Sufis, Shi‘ites and Shahs: The Great Shrines of Iran 1500-1650

The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has organized a special lecture program by Dr. Sheila Canby, Curator of Islamic Art and Antiquities, The British Museum, on Wednesday March 5th, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.



Dr. Canby’s presentation, entitled “Sufis, Shi‘ites and Shahs: The Great Shrines of Iran 1500-1650″, will focus on the Ardabil Shrine and the Shrine of Fatimeh Ma`sumeh in Qum. The Safavids, ruled Iran from 1501 to 1722. A dynasty of Azerbaijani and Kurdish origins, the Safavids declared Shi´a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the turning points in the history of Islam. Dr. Sheila Canby examines the roles that these shrines played in establishing Shiism as the state religion of Iran and the Safavid rulers as its protectors.



Sheila Canby, BA, MA, PhD, is an author and curator of Islamic art and antiquities in the Department of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum. Sheila is also working on the ‘Discover Islamic Art’ website, which includes objects and architecture from collections in the Arab lands on the rim of the Mediterranean and other European countries. Before joining the British Museum in 1991, she worked at the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fogg Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.



This lecture is made possible by the His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for the Southeastern United States and by the Religion, Society and the Arts Initiative at Emory University.



For more information and directions visit http://www.carlos.emory.edu/CALENDAR/





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