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Capital Moved to Isfahan
Safavid Shah Abbas I moved the capital from Qazvin to Isfahan in 1598, then built it into one of West Asia's grandest cities, shifting the empire's p…
Timeline
- 1598Qazvin · IranAfter consolidating power, Abbas I decided to leave the former capital Qazvin and chose Isfahan as the new capital, balancing safe distance from the Ottoman frontier with proximity to the Khorasan theater.
- 1598–1599Isfahan · IranThe royal family, court bureaucracy, and part of the garrison moved from Qazvin to Isfahan; the shah took up residence, the empire's political center officially shifted, and large-scale urban expansion planning began.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Iranica: Isfahan https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/esfahan
- The City in the Islamic World — Renata Holod et al. (2008)