Iran: A quatrain, or poem, from a Persian Muraqqa dating from 1598-99.

A Muraqqa is an album of artwork which predominated in the 16th century in the Safavid, Mughal and Ottoman empires. The Muraqqa album consists of compilations of various fine arts, including Islamic calligraphy, Ottoman miniatures, paintings, drawings, ghazals and Persian poetry. The pages in this type of illuminated manuscript usually have decorated margins. The ruling elite of this time period were fond of collecting and compiling these types of albums, sometimes making alterations to existing Muraqqas. Some albums were made specifically for rulers or royalty, while other albums were made from existing albums, war booty, or other books. The style of these albums was largely influenced by the Persian language and fine arts.