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Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city has a population of approximately 2,220,000, making it the third-most populous city in Iran, after Tehran and Mashhad, and the second-largest metropolitan area.
Isfahan is located at the intersection of the two principal routes that traverse Iran, north–south and east–west. Isfahan flourished between the 9th and 18th centuries. Under the Safavid Iran, Isfahan became the capital of Iran, for the second time in its history, under Abbas the Great. It is known for its Persian–Muslim architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Isfahan also has many historical buildings, monuments, paintings, and artifacts. The fame of Isfahan led to the Persian proverb Esfahān nesf-e-jahān ast (Isfahan is half (of) the world). Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The region is denoted by the abbreviation GD (Southern Media) on Sasanian coins. In Ptolemy's Geographia, it appears as Aspadana (Ἀσπαδανα), which translates to "place of gathering for the army". It is believed that Spahān is derived from spādānām "the armies", the Old Persian plural of spāda, from which is derived spāh (𐭮𐭯𐭠𐭧) 'army' and sipahi]] (سپاهی, 'soldier', literally 'of the army') in Central Persian. Some of the other ancient names include Gaea, Jey (old form Zi), Park, and Judea.
The Arabs captured Isfahan in 642 CE. They made it the capital of al-Jibal province. The city further grew under the Buyid dynasty, and under the Seljuk dynasty. With the fall of the Seljuks in 1200 CE, the city temporarily declined but regained its importance during the Safavid Iran era (1501–1736) with the city's golden age under the rule of Abbas the Great who also moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. During his reign, Turkish people, Armenian people, and Persian people craftsmen were forcefully resettled in the city to ensure its prosperity. Later, the city also had enclaves for people of Georgians, Circassians, and Dagestan descent. The city once again declined after the Siege of Isfahan by Afghans invaders in 1722.
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.
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. It was Cyrus who, having just taken Babylon, made an edict in 538 BCE declaring that Jews in Babylon could return to Jerusalem.see Ezra ch. 1 Later, some of the Jewish immigrants settled in Isfahan instead of returning to their homeland. The 10th-century Persian historian Ibn al-Faqih wrote:
The Parthian Empire (247 BCE – 224 CE), continued the tradition of tolerance after the fall of the Achaemenids, fostering 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.
The next empire to rule, the Sasanian 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 would study 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 words "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. The historical facts suggest that, in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, Queen Shushandukht, the Jewish wife of emperor Yazdegerd I (reigned 399–420), who was also the mother of his successor Bahram V, settled a colony of Jewish immigrants in Yahudiyyeh (also spelled Yahudiya and Jouybareh), a settlement northwest of the Zoroastrian city of Gabae (its Achaemid and Parthian name; Gabai was its Sasanic name, which was shortened to Gay (Arabic 'Jay') that was located on the northern bank of the Zayanderud River (the colony's establishment was also attributed to Nebuchadrezzar, though that's less likely). The gradual population decrease of Gay (Jay) and the simultaneous population increase of Yahudiyyeh and its suburbs, after the Arab conquest of Iran, resulted in the formation of the nucleus of what was to become the city of Isfahan. 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 and Gay were supposedly both circular in design, which was characteristic of Parthian and Sasanian cities. However, this reported Sasanian circular city of Isfahan has not yet been uncovered.
After the fall of the Seljuqs (), 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." (2025). 9780330418799, Picador. ISBN 9780330418799
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.Fisher, W.B.; Jackson, P.; Lockhart, L.; Boyle, J.A. : The Cambridge History of Iran, p. 55.
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. Turkish people, Armenian people, and Persian people craftsmen were forcefully resettled in the city to ensure its prosperity. 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, ushering in a golden age for the city.
As part of Abbas's forced resettlement of peoples from within his empire, as many as 300,000 Armenians (primarily from Jugha) were Great Surgun. (2025). 9780520947573, University of California Press. ISBN 9780520947573) 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 Armenian quarters in the world).
Shah Abbas would also oversee 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, 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.Gaube Heinse, Iranian Cities, New York, 1979, p. 83 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 and Kohneh Square, while to the south, the Shah Mosque would become the new primary place of worship for city residents.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.
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 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 (prefect) of Isfahan. He 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 Georgians, Circassians, and Dagestan 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 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 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.
The city has had four master development programs. The first one was created in 1971 by German engineering firm that included checkered streets' design. In the 20th century, Isfahan was resettled by many people from southern Iran. Many of these migrants came during the population migrations at the start of the century and in the 1980s following the Iran–Iraq War. During the war, 23,000 from Isfahan were killed; and there were 43,000 veterans. In 1921, a telephone office were first created on Shams Abadi street.
