Elizabeth Gittings
The Maydan-I Shah or “Royal Square.” Isfahan, Iran. Built by Shah Abbas I in 1590-95 and 1602-03. Safavid culture.
The royal square was the heart of the garden capital called the Naqsh-I Jahan, the “Design of the World.”
(Image credit: https://imgur.com/gallery/B09vb)
Elizabeth Gittings
Engraving of the Naqsh-i Jahan Square, Isfahan, by Cornelis de Bruijn,”Voyages de Corneille le Brun par la Moscovie”, dating 1718. It depicts the busy square as it looked during the day, when it was filled with merchants and shopkeepers.
Built as a two story row of shops, flanked by impressive architecture, and eventually leading up to the northern end, where the Imperial Bazaar was situated, the square was a busy arena of entertainment and business, exchanged between people from many parts of the world. As Isfahan was a vital stop along the Silk Road, goods from many regions were available for sale.
In the year 1603, the shops, the caravansaries, the bathhouses, and the coffeehouses around the Maydan were completed.
During the day, much of the square was occupied by the tents and stalls of tradesmen, who paid a weekly rental to the government. There were also entertainers and actors. For the hungry, cooked foods or slices of melon were sold, while cups of water were handed out for free by water-carriers paid for by the shopkeepers. At the entrance to the Imperial Bazaar, there were coffee-houses, where people could relax over a cup of fresh coffee and a water-pipe.
Source: Naqsh-e Jahan Square: https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/770115
Jean Chardin, “Marche Imperiale et Orchestre,”1723. Voyages du Chevaliers Chardin, en Perse et autres lieux de l’Orient. Edited by L. Langles (Paris, 1811). Image source: Babaie, see citation below.
Gate of Qaisariyya Bazaar and Naqarrakhana (“Kettle Drum House”).
Chardin was a French artist and jeweler who created numerous works of art depicting Isfahan in the 18th century. He was among many European artists, merchants, and travelers in the capital city noted for its internationalism and sophistication.
The Qaisariyya (“The Imperial”) stood on the north side of the Maydan and was an imposing two-storied portal (iwan ) that served as the entrance into the covered bazaar connecting the old city center with the new Maydan.
As a whole, the Qaisariyya Complex combined commerce, entertainment, and recreational spaces for the public.
The Qaisariyya was flanked by wings containing music pavilions, where musicians played on the talar balconies for the public and members of the court. The twin poles in the foreground are for the favored Persian sport of chowgan, a game played on horseback with teams, recalling polo.
Inside the bazaar were caravanserais and baths, among numerous shops belonging to a variety of trades. There were special segments of the bazaar that belonged to money-changers and cloth-merchants, as well as merchants of differing ethnicity and religions.
The vitality and diversity of the bazaar reflected Shah ʿAbbas’ successful attempts at rejuvenating Iran’s economy by encouraging trade as well as setting up export manufactories of ceramics and silk. The majestic portal celebrated that prosperity.
Sources: Rizvi, Kishwar. “Architecture and the Representations of Kingship during the Reign of the Safavid Shah ‘Abbas I (Links to an external site.).” In Every Inch a King: Comparative Studies on Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, edited by Lynette Mitchell and Charles Melville, 371-397.
Babaie, Sussan. “Frontiers of Visual Taboo: Painted Indecencies in Isfahan.” Eros and Sexuality in Islamic Art. Edited by Francesca Leoni and Mika Natif (2013): 131-155: https://www.academia.edu/10228087/Frontiers_of_Visual_Taboo_Painted_Indecencies_in_Isfahan
Elizabeth Gittings
A covered bazaar connecting the old city centre with the new maydan. The entrance iwan of the Qaisariyya was elaborately embellished with large-scale works of art that expressed themes of imperial victory, auspicious rule, and urbanity.
Large wall paintings depicting Shah ʿAbbas’ victories over the Uzbeks, as well as hunting scenes, were shown in paintings above the main entrance. To augment the message of victory, a large clock was installed on the parapet of the roof after Shah ʿAbbas secured the island of Hormuz from the Portuguese in 1622.
Large fresco paintings depicting foreigners partying, drinking, and making lascivious gestures decorated the inner walls of the gate. The European fete scene may have been intended as a criticism or mockery of Europeans. Another interpretation offered (by Sussan Babaie) is that the paintings express an interest in exoticism and reflect a more open attitude toward observing foreigners and sexuality in Safavid culture.
On the tile spandrels of the gate we see the symbol of Sagittarius in the form of an archer with lion’s body, who shoots at a dragon’s tail. The Sagittarius figures originally flanked a sun depicted at the apex of the arch. This represented the Lion and the Sun (the constellation Leo, which appears when the sun is strongest in the sky), an ancient Persian imperial symbol. It is frequently represented in official Safavid art, such as coinage. Its presence here indicates that the Qaisariyya bazaar was founded by an emperor, Shah ‘Abbas I. The Lion and the Sun celebrates his ascendancy, power, and auspicious rule.
Sources: Rizvi, Kishwar. “Architecture and the Representations of Kingship during the Reign of the Safavid Shah ‘Abbas I (Links to an external site.).” In Every Inch a King: Comparative Studies on Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, edited by Lynette Mitchell and Charles Melville, 371-397.
Babaie, Sussan. “Frontiers of Visual Taboo: Painted Indecencies in Isfahan.” Eros and Sexuality in Islamic Art. Edited by Francesca Leoni and Mika Natif (2013): 131-155: https://www.academia.edu/10228087/Frontiers_of_Visual_Taboo_Painted_Indecencies_in_Isfahan
On the western side of the Maydan, at right, was the Palace, consisting of a series of freestanding buildings devoted to diplomatic audiences, entertainment, and devotion. The harem was also situated within the walled enclosure, along with its own ancillary buildings for the upkeep of the imperial household.
The Maydan was a multifunctional immense square used for public entertainments and spectacles, as well as being a theater for the display of the shah’s authority. It was used for wrestling matches, selling wares and playing polo, among other activities.
The arcades along the periphery were reserved for shops, the rent of which went into the imperial treasury and into the charitable endowments established by Shah ʿAbbas. The Shah was often seen sitting along the upper balconies viewing the games and partaking in the general festivities with his courtiers and, sometimes, the public gathered below.
The air of informality was in contrast to the solemnity of the buildings, whose façades acted as backdrops to the extravaganzas taking place within the square.
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