120. Karen ArmstrongOttomans, and his capital at Isfahan enjoyed a cultural
renaissance, which, like the recent Italian renaissance in
Europe, drew inspiration from the pagan past of the region;
in the case of Iran, this meant the old pre-Islamic Persian
culture. This was the period of such great Safavid painters as
Bihzad (d. 1535) and Riza-i Abbari (d. 1635), who produced
luminous and dreamlike miniatures. Isfahan became a mag-
nificent city of parks, palaces and huge open squares, with
imposing mosques and madrasahs.
The new ulama immigrants were in a strange position,
however. As a private group, they had never had their own
Shii madrasahs before but had met for study and discussion in
one another's homes. They had always, on principle, held
aloof from government, but now they were required to take
over the educational and legal system of Iran, as well as the
more religious tasks of the government. The shah gave them
generous gifts and grants that eventually made them finan-
cially independent. They felt that they could not refuse this
unique opportunity of propagating their faith, but were still
wary of the state, refusing official government posts and pre-
ferring to be ranked as subjects. Their position was potentially
very powerful. According to Twelver orthodoxy, the ulama
and not the shahs were the only legitimate representatives of
the Hidden Imam. But as yet, the Safavids were able to keep
the ulama in line; they would not be able to exploit their posi-
tion fully until the Iranian people as a whole had converted to
the Shiah. But their new power meant that some of the more
attractive traits of Twelver Shiism became submerged. In-
stead of pursuing their profound mystical exegesis, some of
them became rather literal-minded. Muhammad Baqir Maj-
lisi (d. 1700) became one of the most influential ulama of all
time, but he displayed a new Shii bigotry. He tried to suppress
the teaching of Falsafah and mysticism {irfan) in Isfahan, and
mercilessly persecuted the remaining Sufis. Henceforth, he