Isfahan Urban History Project Team

1966-1979

The Isfahan Urban History Project was conceived of in response to the studies presented at the Isfahan Colloquium held at Harvard in 1974. Its initial objective was to reconstitute the urban landscape of Isfahan prior to structural changes instituted under Shah Abbas at the end of the 16th century. Corroborating textual sources, like the writings of local historians, geographers and travelers, with the observations of extensive field surveys, the Isfahan Urban History Project (also referred to as the Isfahan City Project), aimed to develop a context for urban transformation between Pre-Safavid and Safavid Isfahan. Resources essential to the project included Chardin’s Voyages de chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l’Orient, and a copy of a 1924 Sultan Seyyed Reza Khan Isfahan map, reflecting the city prior to major modernization efforts. [Elizabeth Baldwin and Michelle Lynch, Isfahan Urban History Project Archive Finding Aid, 2016].