or, as the Persians pronounce it, Spauhawn, the capital of Persia, is situated in the province of Irac Agemi, or Persia Proper, upon the ruins, as is generally supposed, of the ancient Hecatompylos, or, as others think, of the Aspa of Ptolemy. Most of the eastern astronomers and geographers place it in N. Lat. 32° 25'. E. Long. 86° 40'. It stands in a very extensive plain, surrounded by mountains; and has eight districts belonging to it, that contain about 400 towns and villages. The fertility of the soil, the mildness of the seasons, and the fine temperature of the air, all conspire to render Isfahan one of the most charming and delightful cities in the world. It is unanimously agreed, that the present city is of no great antiquity; and the two parts into which it is divided, preserve the names of two contiguous towns, from the junction of which it was formed. The inhabitants of these, notwithstanding their neighbourhood, bear an inveterate antipathy to each other; which they discover on all public occasions. Spauhawn owes the glory it now possesses to the great Shah Abbas; who, after the conquest of the kingdoms of Lar and Ormus, charmed with the situation of this place, made it the capital of his empire, between the years 1620 and 1628. The mountains, with which this city is surrounded, defend it alike from the sultry heats of summer and the piercing winds of the winter season: and the plain on which it stands is watered by several rivers, which contribute alike to its ornament and use. Of these rivers, the Zenderoud, after being joined by the Mahmood, passes by Spauhawn; where it has three fine bridges over it, and is as broad as the Seine at Paris. The waters of these united streams are sweet, pleasant, and wholesome, almost beyond comparison; as indeed are all the springs found in the gardens belonging to the houses of Spauhawn. The extent of Spauhawn is very great; not less perhaps than 20 miles within the walls, which are of earth, poorly built, and so covered with houses and shaded with gardens, that in many places it is difficult to discover them. The Persians are wont to say, Spauhawn nispiçehon, i.e. Spauhawn is half the world. Chardin says, that some reckoned the number of inhabitants at 1,000,000; but he did not look upon it as more populous than London, or containing more than 600,000. At a distance, the city is not easily distinguished; many of the streets being adorned with plantains, and every house having its garden, the whole looks like a wood. The streets in general are neither broad nor convenient; there being three great evils which attend them: the first is, that being built on common sewers, these are frequently broken up, which is very dangerous, considering that most people are on horseback; the second is, that there are many wells or pits in them, which are not less dangerous; the third arises from the people's emptying all their ordure from the tops of their houses: this last, indeed, is in some measure qualified by the dryness of the air, and by its being quickly removed by the peasants, who carry it away to dung their grounds. Some reckon eight, and others ten gates, besides posterns; but all agree that there is no difficulty of entering at any hour of the day or night. The three principal suburbs annexed to it are, Abas-Abad, built by Shah Abas, and belonging to the people of Tauris; Julfa, inhabited by a colony of Armenians, called by some New Julfa, to distinguish it from the ancient city of that name, situated in Armenia, upon the Araxes, whence the original inhabitants of New Julfa were brought; and Ghebr-Abad, or, as the Arabs pronounce it, Kebr-Abad, the street of the magicians, occupied entirely by the professors of magism, or the religion of the ancient Persians. The river Zenderoud separates the city of Isfahan and Abas-Abad from Julfa and Ghebr-Abad. This city has suffered greatly since the commencement of the dreadful rebellion in 1721; the whole kingdom from that period, till a few years ago, having been almost a continued scene of blood, ravages, and confusion. A celebrated modern traveller, who was on the spot, tells us, that the inhabitants of Julfa, not many years before the above revolution happened, amounted to 30,000 souls; had 13 churches, and above 100 priests; and paid the Persian court 200 tomans yearly for the free exercise of their religion: that some of the streets were broad and handsome, and planted with trees, with canals and fountains in the middle; others narrow and crooked, and arched a-top; others again, though extremely narrow, as well as turning and winding many ways, were of an incredible length, and resembled so many labyrinths: that, at a small distance from the town, there were public walks adorned with plane-trees on either hand, and ways paved with stones, fountains, and cisterns: that there were above 100 caravanserais for the use of merchants and travellers, many of which were built by the kings and prime nobility of Persia: that, as little rain fell there, the streets were frequently full of dust, which rendered the city disagreeable during a considerable considerable part of the summer; that the citizens, however, to make this inconvenience more tolerable, used to water them when the weather was warmer than usual: that there was a castle in the eastern part of the town, which the citizens looked upon as impregnable, in which the public money, and most of the military stores, were said to be kept: that notwithstanding the baths and caravanserais were almost innumerable, there was not one public hospital: that most of the public buildings were rather neat than magnificent, though the great meydan or market-place, the royal palace (which is three quarters of a league in circumference), and the alley denominated Toher bag adjoining to it, made a very grand appearance: that the former contained the royal mosque; the building denominated kayserich, where all sorts of foreign commodities were exposed to sale; and the mint, flayed by the Persians farran-khaneh, where the current money of the kingdom was coined: that, besides the native Persians, there were then in Isfahan above 10,000 Indians all supported by trade; 20,000 Georgians, Circassians, and Tartars of Daghestan or Lefges, with a considerable number of English, Dutch, Portuguese, and a few French: that the Capuchins, discoloured or barefooted Carmelites, Jesuits, Dominicans, and Austin friars, had likewise their convents here, though they were unable to make any converts; and that there were above 100 mosques and public colleges. But since the fatal period above mentioned, the suburb of Julfa was almost totally abandoned by the Armenians. The government of Isfahan, twenty-three leagues long and as many broad, comprehending several districts, most of them formerly well peopled, appeared not many years ago little better than a desert; for most of the inhabitants of that fertile and delightful tract had been driven out and dispersed. Multitudes of them took a precarious refuge in the mountains of Loristan, lying between Isfahan and Sufur, while their lands were left untilled, and their houses mouldered into ruins. In short, all the distresses of an unsuccessful war, or the invasion of a barbarous enemy, could not have plunged the people of Isfahan into greater misery than the victories of their tyrannical king Nadir Shah, who seemed more solicitous to humble his own subjects than to crush his enemies. See Persia.