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 reactor experimental reactors as well as uranium conversion facilities (UCF) for producing nuclear fuel in the environs of the city. Isfahan has one of the largest steel-producing facilities in the region, as well as facilities for producing special alloys. The Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steel producer in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and it is the biggest DRI producer in the world. The Isfahan Steel Company was the first manufacturer of constructional steel products in Iran, and it remains the largest such company today.
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. (from the HESA official company website) Isfahan was also attracting international investment as of 2014. Isfahan hosted the International Physics Olympiad in 2007.
In 2023, 200 Azan playing loudspeakers were installed in the city by the government. The Municipality created a tourism app called Isfahanema.
Farmers in Esfahan have been protesting for their water rights due to ongoing and mismanagement issues. In 2018 they protested Iranian regime mismanagement and its anti-American ideology, chanting "Our enemy is here, they are lying that it is America," and "Front toward homeland back to enemy in Friday prayers".
As of 2023 several public housing projects were being built.
As of 2020, the city had the worst air quality among major Iranian cities.
Cows endemic to Isfahan became extinct in 2020. are often seen in farmlands and parks. Sheep and rams are symbols of Isfahan.
The Zayande River starts in the Zagros Mountains, flowing from the west through the heart of the city, then dissipates in the Gavkhouni wetland. Planting olive trees in the city is economically viable because such trees can survive water shortages.
The highest recorded temperature was on 11 July 2001 and the lowest recorded temperature was on 16 January 1996.
In June 2025, the USAF attacked nuclear sites that, according to the United States and Israel, were used to develop nuclear weapons.
The Chemical Industries Group, headquartered in the city, is widely described as the backbone of Iran's weapons industry. According to United States intelligence assessments, CIG also manufactures solid-fuel propellant powders for the country's ballistic-missile and Rocket artillery programmes. Within this conglomerate, a modern chemical complex erected by Sweden's Bofors company in the late 1970s as a dual-use fertiliser-and-explosives facility did not begin operations until 1987, due to Iraqi artillery and missile strikes during the Iran-Iraq war.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGC AF) has an airbase in the city. The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) has an airbase, the 8th Predator Tactical Fighter Base (TFB.8), which is the home base for Iranian F-14s. The local Sepah Pasdaran is named "Master of the Era" ("" in Arabic and Farsi), after the Mahdi. The Amir Al-Momenin University of Military Sciences and Technology is based in the city.
The Isfahan Eastern Bypass Freeway is under construction.
In 2021, a new AVL system was deployed in the city.
Another bridge is the Joubi Bridge. Further upstream again is the Si-o-seh-pol or bridge of 33 arches. It was built during the reign of Shah Abbas the Great by Sheikh Baha'i and connected Isfahan with the Armenian suburb of New Julfa. It is by far the longest bridge in Isfahan at . Another notable bridge is the Marnan Bridge.
As part of Iran's Islamic religious laws, women are forbidden to use the public bicycle-sharing network, as decreed by the representative of the Supreme Leader in Isfahan, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai Nejad, and General Attorney Ali Esfahani.
The municipality signed a memorandum with Khatam-al Anbiya to construct a tram network in the city. The Isfahan Metro was opened on 15 October 2015. It consists of one north–south line with a length of , and two more lines are under construction, alongside three suburban rail lines.
The city is served by a railway station, with the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways running trains to Bandarabbas and Mashhad. The first high-speed railway in Iran, the Tehran-Qom-Isfahan line is being constructed to connect Isfahan to Tehran and Qom.
According to Isfahan province's administrator for Department of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare, Iran had the cheapest labor workforce anywhere in the world. The labor force had grown from 1990 to 2020. However, in 2018 the unemployment rate was 15%.
The , established in 1992, maintains a privatized power grid in the city.
As of September 2020, the handicrafts industry of Isfahan Province was contributing $500 million annually to the economy.Isfahan Fair, a exhibition center aimed at increasing tourism, is under construction. The municipality has implemented internet payment software.
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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. Niasarm is one of the largest .
From 2012 to 2013 there were large protests by farmers against the Isfahan-Yazd water tunnel. In 2019, eastern city farmers demanded water, otherwise they would sabotage water pipes. Fruits and vegetables central market is where farmers sell their product wholesale, selling 10,000 tons a day.
The Telecommunication Company of Iran and the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran provide 4G, 3G, broadband, and VDSL.
