Timeline of Isfahan

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Isfahan, Iran.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 16th century

• c. 538 BC - Jews settle in Isfahan
• 771 - Friday Mosque established in Yahudiyya (approximate date).
• 1051 - Isfahan besieged by Seljuk forces of Tughril; city becomes capital of the Seljuk Empire.
• 1070 - Nezamiyeh Madrasa built (approximate date).
• 1107 - Chihil Dukhtaran (minaret) erected.
• 1194 - Khwarazmian Ala ad-Din Tekish in power.
• 1226 - City sacked by Mongol forces.
• 1228 - City besieged by Mongol forces again.
• 1240/1241 - Isfahan taken by Mongol forces.
• 1325 - Emamzadeh Jafar (tomb/shrine) built.
• 1341/1342 - Shaikh Abu Esḥāq Inju becomes governor of Isfahan.
• 1356 - Amir Mobārez-al-Din Mo-ḥammad Moẓaffari becomes governor of Isfahan.
• 1387 - Isfahan besieged by forces of Timur.

16th-19th centuries

• 1503 - Safavid Ismail I in power.
• 1598 - Isfahan becomes capital of the Safavid Empire; Abbas I of Persia in power.
• 1602
  • Si-o-seh pol (bridge) built to newly developed New Julfa.
  • Maydān-i shāh (square) laid out.
• 1619 - Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque built.
• 1627 - Armenian Bedkhem Church built in New Julfa.
• 1630 - Shah Mosque built (approximate date).
• 1647 - Chehel Sotoun palace construction begins.
• 1650 - Khaju Bridge built.
• 1660 - Ālī Qāpū (palace) built (approximate date).
• 1670 - Hasht Behesht palace built.
• 1722 - Siege of Isfahan by Afghan forces.
• 1736 - Persian capital relocated from Isfahan to Mashhad.
• 1804/1805 - Famine.
• 1836/1837 - Unrest.
• 1848/1849 - Unrest.
• 1869 - Isfahan economy affected by opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt.
• 1872 - Famine.
• 1874 - Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan becomes governor of Isfahan.
• 1882 - Population: 73,634.

20th century

• 1919 - Zaban-e Zanan women's magazine begins publication.
• 1920 - Population: 80,000 (approximate estimate).
• 1921 - Waṭan textile factory in business.
• 1941 - Population: 204,598.
• 1946 - University of Isfahan established.
• 1953 - Sepahan F.C. (football club) formed.
• 1959 - Hamadāniān cement factory in business.
• 1966 - Population: 424,045.
• 1970s - Polyacryl Iran Corporation established.^(en)
• 1973 - First development organic program
• 1971 - Āryāmehr steel mill begins operating near city.
• 1973 - Naqsh-e jahan derby (football contest) begins.
• 1976 - Population: 661,510.
• 1977 - Ālī Qāpū, Chehel Sotoun, and Hasht Behesht palaces restored.
• 1977 - Isfahan University of Technology established.
• 1979 - Naqsh-e Jahan Square designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 1983 - محمدحسن ملک‌مدنی becomes mayor.^(fa)
• 1984 - Isfahan International Airport opens.
• 1986 - Population: 986,753.
• 1996 - Population: 1,266,072.
• 1999 - February: Local election held.

21st century

• 2003
  • Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium opens.
  • مرتضی سقاییان‌نژاد becomes mayor.^(fa)
• 2011 - Population: 1,756,126.
• 2013 - 14 June: Local election held.
• 2014 - City becomes part of newly formed national administrative Region 2.
• 2015
  • Isfahan Metro begins operating.
  • Mehdi Jamalinejad becomes mayor of Isfahan.
• 2023
  • 2023 Iran drone attacks
  • 99.54% of the population have natural gas network access.
  • Unemployed: 180,000, jobs openings: 12000
  • Shah Mosque tower and dome tilted; 14 billion toman allocated to renovate the buildings.
  • 5,994 city crossings named after martyrs of Iraq-Iran War by the municipal government.
  • Isfahan province divided into 212 police blocks.
• 2024
  • 19 April: Isfahan missile strike
  • Asian cooperation dialogue event held in the city.

See also

• Isfahan history (fr)
• Other names of Isfahan
• List of mayors of Isfahan (fa)
• List of historical structures in Isfahan Province
• Timelines of other cities in Iran: Bandar Abbas, Hamadan, Kerman, Mashhad, Qom, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Yazd

References

This article incorporates information from the Persian Wikipedia and German Wikipedia.

Bibliography

in English

Published prior to 19th century

• Charles Wilson, ed. (1895), "Isfahan", Handbook for Travellers in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Persia, etc., London: John Murray, ISBN 9780524062142, OCLC 8979039, archived from the original on 29 June 2023, retrieved 7 February 2017

