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Human habitation in the Isfahan region can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. Archaeologists have found artifacts dating back to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages. During Median rule, Isfahan became a regional centre, especially due to the benefits of the Zayandehrud River. It was a religiously and ethnically diverse city during the reign of Cyrus the Great, and exhibited religious tolerance.
The Muslim Arabs captured Isfahan in 642 CE. They made it the capital of al-Jibal province. The city further grew under the Buyid and Seljuk dynasties. After the fall of the Seljuks in 1200 CE, the city temporarily declined. It regained its importance during the Safavid era (1501–1736), with the city experiencing a golden age under the rule of Abbas the Great, who moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. During his reign, Turkish, Armenian, and Persian craftsmen were forcefully resettled in the city to ensure its prosperity. Later, the city also had enclaves for people of Georgian, Circassian, and Daghestani descent.
In the 20th century, Isfahan was resettled by many people from southern Iran, especially during the population migrations at the start of the century and in the 1980s following the Iran–Iraq War.
Median and Achaemenid era[edit]
An ancient artifact from Isfahan City Center museum
Under Median rule, the commercial entrepôt began to show signs of more sedentary urbanism, growing into a regional centre that benefited from the fertile soil on the banks of the Zayandehrud River, in a region called Aspandana or Ispandana.
When Cyrus the Great unified Persian and Median lands into the Achaemenid Empire, the religiously and ethnically diverse city of Isfahan became an early example of the king's fabled religious tolerance. Having just taken Babylon, Cyrus made an edict in 538 BCE declaring that Jews in Babylon could return to Jerusalem. Later, some of the Jewish immigrants settled in Isfahan instead of returning to their homeland. The 10th century Persian historian Ibn al-Faqih wrote:
When the Jews emigrated from Jerusalem, fleeing from Nebuchadnezzar, they carried with them a sample of the water and soil of Jerusalem. They did not settle until they reached the city of Isfahan, whose soil and water was deemed to resemble that of Jerusalem. Thereupon they settled there, cultivated the soil, raised children and grandchildren, and today the name of this settlement is Yahudia.
Parthian era[edit]
The Parthians (247 BCE – 224 CE) continued the tradition of tolerance after the fall of the Achaemenids, fostering both a Hellenistic dimension within Iranian culture and the political organization introduced by Alexander the Great's invading armies. Under the Parthians, Arsacid governors administered the provinces of the nation from Isfahan, and the city's urban development accelerated to accommodate the needs of a capital city.
Isfahan at the end of the 6th century (top), consisting of two separate areas: Sassanid Jay and Jewish Yahudia. In the 11th century (bottom), these two areas were completely merged.
Sassanid era[edit]
The Sassanid Empire (224–651 CE) presided over massive changes in their realm, instituting sweeping agricultural reforms and reviving Iranian culture and the Zoroastrian religion. Both the city and region were then called by the name Aspahan or Spahan. The city was governed by a group called the Espoohrans, who descended from seven noble Iranian families. Extant foundations of some Sassanid-era bridges in Isfahan suggest that the Sasanian kings were fond of ambitious urban-planning projects.
While Isfahan's political importance declined during this period, many Sassanid princes studied statecraft in the city, and its military role increased. Its strategic location at the intersection of the ancient roads to Susa and Persepolis made it an ideal candidate to house a standing army, which would be ready to march against Constantinople at any moment. The names Aspahan and Spahan are derived from the Pahlavi or Middle Persian meaning 'the place of the army'.
Although many theories have mentioned the origins of Isfahan, little is known of it before the rule of the Sasanian dynasty. Historical records suggest that, in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, Queen Shushandukht – the Jewish wife of emperor Yazdegerd I (reigned 399–420) and mother of his successor Bahram V – settled a colony of Jewish immigrants in Yahudiyyeh (also spelled Yahudiya and Jouybareh).
The settlement was 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest of the Zoroastrian city of Isfahan, then known by the Achaemid and Parthian name Gabae.
Gabai was its Sasanic name, which was shortened to Gay (Arabic Jay). It was located on the northern bank of the Zayanderud River. The colony's establishment has also been attributed to Nebuchadrezzar, though that is unlikely.
After the Arab conquest of Iran, the gradual population decrease of Gay, and the simultaneous population increase of Yahudiyyeh and its suburbs, resulted in the formation of the nucleus of what was to become the city of Isfahan. The names Aspadana, Ispadana, Spahan, and Sepahan, from which the modern name Isfahan is derived, referred to the region in which the city was located.
Isfahan and Gay were reportedly both circular in design, a characteristic of Parthian and Sasanian cities. However, this reported Sasanian circular city of Isfahan has not yet been uncovered.
Muslim conquest[edit]
For broader coverage of this topic, see Muslim conquest of Persia and History of Iran § Early Islamic period.
When the Arabs captured Isfahan in 642 CE, they made it the capital of al-Jabal province, an area that covered much of ancient Media. Isfahan grew prosperous under the Persian Buyid dynasty, which came to rule much of Iran when the temporal authority of the Abbasid leaders waned in the 10th century. The city walls of Isfahan are thought to have been constructed during the tenth century. The Turkish conqueror and founder of the Seljuq dynasty, Toghril Beg, made Isfahan the capital of his domains in the mid-11th century; the city grew in size and splendour under his grandson Malik-Shah I (r. 1073–92).
