ISFAHAN (es-fah-hahn') (the Aspadana of Ptolemy and Spahan of the Pehlevi texts), a Persian province and city. The province is bounded by the districts of Kashan and Gulpaigan on the north, Khuzistan on the west, Yazd on the east and Fars on the south. Data are insufficient on which to base any very accurate estimate of the total population, but it is doubtless well under 600,000. The amount of grain cultivation in some districts is very large and much is exported to other parts of Persia; but the cultivation of the poppy, cotton and tobacco constitutes the chief wealth of Isfahan province. The general elevation lies be tween 5,000 ft. in the east and 9,000 ft. in the west. The total revenue amounted to 8,007,433 krans (I St. = 45 krans) in 1926 27.
The City of Isfahan, formerly the capital of Persia, is now only the administrative headquarters of the province. Choosing Isfahan for his capital, Shah Abbas I. made it a large and imposing town, and it had a population of at least 600,000 in the 17th century, whence the Persian saying Isfahcin nisf-i-jandn (Isfahan is half the world). The city lies in 32° 39' N. and 51° 40' E., at an elevation of 5,33o ft. along the north bank of the Zayinda Rud, which is crossed by three fine masonry bridges, one in the centre of the city, the Pul-i-Julfa because it leads to the suburb of Julfa on the south bank of the river, and two others at the extremity of the city. The Pul-i-Julfa or Allah Verdi Khan bridge, consists of 33 arches, is 388 yards in length with a paved roadway of 12 yards in breadth, and has galleried arcades on each side for foot passengers. The water supply of the city is principally from open canals led off from the river and from several streams and canals which come down from the hills in the north-west. The population (according to an estimate made in 1913) is 8o,000 including that of the suburb of Julfa, but Lorini (1910) put it at roo,000 and Julfa 4,000. There is a small settlement of Jews, numbering some five thousand.
Viewed from the air, the city presents an immense expanse of mingled buildings and gardens, 3o m. in circuit; but, with the exception of the bazaars and other scattered agglomerations of houses, there is really no continuous inhabited area, except in the centre. The city lies in a level tract of country which extends around it for miles, and a peculiar feature of the landscape is the large number of towers which dot the plain providing shelter for pigeons whose fertilizing manure forms a lucrative source of revenue.
Present-day Isfahan is largely a city of vanished glory. Many of its remarkable buildings having suffered from long neglect, an official was sent from Tehran in 1902 to inspect the crown build ings and to report on their condition. Pursuant to his report it was decided to repair and renovate some, while others were de molished and their timber, bricks and stone sold to local builders. Many of the gardens for which in the early days it was famous, became wildernesses. Of the many fine buildings constructed by the Safavis and during the Kajar dynasty very few remain.
The heart of the city and central point of interest at the present time is the Maidan-i-Shah, an immense and still imposing rectan gular space, 56o yards from north to south, by 174 yards, bordered by brick buildings of two storeys of recessed arches or arcades, in front of which still survive a few stunted planes and sycamores. On the south side of the maidan is an arched portal leading to the famous Masjid-i-Shah, or royal mosque, completely covered with enamelled bricks of great brilliancy, which was built by Shah Abbas I. at the end of the 15th century and is even now one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is still in good repair.
On the eastern side stands the blue-domed Masjid-i-Lutf Allah, and opposite, on the west side, is the Aali Kapu (highest gate or sublime porte), a lofty building in the form of an archway crowned in the fore part by an immense open balcony (which formerly served as an audience hall) supported by wooden columns commanding the square. This gateway leads into the gardens of the former royal palace, which covers a considerable area with its courts and pavilions, one of which, the Chihil Situn (hall of forty pillars), was famous as the verandah and tarone room of Shah Abbas. On the north side of the maidan is the gateway, covered with brick of faience, leading to the main bazaar.
From the precincts of the palace mentioned above runs the grand avenue or Chahar Bagh (four gardens), an avenue laid out by Shah Abbas I., nearly a m. in length and two hundred feet broad, leading to the Julfa bridge. It was originally laid out with watercourses and fountains, and poplar and sycamore trees; most of the latter have disappeared, but the avenue, which has been sadly neglected, is now being restored. Between this avenue and the maidan is the Madrasseh-i-Shah Husain, built in 1710, designed as a college for the training of mullahs and dervishes, and described by Curzon in 1892 as "one of the stateliest ruins that he saw in Persia." The bazaars of Isfahan lie behind the northern and eastern sides of the maidan, and in them it is pos sible to walk for 3 miles or more under covered shade. They have all the characteristic features of other Asiatic marts and the trade carried on preserves for Isfahan some at least of the prestige which once belonged to the city. Brocaded cloths, felt goods, saddles, native weapons, lacquered ware, articles of silver filigree-work and of metal are among the characteristic merchan dise. The confluence of people in the bazaars is very great and tends to give an exaggerated idea of the populousness of the city.
Julfa, across the Zayinda Rud, is the Armenian suburb of Isfahan. Here Shah Abbas, about 1603, transplanted several thousand families of Christian Armenians from Julfa on the Araxes and settled them on the outskirts of his capital. They are strictly orthodox and have a cathedral. The population of the suburb has tended to decline in recent years.
In Isfahan itself the Church Missionary Society has a church, medical mission, industrial home and schools and hostels both for boys and girls. Among these the Stuart Memorial college is the leading educational institution in this part of Persia. It has some 200 boys on its rolls, and maintains a staff of four or five English men in addition to its Persian teachers.
From Isfahan there are several unconstructed roads, and one quite suitable for motor traffic to Tehran (240 m.). Roads to Shiraz (290 m.) and to Kirman (400 m.) via Yazd are also, amongst others, at any rate, passable by motor-cars. Isfahan is notably a centre of the metal-work industry, such as chiselled brass ware in bowls, vases, trays, painted pen cases, etc. ; earthen ware, pottery and tiles, reproducing old patterns; also printed calicoes of native design. A telephone service was installed in the city in 1911, and there is telephonic communication with Gul paigan (Ioo m.) and with Dehkhurd (76 m.). The climate of Isfahan is damp and subject to extremes. The temperature varies from a maximum of 97.8° F in July to 23.8° in Jan. The relative humidity is 63 as compared with 54 at Tehran and 67 at Bushire. The average rainfall over a period of 17 years was 4.74 inches.