Table of Contents

• IRONSIDE, WILLIAM EDMUND

  Denis Wright

  , Field Marshall, 1st Baron Ironside of Archangel and Ironside (1880-1959), noted for his important role as commander of British forces in Persia in 1920-21.

• ʿISĀ B. ṢAHĀRBOḴT

  L. Richter-Bernburg

  medical author of the third/ninth century, from Gondēšāpur. descendant of an apparently Nestorian Christian Syro-Persian family.

• ʿISĀ B. YAḤYĀ MASIḤI JORJĀNI

  David Pingree

  , Abu Sahl, physician, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer (d. after 925). Little is securely known about the life of this Christian scholar.

• ISAAC

  Sebastian Brock

  bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Catholicos of the Church of the East (399-410). Isaac is said to have come from Kashgar.

• ISAIAH, BOOK OF

  Shaul Shaked

  one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally arranged among those of the latter Prophets.

• ISARDĀS NĀGAR

  Mario Casari

  (or Išwar Das, 1655-1749),  Hindu historian writing in Persian, author of  Fotuḥāt-e ʿālamgiri, a contemporary account of the reign of Awrangzēb.

• ISFAHAN

  Multiple Authors

  ancient province and old city in central Iran. Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times.

• ISFAHAN i. GEOGRAPHY

  EIr, Xavier de Planhol

  (1) Geography of the province. (2) Geography of the oasis. Isfahan Province is situated in central Persia between the massive central Zagros mountain range and the great desert.

  This Article Has Images/Tables.

• ISFAHAN ii. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

  Xavier de Planhol

  The Isfahan oasis, as a prosperous area of agricultural life, eventually fostered the foundation of a major city—one whose strategic location helped it to dominate the entire area of Iran.

  This Article Has Images/Tables.

• ISFAHAN iii. POPULATION

  Heidi Walcher, Habibollah Zanjani

  Isfahan’s population size from the Safavid through the Qajar periods, as reported by European travelers and diplomats, remained largely a matter of speculation.

• ISFAHAN iii. POPULATION (1) The Qajar Period

  Heidi Walcher

  Population figures for the Qajar period diverge drastically and are largely based on conjecture by European diplomats.

  This Article Has Images/Tables.

• ISFAHAN iii. POPULATION (2) Isfahan Province

  Habibollah Zanjani

  In 2001, the province (ostān) of Isfahan comprised 19 sub-provinces (šahrestāns), 83 towns in 43 districts (baḵš), and 2,514 rural settlements in 121 sub-districts (dehestāns).

  This Article Has Images/Tables.

• ISFAHAN iii. POPULATION (3) Isfahan City

  Habibollah Zanjani

  The city of Isfahan is the capital of Isfahan Province (ostān) and Sub-province (šahrestān) and the center of the Isfahan comprehensive regional planning complex.

  This Article Has Images/Tables.

• ISFAHAN iv. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD

  J. Hansman and EIr

  The Arab geographers  report that the Sasanian city of Isfahan comprised two adjoining towns: Jayy, the fortified town and province center and, two miles (mil) away, Yahudiya, a Jewish settlement.

• ISFAHAN v. LOCAL HISTORIOGRAPHY

  JÜRGEN PAUL

  Isfahan is exceptional in the number and variety of works of local historiography; no other Persian city has attracted nearly as many such works.

• ISFAHAN vi. MEDIEVAL PERIOD

  Hossein Kamaly

  The history of Isfahan prior to the city’s efflorescence in the 17th century often traced alternating cycles of urbanization and de-urbanization.

• ISFAHAN vii. SAFAVID PERIOD

  Masashi Haneda and Rudi Matthee

  Isfahan came under Safavid rule in 1503 following Shah Esmāʿil’s defeat of Solṭān Morād, the Āq Qoyunlu ruler of Erāq-e ʿAjam, near Hamadān.

• ISFAHAN viii. QAJAR PERIOD

  Heidi Walcher

  The historical changes affecting the Isfahan of this period included loss of its status as the royal capital and its transformation into a major provincial city.

• Isfahan ix. THE PAHLAVI PERIOD AND THE POST-REVOLUTION ERA

  Habib Borjian

  In the process of consolidating his power in Isfahan, Reza Shah managed to constrain two powerful social groups: the Shiʿite clergy and the Baḵtiāri tribesmen.

• ISFAHAN x. MONUMENTS

  Sussan Babaie with Robert Haug

  According to the French traveler Jean Chardin, in the late 17th century Isfahan housed some 162 mosques, 48 theological colleges (madrasa), 1,802 caravansaries, and 273 bathhouses.