After the fall of the Seljuks (c. 1200), Isfahan temporarily declined and was eclipsed by other Iranian cities, such as Tabriz and Qazvin.
Khwarazmian and Mongol era[edit]
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Timurid era[edit]
During his visit in 1327, Ibn Battuta noted that "The city of Isfahan is one of the largest and fairest of cities, but it is now in ruins for the greater part."
In 1387, Isfahan surrendered to the warlord Timur. Initially treated with relative mercy, the city revolted against Timur's punitive taxes by killing the tax collectors and some of Timur's soldiers. In retribution, Timur ordered the massacre of the city residents; his soldiers reportedly killing 70,000 citizens. An eyewitness counted more than 28 towers, each constructed of about 1,500 heads.
Safavid era[edit]
Isfahan regained its importance during the Safavid era (1501–1736). The city's golden age began in 1598 when the Safavid ruler Abbas the Great (reigned 1588–1629) made it his capital and rebuilt it into one of the largest cities of the 17th-century. In 1598, he moved his capital from Qazvin to the more central Isfahan. He introduced policies increasing Iranian involvement in the Silk Road trade.[citation needed] Turkish, Armenian, and Persian craftsmen were forcefully resettled in the city to ensure its prosperity. Their contributions to the economic vitality of the city supported the recovery of Safavid prestige after earlier losses to the Ottomans and Qizilbash tribes.
During Abbas's reign, as many as 300,000 Armenians (primarily from Jugha) were forcefully resettled; some were brought to Isfahan. He ordered the establishment of a new quarter for these resettled Armenians from Old Julfa, and thus the Armenian Quarter of Isfahan was named New Julfa. Today, it is one of the largest Armenian quarters in the world.
Abbas also oversaw a transformation of the urban pattern of Isfahan. The plans included the new, rectangular Shah Square and the linear Chahar Bagh Boulevard. Between these two focal points of Isfahan's urban revitalization was a large garden, today the gardens of Hasht Behesht. The new, geometric, planned portions of Isfahan stood out from the old city's complex street layouts, attracting foreign emissaries and wealthy residents along the Chahar Bagh. Shah Square would be adorned by 4 grand monuments on each side. To the north, a turquoise gate connected the new square to Isfahan's Grand Bazaar and old square; to the south, the Shah Mosque became the new primary place of worship for city residents.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of deportees and migrants from the Caucasus settled in the city following an agreement between Abbas the Great and his Georgian subject Teimuraz I of Kakheti, whereby the latter became Muslim and accepted Safavid rule. In exchange, Teimuraz was allowed to rule as the region's wāli, and his son served as the dāruḡa ('prefect') of Isfahan. Teimuraz was accompanied by a troop of soldiers, some of whom were Georgian Orthodox Christians.
The royal court in Isfahan had a great number of Georgian ḡolāms (military servants), as well as Georgian women. Although they spoke both Persian and Turkic, their mother tongue was Georgian. Now the city had enclaves of those of Georgian, Circassian, and Daghistani descent. Engelbert Kaempfer, who dwelt in Safavid Iran in 1684–85, estimated their number at 20,000.
During Abbas's reign, Isfahan became known in Europe, and European travellers, such as Jean Chardin, gave accounts of their visits to the city. The city was sacked by Central Asian invaders in 1722, during a marked decline in Safavid influence. Thereafter, Isfahan experienced a decline in importance, culminating in the capital being moved to Mashhad during the Afsharid era. Subsequently, the capital moved to Shiraz during the Zand era, and finally to Tehran in 1775, by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, the founder of the Qajar dynasty.
In the early years of the 19th century, efforts were made to preserve some of Isfahan's archeologically important buildings. The work was started by Mohammad Hossein Khan, during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.
Modern age[edit]
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Street from above
Isfahan in 1924
Foolad Mobarakeh Steel Mill
Map of Isfahan by Pascal Coste
In the 20th century, Isfahan was resettled by many people from southern Iran. Many came during the migrations at the start of the century, and in the 1980s following the Iran–Iraq War. During the war, 23,000 people from Isfahan were killed, and there were 43,000 veterans.
In 1921, the first telephone office was created on Shams Abadi street.
During World War II, Polish refugees, mostly children, were admitted in Isfahan. There were 21 Polish childcare units, located in different parts of the city. Some 2,600 Poles were housed there as of February 1943. Over time, Polish children were evacuated further to Africa, India and New Zealand.
The city has had four master development programs. The first was created in 1971 by a German engineering firm that designed checkered streets.
Today, Isfahan produces carpets, textiles, steel, handicrafts, and traditional foods, including sweets. Isfahan is noted for its production of the Isfahan rug, a type of Persian rug typically made of merino wool and silk.
There are nuclear experimental reactors as well as uranium conversion facilities (UCF) for producing nuclear fuel in the environs of the city. There is a major oil refinery and a large air force base outside the city. HESA, Iran's most advanced aircraft manufacturing plant, is located just outside the city. Isfahan was also attracting international investment as of 2014. Isfahan hosted the International Physics Olympiad in 2007.[citation needed]
In 2023, 200 loudspeakers were installed in the city by the government to play the azān. The municipality created a tourism app called Isfahanema. As of 2023, several public housing projects were being built.
In 2018, farmers in Isfahan protested for their water rights, amidst ongoing water shortages. They protested against the mismanagement and anti-American ideology of the Iranian government, chanting "Our enemy is here, they are lying that it is America", and "Front toward homeland back to enemy in Friday prayers".
