ISPAHAN, from time immemorial the capital of the Persian monarchy, and long celebrated as one of the most splendid cities of the East, though now nearly in a state of ruin and decay. Its original name is said to have been Sipahan, which it received from the Persian kings, in consequence of its having been the general place of rendezvous for their armies. The origin of this city is lost in a remote antiquity; but it is generally supposed to have arisen from the ruins of Hecatompylos, the capital of Parthia; whilst some will have it to stand on the site of the Aspa or Aspadu-ra of Ptolemy. It is well adapted, from its central situation with the noble river Zeinderood flowing through it, for the capital of the empire. It was under the caliphs of Bagdad that it rose to be the capital of Irak, and under their powerful protection it soon increased in wealth, population, and trade. The invasion of Timor gave a fatal blow to its rising prosperity. Ispahan was taken by his conquering army in the year 1387; and at first he contented himself with exacting a large contribution from its inhabitants But being apprised that the inhabitants meditated a nocturnal insurrection against his troops, he gave up the place to military execution; and in the indiscriminate massacre which followed, it is computed that 70,000 inhabitants perished; indeed their heads piled up in heaps on the walls of Ispahan, attested the merciless severity of the conqueror. From this desolation, owing to its favoured situation, it quickly revived; and under the early sophis great efforts were made to restore its former prosperity. But it was reserved for the renowned Shah Abbas to raise it to the height of royal magnificence, and to render it not only a luxurious capital, but the great emporium of the Asiatic world. During his reign it contained nearly a million of people, and to supply its markets required the labour of 1400 villages, whose inhabitants drew their subsistence from its prosperity. “Its bazaars,” says Sir R. K. Porter, “were filled with merchandize from every quarter of the globe, mingled with the rich bales of its own celebrated manufactures.”^[1. See Travels in Georgia, Persia, <įe., vol. p. 407, et seq. ] It was the scene of industry, diligence, and activity; whilst the court of the great king was the resort of ambassadors from the proudest kingdoms of the East, as well as from Europe; and travellers visited it, to behold its splendours, and to enjoy the gracious reception bestowed by its monarch on the learned and ingenious of all nations. It was visited by Chardin at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and its mag [7:12:462] nificence was such, mat no city of the East could compart with it, except the capitals of Hindostan and China. Such was the state of Ispahan during the reign of Abbas the First, and also during the subsequent reign of the second Abbas. In 1722, it was taken by the Afghans, when all its prosperity and splendour were for ever extinguished by those merciless invaders. The people were massacred without mercy; the most superb edifices erected by the Persian kings were reduced to ruins; and the wall which formerly surrounded the city was entirely destroyed by them. In 1727 it was retaken by Nadir Shah, who took no pains, however, to restore its prosperity. Since this period, Ispahan has never again been a royal residence, the late sovereigns of Persia having preferred a more northern capital, particularly Teheran; and Ispahan, instead of being repaired and beautified as formerly, has gone more and more into decay, and now presents little else than a scene of ruin. Its people are in fact reduced to scarcely one-tenth of their former numbers; the streets are everywhere in ruin; the bazaars remain silent and unattended; the caravansaries are equally forsaken; its villages He waste; and its palaces are solitary, the sounds of revelry, which were wont to be heard in the festive halls, being now succeeded by the howling of jackals and famishing dogs.

According to the ancient account of this city by Chardin, it was twenty-four miles in circuit, contained 172 mosques, 43 colleges, 1800 caravansaries, and 273 public baths. The most splendid edifice which adorned the city was the palace of Shah Abbas. It is said to have been five miles in circuit, and was divided into gardens and pleasure grounds, with summer-houses and other elegant structures. The extent and elegance of the buildings, the number and beauty of the fountains dispersed through the gardens, and the grandeur of the royal halls in the interior, are said to have surpassed any thing of the kind to be found in Europe. The walls and buildings of the palace remain still nearly entire; but it has been stripped of all its costly furniture, and every thing valuable that could be removed.

The Meydun is a large square, nearly one-third of a mile in length, and about one-halt n breadth. It was formerly surrounded by a canal, bordered by very fine plane trees; but all vestiges of both are now obliterated. Its original purpose, by Shah Abbas, was for the display of horsemanship and military exercises, but it is now entirely devoted to trade, being the place of the city where the finest shops arc to be found, with a second storey, in which mechanics have their working apartments; and in the middle is a market for horses and cattle. In the centre of this immense area stand some edifices remarkable for grandeur or for character. In the north-west we find the great gate or rather tower of entrance to the bazaar, on which in former times stood the celebrated clock of Ispahan. The south-eastern side of the quadrangle shews the Mesched Shah, a superb mosque, which Shah Abbas built and dedicated to Mehedi, one of the twelve imams. On the northeast is the mesque of Looft Ullah; and on the south-west the Ali-kapi, or gate of Ali, forms a majestic parallel to the bazaar porch on the opposite side. This is the most perfect piece of fine brick-work to be found in the Persian empire. Another remarkable object is the Chahar Bagh, or four gardens. The royal domain which bears that title, is a very extensive tract, inclosed with four majestic walls, and divided into gardens with pleasure-grounds. The prevailing plan of all these is that of long parallel walks, shaded by even rows of tall and umbrageous planes; and interspersed with a variety of fruit-trees, and of every kind of flowering shrub. Canals, which receive the waters of the Zeinderood, flow down the avenues in the same undeviating lines, and generally terminate in some large marble basin of a square or octagon shape, ornamented with sparkling fountains; the effect of the whole, though formal, being extremely grand.

