Naqsh-e Jahan Square
Historical town square in Isfahan, Iran
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Through UNESCO, East India Company and Shah
The square is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rials banknote. Stores are owned by trust of Ostandari Isfahan.
History
In 1598, when Abbas the Great decided to move the capital of his empire from the north-western city of Qazvin to the central city of Isfahan, he initiated what would become one of the greatest programmes in Iranian history: the complete remaking of the city. By choosing the central city of Isfahan, with the Zāyande roud ("The life-giving river"), lying as an oasis of intense cultivation in the midst of a vast area of arid landscape, he distanced his capital from any future assaults by the Ottomans, the arch rival of the Safavids, and the Uzbeks, and at the same time gained more control over the Persian Gulf, which had recently become an important trading route for the Dutch and British East India Companies.
The chief architect of this colossal task of urban planning was Shaykh Bahai (Baha' ad-Din al-'Amili), who focused the programme on two key features of Shah Abbas's master plan: the Chaharbagh avenue, flanked at either side by all the prominent institutions of the city, such as the residences of all foreign dignitaries, and the Naqsh-e Jahan Square ("Exemplar of the World"). Prior to the shah's ascent to power, Iran had a decentralised power-structure, in which different institutions battled for power, including both the military (the Qizilbash) and governors of the different provinces making up the empire. Abbas wanted to undermine this political structure, and the recreation of Isfahan, as a Grand capital of Iran, was an important step in centralising the power.
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Maidan – The Royal Square
The Maidan was where the shah and the people met. During the day, much of the square was occupied by the tents and stalls of tradesmen, who paid a weekly rental to the government. There were also entertainers and actors. For the hungry, there were readily available cooked foods or slices of melon, while cups of water were handed out for free by water-carriers paid for by the shop-keepers. At the entrance to the Imperial Bazaar, there were coffee-houses, where people could relax over a cup of fresh coffee and a water-pipe. These shops can still be found today, although the drink in fashion for the past century has been tea, rather than coffee. At dusk, the shop-keepers packed up, and the huzz and buzz of tradesmen and eager shoppers bargaining over the prices of goods would be given over to dervishes, mummers, jugglers, puppet-players, acrobats and prostitutes.
When Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle visited Isfahan in 1617, he described the square as "without doubt superior to everything in Constantinople or wheresoever in Christendom," recording its appearance towards the end of its construction in his travelogue:
"[The Maidan] is completely surrounded by finely designed symmetrical buildings, uninterrupted either by streets or anything else, made with large porticoes and floors underneath for shops with diverse merchandise set out in order from place to place; and above, with balconies and windows, filled with a thousand pretty ornaments. This harmony of architecture on so large a scale is so agreeable to the eye that, though the houses of Piazza Navona are higher and more richly decorated in our way, ... I dare to place [the Maidan] before the Piazza Navona. Around the Maidan, on all four sides, not far from the porticoes, flows a big channel of water, beautifully straight, lined with parapets, and accompanied on the inside by a very smooth promenade made of stone. And beyond the flowing water, towards the porticoes, extends a very dense and even row of green trees, which, when they put forth their foliage in a few days' time, will I believe be the most beautiful sight in the world."
— Pietro Della Valle, Travels of Pietro Della Valle
Every now and then the square would be cleared off for public ceremonies and festivities. One such occasion would be the annual event of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Also, the national Persian sport of polo could be played in the maidan, providing the Shah, residing in the Ali Qapu palace, and the busy shoppers with some entertainment.
Under Abbas, Isfahan became a very cosmopolitan city, with a resident population of Turks, Georgians, Armenians, Indians, Chinese and a growing number of Europeans. Abbas brought in some 300 Chinese artisans to work in the royal workshops and to teach the art of porcelain-making. The Indians were present in very large numbers, housed in the many caravanserais that were dedicated to them, and they mainly worked as merchants and money-changers. The Europeans were there as merchants, Roman Catholic missionaries, artists and craftsmen. Even soldiers, usually with expertise in artillery, would make the journey from Europe to Iran to make a living. The Portuguese ambassador, De Gouvea, once stated that:
"The people of Isfahan are very open in their dealings with foreigners, having to deal every day with people of several other nations."
— García de Silva Figueroa
Also, many historians have wondered about the peculiar orientation of the maidān. Unlike most buildings of importance, this square did not lie in alignment with Mecca, so that when entering the entrance-portal of the Shah Mosque, one makes, almost without realising it, the half-right turn which enables the main court within to face Mecca. Donald Wilber gives the most plausible explanation to this; the vision of Shaykh Bahai was for the mosque to be visible wherever in the maydān a person was situated. Had the axis of the maydān coincided with the axis of Mecca, the dome of the mosque would have been concealed from view by the towering entrance-portal leading to it. By creating an angle between them, the two parts of the building, the entrance-portal and the dome, are in perfect view for everyone within the square to admire.
Masjed-e Shah – The Pinnacle of Safavid Architecture
The Crown Jewel in the Naqsh-e Jahan Square was the Masjed-e Shah, which would replace the much older Jameh Mosque in conducting the Friday prayers. To achieve this, the Shah Mosque was constructed not only with vision of grandeur, having the largest dome in the city, but Shaykh Bahai also planned the construction of a religious school and a winter-mosque clamped at either side of it.
The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
Of the four monuments that dominated the perimeter of the Naqsh-e Jahan square, the Lotfollah Mosque, opposite the palace, was the first to be built. The purpose of this mosque was for it to be a private mosque of the royal court, unlike the Masjed-e Shah, which was meant for the public.
Ali Qapu Palace
Ālī Qāpū (IPA: ɑliː qɑpuː) is a pavilion that marks the entrance to the vast royal residential quarter of Safavid Isfahan which stretched from the Maidan Naqsh-e Jahan to the Chahar Bagh Boulevard. The name is made of two elements: "Ali", Arabic for exalted, and "Qapu", Turkic for portal or royal threshold, resulting in the translation "Exalted Porte".
On the sixth floor, the royal reception and banquets were held. The largest rooms are found on this floor. The stucco decoration of the banquet hall abounds in motif of various vessels and cups. The sixth floor was popularly called the music room as it was here that various ensembles performed music and sang songs. From the upper galleries, the Safavid shahs watched polo games, maneuvers and horse-racing below in the Naqsh-e Jahan square.
The Imperial Bazaar
The Grand Bazaar of Isfahan is a historic market and one of the oldest and largest bazaars in the Middle East. Although the present structure dates back to the Safavid era, parts of it are more than a thousand years old, dating back to the Seljuk era. It is a vaulted, two kilometer street linking the old city with the new.
UNESCO
Naqsh-e Jahan Square is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.