Editing Isfahan (section)

===Muslim era===
{{Broader|Defensive walls in Safavid Iran|Habsburg–Persian alliance|Franco-Persian alliance}}

When the Arabs captured Isfahan in 642 CE, they made it the capital of [[al-Jibal]] ("the Mountains") province, an area that covered much of ancient Media. Isfahan grew prosperous under the Persian [[Buyid]] (Buwayhid) dynasty, which rose to power and ruled 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=City Walls of Isfahan|url=https://archnet.org/sites/16152|access-date=2020-11-03|website=Archnet|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103055100/https://archnet.org/sites/16152|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Golombek|first=Lisa|date=1974|title=Urban Patterns in Pre-Safavid Isfahan|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4310152|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=7|issue=1/2|pages=18–44|doi=10.1080/00210867408701454|jstor=4310152|issn=0021-0862|access-date=3 November 2020|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010065553/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4310152|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Isstaif|first=Abdul-Nabi|date=1997|title=Review of Al-Muqaddasī: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions: Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī Ma'rifat al-Aqālīm|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26198094|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies|volume=8|issue=2|pages=247–250|doi=10.1093/jis/8.2.247|jstor=26198094|issn=0955-2340|access-date=3 November 2020|archive-date=6 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106124251/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26198094|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The Turkish conqueror and founder of the [[Seljuq dynasty]], [[Tughril|Toghril Beg]], made Isfahan the capital of his domains in the mid-11th century; but it was under his grandson [[Malik-Shah I]] (r. 1073–92) that the city grew in size and splendour.<ref name="Britannica.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malik-Shah|title=Britannica.com|access-date=23 July 2018|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723152910/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malik-Shah|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the fall of the Seljuqs ({{Circa|1200}}), Isfahan temporarily declined and was eclipsed by other Iranian cities, such as [[Tabriz]] and [[Qazvin]]. 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."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Battutah|first1=Ibn|title=The Travels of Ibn Battutah|date=2002|publisher=Picador|location=London|isbn=9780330418799|page=68}}</ref>

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 killing a reported 70,000 citizens. An eye-witness counted more than 28 towers, each constructed of about 1,500 heads.<ref>Fisher, W.B.; Jackson, P.; Lockhart, L.; Boyle, J.A. : ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 55.</ref>

Isfahan regained its importance during the [[Safavid]] period (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 and most beautiful cities in the 17th-century world. In 1598, he moved his capital from [[Qazvin]] to the more central Isfahan. He introduced policies increasing Iranian involvement in the Silk Road trade.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Iskandaryan |first=Gohar |title=The Armenian community in Iran: Issues and emigration |url=http://ysu.am/files/1-1574062812-.pdf |date=2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513053533/http://ysu.am/files/1-1574062812-.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2021 |url-status=live |journal=Global Campus Human Rights Journal |volume=3 |number=1 |page=129 |issn=2532-1455 <!-- |doi=20.500.11825/991 --> |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref> [[Turkish people|Turkish]], [[Armenian people|Armenian]], and [[Persian people|Persian]] craftsmen were [[population transfer|forcefully resettled]] in the city to ensure its prosperity.<ref name="EOE41">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |page=41}}</ref> Their contributions to the economic vitality of the revitalized city supported the recovery of [[Safavid]] glory and prestige, after earlier losses to the Ottomans and [[Qizilbash]] tribes,<ref name="EOE41"/>  ushering in a golden age for the city, when architecture and Persian culture flourished.

As part of Abbas's forced resettlement of peoples from within his empire, as many as 300,000 Armenians (primarily from [[Jugha]]) were resettled in Isfahan during Abbas' reign.<ref name="University of California Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslanian|first1=Sebouh|title=From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|location=California|isbn=978-0520947573|page=1}}</ref><ref name="Mazda Publishers">{{cite book|last1=Bournoutian|first1=George|author-link1=George Bournoutian|title=A Concise History of the Armenian People: (from Ancient Times to the Present)|date=2002|publisher=Mazda Publishers|isbn=978-1568591414|page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00geor/page/208 208]|edition=2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00geor/page/208}}</ref>)<ref name="Mazda Publishers"/> In 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 one of the largest [[List of Armenian ethnic enclaves|Armenian quarters]] in the world).<ref name="University of California Press"/><ref name=" Mazda Publishers"/>

Shah Abbas would also oversee a transformation of the urban pattern of Isfahan. The plans included the new, rectangular [[Naqsh-e Jahan Square|Shah Square]] and the linear [[Chaharbagh, Isfahan|Chahar Bagh Boulevard]]. Between these two focal points of Isfahan’s urban revitalization was a large garden, what is today the Hasht Behesht Gardens. The new, geometric, planned portions of Isfahan would stand out against the old city’s complex street layouts, attracting foreign emissaries and wealthy residents along the Chahar Bagh.<ref>Gaube Heinse, Iranian Cities, New York, 1979, p. 83</ref> Shah Square would be adorned by 4 grand monuments on each side. Importantly to the north, a turquoise gate connected the new square to Isfahan’s [[Grand Bazaar, Isfahan|Grand Bazaar]] and [[Kohneh Square|old square]], while to the south, the [[Shah Mosque (Isfahan)|Shah Mosque]] would become the new primary place of worship for city residents.<ref>Hooshangi, Farideh. Isfahan, city of paradise; a study of Safavid urban pattern and a symbolic interpretation of the Chahar-Bagh gardens. Diss. Carleton University, 2000, p. 19-33.</ref>

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 [[Georgians|Georgian]] subject [[Teimuraz I of Kakheti]] ("Tahmuras Khan"), whereby the latter became Muslim and accepted Safavid rule in exchange for being allowed to rule as the region's ''wāli'' (governor), with his son serving as ''[[darugha|dāruḡa]]'' (prefect) of Isfahan.<ref name=" Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/> He was accompanied by a troop of soldiers,<ref name="Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/> some of whom were [[Georgian Orthodox]] Christians.<ref name=" Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/> The royal court in Isfahan had a great number of Georgian ''ḡolāms'' (military servants), as well as Georgian women.<ref name="Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/> Although they spoke both Persian and Turkic, their mother tongue was Georgian.<ref name="Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/> Now the city had enclaves of those of [[Georgians|Georgian]], [[Circassians|Circassian]], and [[Dagestan|Daghistani]] descent.<ref name="Isfahan-Safavid Period VII">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-vii-safavid-period|title=Isfahan vii. Safavid Period|publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=19 June 2015|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517080407/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-vii-safavid-period|url-status=live}}</ref> Engelbert Kaempfer, who dwelt in Safavid Iran in 1684–85, estimated their number at 20,000.<ref name="Isfahan-Safavid Period VII"/>{{sfn|Matthee|2012|page=67}}

During Abbas's reign, Isfahan became famous in Europe, and many European travellers, such as [[Jean Chardin]], gave accounts of their visits to the city. The city's prosperity lasted until it was [[Siege of Isfahan|sacked]] by Afghan invaders in 1722, during a marked decline in Safavid influence. Thereafter, Isfahan experienced a decline in importance, culminating in moving the capital to [[Mashhad]] and [[Shiraz]] during the [[Afsharid]] and [[Zand dynasty|Zand]] periods, respectively, until it was finally moved to [[Tehran]], in 1775, by [[Agha Mohammad Khan]], 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]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Iran Almanac and Book of Facts |volume=8 |year=1969 |publisher=Echo Institute |page=71 |oclc=760026638 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxJIAAAAMAAJ |access-date=25 January 2018 |archive-date=11 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211230238/https://books.google.com/books?id=dxJIAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>