Many magmħcent rivers and palaces opened into these grounds, which are now all destroyed. That at the east called Hooser Jereeb, one of the noblest edifices of Is ļ han, was reduced into a heap of rubbish by the Afghans. Its garden, however, still remains, and is nearly a mile in extent. The object of this garden was to form a repository of the finest fruits which Persia produced, and which are still to be found there in the greatest perfection. The palace of Forty Pillars, which was the favourite residence of the Sefi kings, is said to exceed all our European ideas of splendour, and to realize the wonderful tales of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. At a considerable distance from the Chehel Setoon, or the palace of the Forty Pillars, to the left of the gardens, stands the Winter Palace, containing the harem, royal arsenal, and stables, where Ashneff, the second tyrant of the Afghan invaders, held his short and cruel sway, which he stained wdth the blood of its native prince, the captive Shah Houssain. Close to the winter palace stands a superb structure, lately erected by the Nizam-a-Doulah, for the reception of his present majesty, should he ever visit the capital. The general style of the architecture is the same with that of the neighbouring palaces, but executed in a more light, simple, and elegant taste.

There are several very handsome bridges in Ispahan across the Zeinderood. They were all the work of Shah Abbas, built of brick, and on the same plan, being perfectly level, presenting the appearance of Roman aqueducts. Each bridge is formed of a long succession of small arches, over wh ch the causeway is laid; and on that run two lines of arcades on each side of the bridge, affording a road for foot passengers, and leaving the middle part open fôr horsemen and cattle. The bridge which joins the Chaur Bang with the suburb of Julpha, is 1000 feet long, and has thirty-four arches. The streets of Ispahan are narrow, winding, and irregular; and being quite unpaved, the wind, in dry weather, raises such clouds of dust, that the sun cannot be seen. Great pains are in consequence bestowed in watering the streets. The houses within, though they are handsome and convenient, have a mean appearance from the street, being built merely of bricks dried in the sun, and covered with flat roofs. The walls by which the city was formerly surrounded, are now entirely obliterated. They were merely built of mud dried in the sun, and were never able to offer any effectual resistance against a vigorous assault.

Ispahan, during its prosperity, was greatly distinguished by the extent and beauty of its suburbs. The suburb of Julpha was very wealthy and populous. It was chiefly inhabited by Armenians, who were transferred here from Old Julpha in Armenia, on account of their skill in manufacturing industry. They were soon joined by others of their countrymen, as well as by a number of Georgians, Circassians, and other Christians, the suburbs being appropriated to the professors of that faith. The streets are broad, with well built houses and a numerous population, with walks of trees, cooling fountains, and pleasant gardens. It is now reduced to a complete ruin. Its 10,000 inhabitants have diminished to 300 wretched families, dwindling every year both in respectability and numbers; its thirteen churches are reduced to two, and these dirty and dark and dismal in their appearance. The· worship of the Guebres, the ancient worshippers of fire, and that of Abbas Adab, formerly very extensive, have quite disappeared.

Ispahan, after such a long period of misery and desolation from foreign wars and internal revolutions, has begun to revive from its low state, partly through the spontaneous efforts of its inhabitants, anxious to better their condition, and partly also through the exertions of Hajee Mahommed Hussein Khan, who, from the lowest situation, having acquired immense wealth, has employed it in the improvement[7:12:463] of his native city and province. He has completed a royal palace, and has beautified and rebuilt many of the bazaars; repaired and added to the number of the fountains and aqueducts which supply the public gardens with water; and inclosed and cultivated all the waste land in the vicinity of the city, by planting rice fields, which are irrigated by the waters of the Zeinderood, and the cultivation of which is likely to supersede entirely its once abundant nurseries for cotton and silk. Ispahan has still very extensive manufactures. It excels in silk manufactures and in gold brocade; and it is also a great emporium of inland trade, and a depot of Indian produce, being the chief medium of intercourse between India, Cabul, and the east, and Turkey, Egypt, and the countries round the Mediterranean, in the west. Lat. 32° 25' N.; Long. 52° 50' E.