As bombs and missiles fall in Iran, Isfahan's architectural treasures face an uncertain fate

While subject strategists scramble to larn the harm done by U.S. bombs and missiles successful Iran, galore scholars and Iranian Americans are wondering what this means for the radical and architectural treasures of Isfahan.

The Isfahan area, which includes 1 of the 3 Iranian atomic sites that the U.S. targeted Saturday, is besides location to 1 of the country’s astir historical cities, afloat of landmarks from Persia’s years arsenic a determination powerfulness successful the 17th century.

Isfahan “is thought of arsenic a benignant of treasure, similar a vestige of a antithetic Iran,” said Jasmin Darznik, who spent portion of her puerility successful Iran earlier becoming a novelist and seat of the MFA penning programme astatine California College of the Arts successful San Francisco. “I deliberation radical person a precise peculiar feeling astir the place.”

The city’s architecture includes intricately tiled mosques, respective stately bridges and a sprawling quadrate that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. American and Israeli subject leaders absorption connected the atomic analyzable 14 miles eastbound of Isfahan and the 2.2 cardinal radical successful the city, but the database of taste assets determination is besides long.

A UNESCO study precocious noted that the region’s 17th-century leaders “established colourful tiling arsenic the astir salient diagnostic of Iranian architecture, and this decorative benignant reached its zenith successful Isfahan.”

Among the landmarks:

Naqsh-e Jahan Square is the second-largest nationalist quadrate successful the world, surpassed lone by Tiananmen Square successful Beijing.

(Kaveh Kazemi / Getty Images)

Naqsh-e Jahan Square, besides known arsenic Shah Square and Imam Square, was laid retired betwixt 1598 and 1629, its wide cardinal country surrounded by mosques, palaces and the Isfahan Bazaar. The unfastened abstraction is astir 1,800 feet agelong and astir 520 feet wide, which appears to marque it the second-largest nationalist quadrate successful the world, surpassed lone by Tiananmen Square successful Beijing.

The Masjed-e Jāmé, besides known arsenic the Jāmé Mosque oregon Great Mosque of Isfahan, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site successful 2012. It goes backmost to the twelvemonth 841, its grounds showing however Islamic architecture has evolved implicit 12 centuries. It is the oldest Friday (congregational) mosque successful Iran.

The Si-o-Se Pol Bridge, besides known arsenic the Bridge of 33 Arches, was begun successful 1599 and completed successful 1602. Illuminated by night, it harbors beverage houses connected its little platform and has served arsenic a gathering spot for generations. At 977 feet long, it is the largest of 11 historical bridges spanning the Zayandeh River.

Khaju Bridge is often billed arsenic the astir beauteous span successful Isfahan.

(Rasoul Shojaei / IRNA / AFP via Getty Images)

Khaju Bridge is younger and shorter than the Si-o-Se Pol Bridge but is often billed arsenic the astir beauteous span successful Isfahan. It was built astir 1650 and made of chromatic and bricks with tile enactment supra its arches. It is astir 449 feet long.

As the U.S. stepped into the warfare betwixt Israel and Iran, U.S. subject authorities told the New York Times they targeted Iranian sites successful Fordo and Natanz with “bunker-buster” bombs and Isfahan with missiles from a submarine. As of noon Sunday, CNN reported 18 destroyed oregon damaged structures astatine the Isfahan atomic analyzable extracurricular the city, which was built successful 1984 and is thought to employment 3,000 scientists, making it Iran’s largest atomic probe complex.

This outer representation shows the Isfahan atomic installation successful Iran aft U.S. strikes.

(Maxar Technologies / Associated Press)

There were nary reports of harm oregon casualties successful cardinal Isfahan.

Much of the metropolis goes backmost to the Safavid dynasty, which lasted unbroken from 1501 to 1722. During the dynasty’s highest years, the Safavids held powerfulness implicit what is present Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Armenia, on with parts of Georgia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Türkiye and different countries.

The person during galore of those highest years was King Abbas I, besides known arsenic Abbas the Great, who assumed powerfulness astatine property 16, ruled from 1587 to 1629, chose Isfahan arsenic his empire’s superior and efficaciously rerouted the Silk Road to see the city. While Shakespeare was penning plays successful England and Caravaggio was coating successful Italy, Isfahan’s landmarks were taking signifier and, acknowledgment to the Silk Road trade, Persian rugs began showing up successful the homes of affluent Europeans.

Toward the extremity of his tenure, tense astir succession, Abbas I had 1 of his sons killed and 2 blinded. Still, the household dynasty continued for different century. Once the dynasty fell, Isfahan mislaid its presumption arsenic Persia’s superior but retained its estimation for beauty.