Latest news with #Safavid
Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
As bombs and missiles fall in Iran, Isfahan's architectural treasures face an uncertain fate
While military strategists scramble to learn the damage done by U.S. bombs and missiles in Iran, many scholars and Iranian Americans are wondering what this means for the people and architectural treasures of Isfahan. The Isfahan area, which includes one of the three Iranian nuclear sites that the U.S. targeted Saturday, is also home to one of the country's most historic cities, full of landmarks from Persia's years as a regional power in the 17th century. 'The Shah Mosque of Isfahan is one of the everlasting masterpieces of architecture In Iran,' wrote archidesiign on Instagram. The city's architecture includes intricately tiled mosques, several stately bridges and a sprawling square that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. American and Israeli military leaders focus on the nuclear complex 14 miles east of Isfahan and the 2.2 million people in the city, but the list of cultural assets there is also long. A UNESCO report recently noted that the region's 17th-century leaders 'established colourful tiling as the most salient characteristic of Iranian architecture, and this decorative style reached its zenith in Isfahan.' Among the landmarks: Naqsh-e Jahan Square, also known as Shah Square and Imam Square, was laid out between 1598 and 1629, its broad central area surrounded by mosques, palaces and the Isfahan Bazaar. The open space is about 1,800 feet long and about 520 feet wide, which appears to make it the second-largest public square in the world, surpassed only by Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Masjed-e Jāmé, also known as the Jāmé Mosque or Great Mosque of Isfahan, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. It goes back to the year 841, its grounds showing how Islamic architecture has evolved over 12 centuries. It is the oldest Friday (congregational) mosque in Iran. The Si-o-Se Pol Bridge, also known as the Bridge of 33 Arches, was begun in 1599 and completed in 1602. Illuminated by night, it harbors tea houses on its lower deck and has served as a gathering spot for generations. At 977 feet long, it is the largest of 11 historic bridges spanning the Zayandeh River. Khaju Bridge is younger and shorter than the Si-o-Se Pol Bridge but is often billed as the most beautiful bridge in Isfahan. It was built around 1650 and made of stone and bricks with tile work above its arches. It is about 449 feet long. As the U.S. stepped into the war between Israel and Iran, U.S. military authorities told the New York Times they targeted Iranian sites in Fordo and Natanz with 'bunker-buster' bombs and Isfahan with missiles from a submarine. As of noon Sunday, CNN reported 18 destroyed or damaged structures at the Isfahan nuclear complex outside the city, which was built in 1984 and is thought to employ 3,000 scientists, making it Iran's largest nuclear research complex. There were no reports of damage or casualties in central Isfahan. Much of the city goes back to the Safavid dynasty, which lasted unbroken from 1501 to 1722. During the dynasty's peak years, the Safavids held power over what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Armenia, along with parts of Georgia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Türkiye and other countries. The leader during many of those peak years was King Abbas I, also known as Abbas the Great, who assumed power at age 16, ruled from 1587 to 1629, chose Isfahan as his empire's capital and effectively rerouted the Silk Road to include the city. While Shakespeare was writing plays in England and Caravaggio was painting in Italy, Isfahan's landmarks were taking shape and, thanks to the Silk Road trade, Persian rugs began showing up in the homes of wealthy Europeans. Toward the end of his tenure, nervous about succession, Abbas I had one of his sons killed and two blinded. Still, the family dynasty continued for another century. Once the dynasty fell, Isfahan lost its status as Persia's capital but retained its reputation for beauty.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Imperial carpets and Islamic art on show at Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Royal Koran of Shah Sulayman Safavid at Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo: May Tse The Royal Koran of Shah Sulayman Safavid at Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo: May Tse share
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Business Standard
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India needs entrepreneurship 2.0 with risk-taking, visionary founders
India, in fact, was a major exporter to West Asia, where two large empires - the Safavid and the Ottoman - provided a lucrative marketing area Premium Nitin Desai Listen to This Article The entrepreneurship that India requires must have two key characteristics. First, it must be willing to be innovative in the sense that it takes on new products and processes as part of its business. Second, it must be global in its marketing orientation so that it can compete with foreign suppliers in India and in global markets. This was the case in the past. A very readable book by Lakshmi Subramanian provides useful information about entrepreneurship in the pre-Independence era. In Mughal times, innovation was not prominent, as it was a pre-Industrial Revolution era. What mattered was finance, where the
South Wales Guardian