Published in the 20th century

• "Ispahan", Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 6, New York, 1904, hdl:2027/mdp.49015002282268, archived from the original on 29 June 2023, retrieved 9 February 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Guy Le Strange (1905). "Jibal: (Isfahan)". Lands of the Eastern Caliphate. Cambridge University Press.
• Houtum-Schindler, Albert; Rawlinson, Henry Creswicke (1910). "Isfahān" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). pp. 867–870.
• Huart (1927). "Iṣfahān". In M.T. Houtsma; et al. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill.
• C. A. Storey (1936). "History of Persia: Isfahan". Persian Literature: a Bio-Bibliographical Survey. Vol. 1. London: Luzac & Company. OCLC 1312518.
• Wilfred Blunt (1966). Isfahan: Pearl of Persia. OCLC 711992.
• Renata Holod, ed. (1974), Studies on Isfahan, Iranian Studies, OCLC 4762427
• John E. Woods (1977). "Note on the Mongol Capture of Iṣfahān". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 36 (1): 49–51. doi:10.1086/372531. JSTOR 544126. S2CID 161867404.
• W. Barthold (1984). "Isfahan, Kashan, and Qum". An Historical Geography of Iran. Translated by Svat Soucek. Princeton University Press. pp. 169–179. ISBN 978-1-4008-5322-9.
• Eckart Ehlers. "Capitals and spatial organization in Iran: Esfahân, Shirâz, Tehran," in Chahryar Adle and Bernard Hourcade, eds., Téhéran: Capitale bicentenaire, (Paris and Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1992), pp. 155–172.
• Andrew Petersen (1996). "Isfahan". Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-61365-6. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• Noelle Watson, ed. (1996), "Esfahan", International Dictionary of Historic Places, Fitzroy Dearborn, ISBN 9781884964039, archived from the original on 29 June 2023, retrieved 6 February 2017
• Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
• Heidi Walcher (2000). "Face of the Seven Spheres: Urban Morphology and Architecture in Nineteenth-century Isfahan". Iranian Studies. 33 (3/4): 327–347. doi:10.1080/00210860008701985. JSTOR 4311377. S2CID 144016605. + part 2 Archived 2017-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, 2001

Published in the 21st century

• Philip Mattar, ed. (2004), "Isfahan", Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, NY: Macmillan Reference USA – via Global Issues In Context
• Josef W. Meri, ed. (2006). "Isfahan". Medieval Islamic Civilization: an Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96691-7. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• Jürgen Paul [in German] (2006). "Isfahan: Local Historiography". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• Sussan Babaie (2007). "Isfahan: Monuments: Bibliography". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• C. Edmund Bosworth, ed. (2007). "Isfahan". Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. pp. 167–179. ISBN 978-9004153882. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• Sussan Babaie. Isfahan and Its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiʿism, and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008
• Heidi A. Walcher (2008). In the Shadow of the King: Zill al-Sultān and Isfahān under the Qājārs. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781850434344.
• David Durand-Guédy (2010). Iranian Elites and Turkish Rulers: A History of Iṣfahān in the Saljūuq Period. Routledge. ISBN 9780415457101.
• Habib Borjian (2012). "Isfahan: Modern Economy And Industries: Isfahan City". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
• Masashi Haneda; Rudi Matthee (2012). "Isfahan: Safavid Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
• Hossein Kamaly (2012). "Isfahan: Medieval Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
• Aḥmad Monzawī; ʿAlī Naqī Monzawī (2012). "Bibliographies and Catalogues in Iran: Isfahan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
• Habibollah Zanjani (2012). "Isfahan: Population: Isfahan City". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
• Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt Archived 2023-06-01 at the Wayback Machine

in other languages

• Abu'l-Šayḵ ʿAbd-Allāh b. Moḥammad, Ṭabaqāt al-moḥaddeṯin be-Eṣfahān wa'l-wāredin ʿalayhā (in Arabic) (Biographical dictionary written in 10th century CE)
• Mafarrukhi, Maḥāsen Eṣfahān (in Arabic) (Written in 11th century CE)
• Abu Noʿaym Eṣfahāni, Ḏekr akbār Eṣfahān (in Arabic) (Biographical dictionary written in 11th century CE)
• Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1676). "Description d'Ispahan ville capitale des Estats du Roy de Perse". Les Six Voyages (in French). Paris. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
• Jean Chardin (1811) [1686]. "(Ispahan)". Voyages du chevalier Chardin en Perse (in French). Vol. 7. Paris. pp. 289+. hdl:2027/nyp.33433082406509. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
• Claude Anet (1906). "Une semaine a Ispahan". La Perse en automobile: à travers la Russie et le Caucase (in French). Paris: Félix Juven. pp. 233+.
• Sayyid Ali Al-Jinab. al-Iṣfahān (in Persian). circa 1920s?
• André Godard (1937). "Isfahan". Āthār-é Īrān / Annales du Service archéologique de l'Iran (in French) (2): 7–176. OCLC 3230219.
• Helga Anschütz [in German] (1967). "Persische Stadttypen. Eine vergleichende Betrachtung der Städte Teheran - Isfahan - Abadan - Chorramschahr, und Buschir in Iran". Geografische Rundschau (in German). 19. ISSN 0016-7460.
• H. Gaube and E. Wirth. Der Bazar von Isfahan, Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Beihefte B/22, Wiesbaden, 1978.
• Rosemarie Quiring-Zoche (1980). Isfahan im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert: Ein Beitrag zur persischen Stadtgeschichte. Islamkundliche Untersuchungen (in German). Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag.
• Quaderni del Seminario di iranistica dell'Università di Venezia (in Italian), 1981 (Special issue on Isfahan)

External links

• Ehsan Yarshater (ed.). "Isfahan". Encyclopædia Iranica. (Includes multiple articles)
• Houchang E. Chehabi (ed.). "Cities: Isfahan". Bibliographia Iranica. USA: Iranian Studies Group at MIT. (Bibliography)
• Items related to Isfahan, various dates (via Qatar Digital Library)
• Items related to Isfahan, various dates (via Europeana)
• Items related to Isfahan, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• "(Isfahan)". Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran. Harvard University. Primary-source materials related to the social and cultural history of women's worlds in Qajar Iran
• "(Isfahan)", Asnad.org: Digital Persian Archive, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Image Database of Persian Historical Documents from Iran and Central Asia up to the 20th Century