In 1598, when Shah Abbas decided to move the capital of his Persian empire from the northwestern city of Qazvin
to the central city of Isfahan, he initiated what would become one of
the greatest programmes in Persian history; the complete remaking of
this ancient city. By choosing the central city of Isfahan, fertilized
by the Zāyandeh River ("The life-giving river"),
lying as an oasis of intense cultivation in the midst of a vast area of
arid landscape, he both distanced his capital from any future assaults
by the Ottomans and the Uzbeks, and at the same time gained more control over the Persian Gulf, which had recently become an important trading route for the Dutch and British East India Companies.
The chief architect of this colossal task of urban planning was Shaykh Bahai (Baha' ad-Din al-`Amili), who focused the programme on two key features of Shah Abbas's master plan: the Chahar Bagh
avenue, flanked at either side by all the prominent institutions of the
city, such as the residences of all foreign dignitaries, and the
Naqsh-e Jahan Square ("Examplar of the World").
Prior to the Shah's ascent to power, Persia had a decentralized power
structure, in which different institutions battled for power, including
both the military (the Qizilbash)
and governors of the different provinces making up the empire. Shah
Abbas wanted to undermine this political structure, and the recreation
of Isfahan, as a Grand capital of Persia, was an important step in
centralizing the power. The ingenuity of the square, or Maidān,
was that, by building it, Shah Abbas would gather the three main
components of power in Persia in his own backyard; the power of the
clergy, represented by the Masjed-e Shah, the power of the merchants,
represented by the The Imperial Bazaar, and of course, the power of the Shah himself, residing in the Ali Qapu Palace.
The crown jewel in this project was the Masjed-e Shah, which would replace the much older Jameh Mosque
in conducting the Friday prayers. To achieve this, the Shah Mosque was
constructed not only with vision of grandeur, having the largest dome in
the city, but Shaykh Bahai also planned the construction of two
religious schools and a winter mosque clamped at either side of it.
Because of the Shah's desire to have the building completed during his
lifetime, shortcuts were taken in the construction; for example, the
Shah ignored warnings by one of the architects Abu'l Qāsim regarding the
danger of subsidence in the foundations of the mosque, and he pressed
ahead with the construction.The architect proved to have been justified, as in 1662 the building had to undergo major repairs.Also, the Persians invented a new style of tile mosaic (the
Seven-colour) that was both cheaper and quicker, and that eventually
speed up the construction. This job was masterly done by some of the
best craftsmen in the country, and the whole work was supervised by
Master calligrapher, Reza Abbasi. In the end, the final touches on the mosque were made in late 1629, few months after the death of the Shah.
Also, many historians have wondered about the peculiar orientation of The Royal square (The Maidān). Unlike most buildings of importance, this square did not lie in alignment with Mecca,
so that when entering the entrance-portal of the mosque, one makes,
almost without realising it, the half-right turn, which enables the main
court within to face Mecca. Donald Wilber
gives the most plausible explanation to this; the vision of Shaykh
Bahai was for the mosque to be visible wherever in the maydān a person
was situated. Had the axis of the maydān coincided with the axis of
Mecca, the dome of the mosque would have been concealed from view by the
towering entrance portal leading to it. By creating an angle between
them, the two parts of the building, the entrance portal and the dome,
are in perfect view for everyone within the square to admire.
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