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218 the delicate carving of the Persian inscriptions, and its soft green patina are beyond praise. There is no more glorious period in the history of Muslim architecture than that of the Timurids of the fifteenth century. It has been properly called the "Renaissance of Art in the East". This brilliant renaissance with its centre in Herat was not surpassed by a similar "Rebirth" in Europe which followed the Dark Ages. The greatest painter of this period was Kamaluddin Bihzad, who worked at the Court of Sultan Hussain (1469-1506 A.D.), and painted two portraits of the Sultan, which are generally regarded as his master-pieces. Similarly, his miniatures most of which are preserved in the British Museum, have world- wide fame. Besides paintings and miniature, other fine arts also attained high perfection under the patronage of the Timurids. Never were the glazed tiles and faience mosaics made in greater perfec- tion, or employed to greater advantage. The main features of the style are the huge-vaulted arches, the melon-shaped domes and the minarets, all faced with vari-coloured tiles and calligraphic ornamentations. Of palaces, and other royal residences, few examples remain, and only a few minarets, shrines, a mosque and a college are all that have survived the ravages of time. It was the Timurides who gave the first real impetus to miniature painting. During the reign of Shah Rukh (1405-1447 A.D.), Baisunqar Mirza founded an academy in Herat in which the arts of painting, book-binding, especially miniature-painting, and calligraphy were zealously studied and encouraged. This academy attained its most flourishing period under Sultan Hussain Baiqara, patron of the most famous miniaturist and painter, Bihzad.