Timeline of Isfahan

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Isfahan, Iran.

Prior to 16th century

 * c. 538 BC - Jews settle in Isfahan
 * 771 - Friday Mosque established in Yahudiyya (approximate date).
 * 1051 - Isfahan besieged by Seljuk forces of Tughril; city becomes capital of the Seljuk Empire.
 * 1070 - Nezamiyeh Madrasa built (approximate date).
 * 1107 - Chihil Dukhtaran (minaret) erected.
 * 1194 - Khwarazmian Ala ad-Din Tekish in power.
 * 1226 - City sacked by Mongol forces.
 * 1228 - City besieged by Mongol forces again.
 * 1240/1241 - Isfahan taken by Mongol forces.
 * 1325 - Emamzadeh Jafar (tomb/shrine) built.
 * 1341/1342 - Shaikh Abu Esḥāq Inju becomes governor of Isfahan.
 * 1356 - Amir Mobārez-al-Din Mo-ḥammad Moẓaffari becomes governor of Isfahan.
 * 1387 - Isfahan besieged by forces of Timur.

16th-19th centuries

 * 1503 - Safavid Ismail I in power.
 * 1598 - Isfahan becomes capital of the Safavid Empire; Abbas I of Persia in power.
 * 1602
 * Si-o-seh pol (bridge) built to newly developed New Julfa.
 * Maydān-i shāh (square) laid out.
 * 1619 - Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque built.
 * 1627 - Armenian Bedkhem Church built in New Julfa.
 * 1630 - Shah Mosque built (approximate date).
 * 1647 - Chehel Sotoun palace construction begins.
 * 1650 - Khaju Bridge built.
 * 1660 - Ālī Qāpū (palace) built (approximate date).
 * 1670 - Hasht Behesht palace built.
 * 1722 - Siege of Isfahan by Afghan forces.
 * 1736 - Persian capital relocated from Isfahan to Mashhad.
 * 1804/1805 - Famine.
 * 1836/1837 - Unrest.
 * 1848/1849 - Unrest.
 * 1869 - Isfahan economy affected by opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt.
 * 1872 - Famine.
 * 1874 - Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan becomes governor of Isfahan.
 * 1882 - Population: 73,634.

20th century

 * 1919 - Zaban-e Zanan women's magazine begins publication.
 * 1920 - Population: 80,000 (approximate estimate).
 * 1921 - Waṭan textile factory in business.
 * 1941 - Population: 204,598.
 * 1946 - University of Isfahan established.
 * 1953 - Sepahan F.C. (football club) formed.
 * 1959 - Hamadāniān cement factory in business.
 * 1966 - Population: 424,045.
 * 1970s - Polyacryl Iran Corporation established.(en)
 * 1973 - First development organic program
 * 1971 - Āryāmehr steel mill begins operating near city.
 * 1973 - Naqsh-e jahan derby (football contest) begins.
 * 1976 - Population: 661,510.
 * 1977 - Ālī Qāpū, Chehel Sotoun, and Hasht Behesht palaces restored.
 * 1977 - Isfahan University of Technology established.
 * 1979 - Naqsh-e Jahan Square designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 * 1983 - becomes mayor.(fa)
 * 1984 - Isfahan International Airport opens.
 * 1986 - Population: 986,753.
 * 1996 - Population: 1,266,072.
 * 1999 - February: Local election held.

21st century

 * 2003
 * Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium opens.
 * becomes mayor.(fa)
 * 2011 - Population: 1,756,126.
 * 2013 - 14 June: Local election held.
 * 2014 - City becomes part of newly formed national administrative Region 2.
 * 2015
 * Isfahan Metro begins operating.
 * Mehdi Jamalinejad becomes mayor of Isfahan.
 * 2023
 * 2023 Iran drone attacks
 * 99.54% of the population have natural gas network access.
 * Unemployed: 180,000, jobs openings: 12000
 * Shah Mosque tower and dome tilted; 14 billion toman allocated to renovate the buildings.
 * 5,994 city crossings named after martyrs of Iraq-Iran War by the municipal government.
 * Isfahan province divided into 212 police blocks.
 * 2024
 * 19 April: Isfahan missile strike
 * Asian cooperation dialogue event held in the city.

in English
Published prior to 19th century

Published in the 20th century Published in the 21st century
 * Eckart Ehlers. "Capitals and spatial organization in Iran: Esfahân, Shirâz, Tehran," in Chahryar Adle and Bernard Hourcade, eds., Téhéran: Capitale bicentenaire, (Paris and Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1992), pp. 155–172.
 * Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
 * + part 2, 2001
 * Eckart Ehlers. "Capitals and spatial organization in Iran: Esfahân, Shirâz, Tehran," in Chahryar Adle and Bernard Hourcade, eds., Téhéran: Capitale bicentenaire, (Paris and Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1992), pp. 155–172.
 * Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
 * + part 2, 2001
 * Eckart Ehlers. "Capitals and spatial organization in Iran: Esfahân, Shirâz, Tehran," in Chahryar Adle and Bernard Hourcade, eds., Téhéran: Capitale bicentenaire, (Paris and Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1992), pp. 155–172.
 * Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
 * + part 2, 2001
 * Eckart Ehlers. "Capitals and spatial organization in Iran: Esfahân, Shirâz, Tehran," in Chahryar Adle and Bernard Hourcade, eds., Téhéran: Capitale bicentenaire, (Paris and Teheran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1992), pp. 155–172.
 * Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
 * + part 2, 2001
 * Stephen P. Blake. Half the World: A Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722 (Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda, 1999)
 * + part 2, 2001
 * Sussan Babaie. Isfahan and Its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiʿism, and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Sussan Babaie. Isfahan and Its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiʿism, and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Sussan Babaie. Isfahan and Its Palaces: Statecraft, Shiʿism, and the Architecture of Conviviality in Early Modern Iran. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt
 * Kheirandish, Elaheh. Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science CA. 750-1750 (Harvard UP, 2021) excerpt

in other languages

 * (Biographical dictionary written in 10th century CE)
 * (Written in 11th century CE)
 * (Biographical dictionary written in 11th century CE)
 * circa 1920s?
 * H. Gaube and E. Wirth. Der Bazar von Isfahan, Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Beihefte B/22, Wiesbaden, 1978.
 * (Special issue on Isfahan)
 * circa 1920s?
 * H. Gaube and E. Wirth. Der Bazar von Isfahan, Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Beihefte B/22, Wiesbaden, 1978.
 * (Special issue on Isfahan)
 * H. Gaube and E. Wirth. Der Bazar von Isfahan, Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, Beihefte B/22, Wiesbaden, 1978.
 * (Special issue on Isfahan)
 * (Special issue on Isfahan)