Isphahan, The Capital of Persia with the gate Gate of the Sha Abbas

Title

Isphahan, The Capital of Persia with the gate Gate of the Sha Abbas

Description

View of the city Isphahan in Perisa.

dated 1816

Artist

Goodall

Historical Description

In the Middle Ages, the city was called al-Yahūdiyya ("the Jewish city"), referring to the Jewish settlement. The place name Isfahan is a phonetic development of Spādān from the Sassanid period, which later became Spāhān. Isfahan was historically recorded in the Parthian period under the name Aspadana (also: Sepahan) as the capital of the province of Upper Persia. During the Sasanian period, Isfahan retained this function, but also became a mint and garrison city. In 640, the city was conquered by the Arabs. This marked the beginning of Isfahan's Islamic history and an upswing that later made the city the seat of the important Persian ruling dynasties. From the 7th to the 10th century, during the reign of the Umayyads and Abbasids, Isfahan, which lies on the southern route of the Silk Road, became famous for its silk and cotton. In the middle of the 13th century, the city came under the rule of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol Ilkhans as a result of the Mongol invasion. In 1388, the city with its then 70,000 inhabitants fell victim to the destructive rage of the Turkish-Mongolian conqueror Timur. . Until the end of the 15th century, however, Isfahan was still considered a provincial city with little significance in world history. The conquest of the city by the Safavids in 1502 marked the beginning of the city's greatest period of prosperity. In 1598, Isfahan became the capital of the Safavid Shah Abbas I, who brought artists and craftsmen from all over the country to Isfahan to develop the city. Many of them came from the city of Julfa and its and were Christian Armenians. Shah Abbas I granted them far-reaching guarantees and privileges for their culture and religion. The Armenian quarter of Isfahan is called New Julfa in memory of their hometown. The Armenians of Isfahan form a cultural and religious community and are not only tolerated but also respected and supported by the Muslim inhabitants of Isfahan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Particularly during the Safavid dynasty, in the 16th/17th century, the magnificent mosques with their large iwans (arches), typical of Persian religious buildings, were built around Imam Square in the center of the city. In 1722, Isfahan fell to rebellious Sunni Afghans after a long siege. Under the subsequent Afshar, Zand and Qajar dynasties, Isfahan lost its capital status to Mashhad, Shiraz and Tehran. This put an end to the great building activity, but Isfahan's magnificent buildings were preserved and in some cases extended.