Visual reading of the institution of power in the Safavid era from the story of the descent of Adam (AS)

The Safavid era is one of the most important and influential periods in the formation of intellectual and social life.The Safavid dynasty was always trying to gain legitimacy in various ways.Hence due to the religious nature of the government and the relationship that its kings had with mystical methods and the Shiism introduction, used religious art as a tool in the service of government programs and social movements. Among these, the Qur'an, which has always had a special place among Muslim artists due to its value and credibility, in the Safavid religious government, it was at the forefront of artists' attention and inspiration And the artistic expression in the narrations, stories and their concepts became the source of inspiration for many illustrated works for miniaturists.Reading the miniatures of the descent of Adam (AS), which is one of the components of the story of creation in the Qur'an, and the answer to the question: how the implicit meanings and social conditions of the Safavids are explained in this miniature, is the research query.The goal is to discover the hidden inside and recognize the social functions of the work.The research method was descriptive-analytical with the approach of social semiotics of the image and the results of the study showed; the illustration of the story of the descent of Adam is in accordance with the ideological approach of the era and is influenced by social conditions and discourse conflicts of the first half of the Safavid period. Which has been done in its lower layers, by emphasizing the mythical legitimacy of the king and the establishment of the monarchy and the purification of his character and extra-textual factors such as the theory of divine shadow, and Shiite Mahdism and attitudes toward the flow of the perfect master have been involved in its formation.