Imam Square / Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Naqsh-e Jahan / Meidan Emam)

Timeline

1. 1598–1602Core of Isfahan's new city · IsfahanAbbas I moved the capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, opening a vast rectangular square southwest of the old city as a shared stage for parades, polo, diplomatic audiences, and markets. Sheikh Bahai and others participated in surveying the capital, and the square became the geometric origin of the new imperial axis.
2. 1603–1619East and west sides of Naqsh-e Jahan Square · IsfahanThe Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque on the east side was completed around 1603–1619 for court worship; on the west side Ali Qapu Palace was expanded atop a Timurid structure with a raised terrace and music hall, from which the shah surveyed the square's ceremonies. The Qeysarieh Gate at the north end connected to the Great Bazaar around the same period, making the square the interface between court and market.
3. 1611–1629Royal Mosque on the south side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square · IsfahanThe Shah Mosque (today Imam Mosque) on the south side was begun around 1611, with its main body completed around the time of Abbas I's death in 1629, closing the south end of the square with a massive dome and two-tiered arcades. Palace, mosque, gate, and market now closed the square on all four sides, completing the spatial program of Naqsh-e Jahan as an imperial ceremonial square.
4. 1629Naqsh-e Jahan Square · IsfahanAfter Abbas I, the square continued to host Friday prayers, ambassadorial audiences, and silk and carpet trade. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1979 under the name Imam Square, Isfahan. It is the ceremonial chamber of the capital and cannot substitute for documenting the entire Safavid Isfahan city.