12-05-2025
- General
- South Wales Guardian
‘Stunning' tiles from Iranian palace going on display for first time in 20 years
The rare tile panel dates from the reign of Safavid ruler Shah Abbas II (1642-1666), and originally decorated the wall of his private hammam (bathhouse) within the now-demolished Haft Dast Palace in Isfahan. About 4.5 metres wide and consisting of 114 individual tiles, the panel depicts an idealised garden paradise, with a dense array of trees and flowering plants within a blue and yellow border. Its intricate details include pomegranates painted in an unusual blue, flower species accurate down to their horticultural usage, and climbing gourds depicted entwined around shade trees. James Wylie, project curator at V&A Dundee where the item will go on display later this month, explained the significance of this 'masterpiece' of Safavid art. 'This extraordinary tile panel from ancient Iran is a stunning embodiment of the garden as a symbol of power, paradise and cultural identity,' he said. 'We are thrilled to display it at V&A Dundee for the first time in over two decades, following its meticulous conservation by our colleagues at National Museums Scotland (NMS). 'Including this rare treasure in the exhibition expands the story well beyond contemporary design, offering a rare glimpse into the universal and enduring human impulse to shape nature into meaning. 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience a masterpiece of Safavid art in a new light, and to consider how gardens have always been spaces of imagination, beauty and political expression.' The panel recently underwent 'landmark' conservation work at NMS – which acquired the item in 1899 – to remove 100-year-old overpainting and reveal more of its original design. Conservators also reduced the weight of the panel's frame, making it possible to loan the item to another museum for the first time. Friederike Voigt, principal curator of west, south and south-east Asian collections at NMS, described the piece as the only one of its kind to show 'a complete composition' of the garden motif. 'Beautifully painted and rich in symbolism, it offers a tantalising glimpse into the splendour of the gardens at the Haft Dast Palace,' she said. 'Extensive conservation work has revealed it in its full glory and I'm delighted that it's going on display for the first time in a generation as part of this major exhibition.' The panel will form part of the V&A Dundee's Garden Futures: Designing With Nature exhibition that opens on May 17. The exhibition is designed to take visitors on an 'illuminating journey' through key moments of innovation in gardens and garden design from the 20th century to present day, as well as looking to the future of gardens.
Leader Live
12-05-2025
- General
- Leader Live
‘Stunning' tiles from Iranian palace going on display for first time in 20 years
The rare tile panel dates from the reign of Safavid ruler Shah Abbas II (1642-1666), and originally decorated the wall of his private hammam (bathhouse) within the now-demolished Haft Dast Palace in Isfahan. About 4.5 metres wide and consisting of 114 individual tiles, the panel depicts an idealised garden paradise, with a dense array of trees and flowering plants within a blue and yellow border. Its intricate details include pomegranates painted in an unusual blue, flower species accurate down to their horticultural usage, and climbing gourds depicted entwined around shade trees. James Wylie, project curator at V&A Dundee where the item will go on display later this month, explained the significance of this 'masterpiece' of Safavid art. 'This extraordinary tile panel from ancient Iran is a stunning embodiment of the garden as a symbol of power, paradise and cultural identity,' he said. 'We are thrilled to display it at V&A Dundee for the first time in over two decades, following its meticulous conservation by our colleagues at National Museums Scotland (NMS). 'Including this rare treasure in the exhibition expands the story well beyond contemporary design, offering a rare glimpse into the universal and enduring human impulse to shape nature into meaning. 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience a masterpiece of Safavid art in a new light, and to consider how gardens have always been spaces of imagination, beauty and political expression.' The panel recently underwent 'landmark' conservation work at NMS – which acquired the item in 1899 – to remove 100-year-old overpainting and reveal more of its original design. Conservators also reduced the weight of the panel's frame, making it possible to loan the item to another museum for the first time. Friederike Voigt, principal curator of west, south and south-east Asian collections at NMS, described the piece as the only one of its kind to show 'a complete composition' of the garden motif. 'Beautifully painted and rich in symbolism, it offers a tantalising glimpse into the splendour of the gardens at the Haft Dast Palace,' she said. 'Extensive conservation work has revealed it in its full glory and I'm delighted that it's going on display for the first time in a generation as part of this major exhibition.' The panel will form part of the V&A Dundee's Garden Futures: Designing With Nature exhibition that opens on May 17. The exhibition is designed to take visitors on an 'illuminating journey' through key moments of innovation in gardens and garden design from the 20th century to present day, as well as looking to the future of gardens.
