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IRONSIDE, WILLIAM EDMUND, Field Marshall, 1st Baron Ironside of Archangel and Ironside (b. Edinburgh, 6 May 1880; d. London, 22 September 1959), noted for his important role as commander of British forces in Persia in 1920-21. He was the second child of Surgeon-Major William Ironside, and was educated at Tonbridge…

ISAAC, Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Catholicos of the Church of the East (399-410; see CHRISTIANITY i, ii, iii). Isaac is said to have come from Kashgar and to have been a relative of an earlier bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, Tomarsa (363-71). He was elected to office (after an interregnum caused by…

ISAIAH, BOOK OF, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. The book, which is traditionally arranged among those of the latter Prophets, consists, according to a widespread scholarly view, of two main parts: (1) chapters 1-39 present the prophecies of a prophet called Isaiah son of Amoz during the…

ISARDĀS NĀGAR, or Išwar Das Nāgar (b. Patan,1066/1655; d. after 1163/1749), a Brahman of the Nāgar caste from the city of Patan, Gujarat, a Hindu historian writing in Persian. His history, Fotuḥāt-e ʿālamgiri, is a contemporary account of the reign of Awrangzēb, starting with the war of succession following Šāh…

ISFAHAN (اصفهان), ancient province and old city in central Iran (Middle Pers. “Spahān,” New Pers. “Eṣfahān”). Isfahan city has served as one of the most important urban centers on the Iranian Plateau since ancient times and has gained, over centuries of urbanization, many significant monuments; a number of Isfahan’s monuments…

ISFAHAN i. GEOGRAPHY This entry will be divided into two sections: (1) Geography of the province. (2) Geography of the oasis. (1) Geography of the Province Isfahan Province is situated in central Persia between the massive central Zagros mountain range and the grand desert (see DESERT). It covers an area…

ISFAHAN ii. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: AN OVERVIEW SINCE ANCIENT TIMES 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. At a latitude approximately in the middle of Iran, Isfahan is…

ISFAHAN iii. POPULATION Isfahan’s population size from the Safavid through the Qajar periods, as reported by European travelers and diplomats, remained largely a matter of speculation. A number of Western travelers who visited Isfahan in the 17th century reported that Isfahan was the largest city in Safavid Persia, but its…

ISFAHAN iii. Population iii(1). The Qajar Period Local official information for Isfahan’s population was generally inaccessible, with Europeans and Persians alike complaining about the lack of reliable data (Morier, p. 110). Population figures for the Qajar period thus diverge drastically and are largely based on conjecture by European diplomats. Numbers…

ISFAHAN iii. Population (2) Isfahan Province Administrative divisions. 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). The administrative divisions of the province in the period between 1966 and 2001 are given in Table…

ISFAHAN iii. Population iii(3). Isfahan City The city of Isfahan is the capital of Isfahan Province (ostān), the capital of Isfahan Sub-province (šahrestān), and the center of the Isfahan comprehensive regional planning complex. According to the 1996 census, Isfahan Sub-province was comprised of eight cities, 19 rural districts, and 531…

ISFAHAN iv. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD The name of Isfahan. In Middle Persian sources, Isfahan (Mid. Pers. Spahān) occurs clearly as the name of a province—in the inscriptions of Kerdir, “. . . Spahān and Ray . . .” in the list of provinces where fire foundations were endowed (Sar Mašhad 17,…

ISFAHAN v. LOCAL HISTORIOGRAPHY Isfahan is exceptional in the number and variety of works of local historiography; no other Persian city has attracted nearly as many such works. These works were written predominantly in two periods: the pre-Mongol (and in particular the pre-Saljuq) period and the 19th century; works written…

ISFAHAN vi. MEDIEVAL PERIOD Introduction. The history of Isfahan prior to the city’s efflorescence in the 17th century often traced alternating cycles of urbanization and de-urbanization. Periods of urbanization brought about the extension of city limits, as well as a rapid rise in construction and settlement within its confines, increased…

ISFAHAN vii. SAFAVID PERIOD Isfahan came under Safavid rule in 1503 following Shah Esmāʿil’s defeat of Solṭān Morād, the Āq Qoyunlu (q.v.) ruler of Erāq-e ʿAjam, near Hamadān. No contemporary source describes the conquest of the city in any detail, but we do know that it was accompanied by great…