter Sultan Mohammed . Born in Tabriz, he was raised at the city's scriptorium, which belonged to the Safavid shah (king) Tahmasp I .

According to the contemporary Safavid historian Budaq Monshi Qazvini, Mirza Ali "left for India after his father's death and prospered there". Persian and Mughal art specialist Barbara Brend also suggests that Mirza Ali traveled to India in order to work in the Mughal court, even though she does not quote the source for this claim. Martin Bernard Dickson and Stuart Cary Welch suggest that Mirza Ali's career continued in Iran until around 1575, while Abolala Soudavar suggests that Mirza Ali accompanied Humayun to India and returned to Iran after the latters death in 1556.

Brend considers Mirza Ali and Abd al-Samad to have been the same person, due to their stylistic similarities.

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Important facts

Born
1510, Tabriz
Birth century
Died
1570
Occupation
Illuminator, painter, illustrator
Nationality
Safavid Iran
Also known as
Mirza Ali ibn Sultan-Muhammad

People in Mirza Ali's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Mirza Ali's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Mirza Ali?

Iranian illustrator (c. 1510 - d. before 1576)

When was Mirza Ali born?

Mirza Ali was born in 1510 in Tabriz.

When did Mirza Ali die?

Mirza Ali died in 1570.

What was Mirza Ali's occupation?

Mirza Ali was an illuminator, painter and illustrator.

What nationality was Mirza Ali?

Mirza Ali's recorded nationality: Safavid Iran.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Mirza Ali

· Wikidata: Q2783517

· DBpedia: Mirza Ali

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Mirza Ali. https://biography.guide/mirza-ali/

MLA: "Mirza Ali." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/mirza-ali/.

Chicago: "Mirza Ali." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/mirza-ali/.

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