27 Facts About Isfahan

Isfahan is located at the intersection of the two principal routes that traverse Iran, north–south and east–west.

Under the Safavid dynasty, Isfahan became the capital of Persia, for the second time in its history, under Shah Abbas the Great.

Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world, and UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site.

Isfahan is derived from Middle Persian, which is attested to by various Middle Persian seals and inscriptions, including that of the Zoroastrian magi Kartir.

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.

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Extant foundations of some Sassanid-era bridges in Isfahan suggest that the Sasanian kings were fond of ambitious urban-planning projects.

The words "Aspadana", "Ispadana", "Spahan", and "Sepahan", all from which the word Isfahan is derived, referred to the region in which the city was located.

Isfahan grew prosperous under the Persian Buyid dynasty, which rose to power and ruled much of Iran when the temporal authority of the Abbasid caliphs waned in the 10th century.

The city walls of Isfahan are thought to have been constructed during the tenth century.

Isfahan introduced policies increasing Iranian involvement in the Silk Road trade.

Isfahan 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 golams, as well as Georgian women.

Thereafter, Isfahan experienced a decline in importance, culminating in moving the capital to Mashhad and Shiraz during the Afsharid and Zand periods, respectively, until it was finally moved to Tehran, in 1775, by Agha Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Qajar dynasty.

Today, Isfahan produces fine 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.

Isfahan has one of the largest steel-producing facilities in the region, as well as facilities for producing special alloys.

Towns and villages around Isfahan have been hit so hard by drought and water diversion that they have emptied out and people who lived there have moved.

The first high-speed railway in Iran, the Tehran-Qom-Isfahan line is currently being constructed and will connect Isfahan to Tehran and Qom.

Isfahan is served by Isfahan International Airport, which in 2019 was the 7th busiest airport in Iran.

Opium was produced and exported from Isfahan from 1850 until it became illegal, and was an important source of income.

Isfahan has a large number of aqueducts, farmers having to divert water from the river to farms by canal.

Isfahan has a smart city program, a unified human resources administration system, and a transport system.

In 2015, the comprehensive atlas of the Isfahan metropolis, an online statistical database in Farsi, was made available, to help in planning.

Isfahan is known as the Multiple sclerosis capital of the world due to the presence of polluting industries.

Between 1942 and 1945, approximately 2, 000 children passed through, with Isfahan briefly gaining the nickname "City of Polish Children".

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Since 1994, Isfahan has been a member of the League of Historical Cities and a full member of Inter-City Intangible Cultural Cooperation Network.

Isfahan municipality created a citizen diplomacy service program to boost establishing connections with sister cities around the world.