Why Do People in Old Middle Eastern Paintings Look More East Asian?

by Jesuswasagangsta
AbouBenAdhem

Both of the pieces you link to are labelled “style: Ilkhanid”. The Ilkhanate was an offshoot of the Mongol Empire, so called because it continued to recognize the authority of the Great Khan—Kubilai and his descendents in China.

The Ilkhanate was initially Buddhist, and re-introduced the depiction of human figures in paintings which had been curtailed under the Muslims. The earlier native Persian style of depicting people had all but died out by that point, so painters under the Mongols adapted the style current in Mongol China instead.