Another intriguing places which were made by Abbas the Great 400 years ago was Naqsh-e Jahan square of Isfahan. This square is a great complex of historic buildings. Naqsh-e Jahan includes two mosques, a magnificent mansion of Ali Qapu and a traditional bazaar. This historic complex is registered as UNESCO world heritage in 1358 SH.
- History
- Architecture
- Architects and artists
History
On north side of Isfahan city, before building this square, there had been a garden named “Naqsh-e Jahan” and in the middle of the garden there had been some military buildings which belonged to Teymourian dynasty. After transferring capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, by Safavid kings, “Naqsh-e Jahan” garden changed to this square and became center of the government at that time, exactly when its glory started to emerge. Bazaar, in this complex caused much development in economic affairs in that era.
Initial foundation of Naqsh-e Jahan complex of Isfahan constructed in 981 AH, and it gradually was fulfilled in 995 AH. The paintings, tiling and decorations of mosques completed in 1616 AD.
Architecture
Naqsh-e Jahan of square Isfahan is a rectangle-shaped square which is surrounded by 2-story historic traditional bazaar. This bazaar includes 200 stores located around the field with four great historic monuments on four main sides. This rectangle square is 500 meters long and 160 meters wide. The historic monuments on four sides of this bazaar are:
- Ali Qapu palace on western side
- Abbasi mosque on southern side
- Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque on eastern side
- Facade of Qeysarieh on northern side
In the middle of this extensive square there is a field in where horsemen used to play Polo game and the king watched the match through the porch of Ali Qapu palace on the third floor.
Architects and artists
Shah Abbas or Abbas the Great intended to develop the capital. Therefore, he gave the responsibility of architecture to some famous architects like Mohammad Reza Esfahani the master and Ali Akbar Esfahani the master to implement their art. Abbas the king also asked the most famous artist, Reza Abbasi, to paint over the walls of Ali qapu palace in awesome way and also Islamic calligraphy on the walls and above the entrances of Abbasi and Sheikh Lotfollah mosque.