Nazhvan Park hosts a reptile zoo with 40 aquariums. There are the Saadi water park and the Nazhvan water park for children. There are party gardens and wedding halls.
Religious people considered cinema to be mostly an impure place and going to the cinema to be haram under Islam. During the 1979 revolution, many cinemas in Isfahan were burned down. Cinema Iran, now a ruin, was one of the oldest cinemas in the city. Great foreign filmmakers such as Agnès Varda and Pier Paolo Pasolini shot scenes from their films in Isfahan.
Sepahan has won the most league football titles among Iranian clubs (2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2014–15). The Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan handball team plays in the Islamic Republic of Iran Handball Federation. Sepahan has a youth women running team that became national champions in 2020.
Giti Pasand has a futsal team, Giti Pasand FSC. They won the AFC Futsal Club Championship in 2012 and were runners-up in 2013. Giti Pasand also fields a women's volleyball team, Giti Pasand Isfahan VC, that plays matches in the Iranian Women's Volleyball League. Basketball clubs include Zob Ahan Isfahan BC and Foolad Mahan Isfahan BC. There are Pahlevani zoorkhanehs in the city.
There are almost 500,000 people living in slums, including in the northern part, and especially in the eastern sector of the city.
Esfahani is one of the main dialects of Western Persian. Jewish districts speak a unique dialect.
During the Pahlavi era, a large group of the Kurds Gulbaghi tribe were moved from the north of Kurdistan province to the city of Isfahan and the cities of Kashan and Naein. Today, the Gulbaghi tribe are mostly assimilated elements in the population of these cities.
While immigrants may reside and work in this city, in 12 surrounding communities they are denied entry.
In 2015, the comprehensive atlas of the Isfahan metropolis, an online statistical database in Farsi, was made available, to help in planning.
In 2020, the municipality directly employed 6,250 people with an additional 3,000 people in 16 subsidiary organizations.
There have been four development programs since 1967, In 2020, the municipality created a document outlining future development programs for the city.
The color theme for the city has been turquoise for some time.
The city is divided into 15 municipal districts.
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The is responsible for piping water, waterworks installation and repair, maintaining sewage equipment, supervising sewage collection, and treatment and disposal of sewage in the city.
Twenty five fire departments provide service. Twenty private security armed service contractors existed as of 2012.
Isfahan is known as the multiple sclerosis capital of the world, due to the presence of polluting industries.
In 2015, almost 15% of the people suffered from depression, from being cut off from the Zayandeh River, due to severe drought. A male empowerment/rehab center opened in 2023, followed by a female support addiction center.
In total, there are more than 7,329 schools in Isfahan province.
Aside from seminaries and religious schools, the other public, private major universities of the Isfahan metropolitan area include: the Mohajer Technical And Vocational College of Isfahan, Payame Noor University, the Islamic Azad University of Isfahan, the Islamic Azad University of Najafabad, and the Islamic Azad University of Majlesi.
There were also in 2007 more than 50 technical and vocational training centres in the province, under the administration of the Isfahan Technical and Vocational Training Organization (TVTO), that provide free, non-formal, workforce-skills training programs. As of 2020, 90% of workforce-skills trainees were women.
The Isfahan School of painting flourished during the Safavid era.
The annual Isfahan province theatre festival takes place in the city. Theater performances began in 1919 (1297 AH), and currently there are 9 active theaters.
The awarding of an Isfahan annual literature prize began in 2004.
Since 2005, November 22 is Isfahan's National Day, commemorated with various events.
New Art Paradise, built in District 6 in 2019, has the biggest open-air amphitheatre in the country.
Based on a statue creators' symposium in 2020, the city decided to add 11 permanent art pieces to the city's monuments.
The Isfahan international convention center is under construction.
Teahouses are supervised and allowed to offer Hookah until 2022. As of 2020, there were almost 300 teahouses with permits.
On 12 and 13 January 2018, the Iranian singer Salar Aghili performed in the city without the female members of his band, due to interference by local officials at the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance.
The Chinese have expressed readiness to be the first country that opens a consulate in a diplomatic zone in the central city.
Isfahan allows Afghan nationals to reside in the city. In 2019, prior to a census, it was predicted there would be 250,000 undocumented Afghanis.
There are plans to create a diplomatic district next to the Imam Khamenei international convention center where foreign countries would locate their consulates.
The building housing the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Isfahan is a registered cultural heritage site.
The Isfahan municipality created a citizen diplomacy service program to boost establishing connections with sister cities around the world.
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