Isfahan (Persian: اصفهان‎ Esfahān) is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 kilometres (211 miles) south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609 and is Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad.

Isfahan is located on the main north-south and east-west routes crossing Iran, In the 16th and 17th centuries, this city had a population of more than half a million, making it one of the largest in the world at the time. It was also one of the most cosmopolitan cities, where visitor from Europe could meet those from Syria, the Arabian Peninsula, India and China. The city once had large populations of Armenian and Nestorian Christians. Shah Abbas the Great valuing their professional and business abilities, built churches for them. There was also a large and influential Jewish population here too.

It flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16th century under the Safavid dynasty, when it became the capital of Persia for the second time in its history. Even today, the city retains much of its past glory. It is famous for its Islamic architecture, with many beautiful boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, mosques, and minarets.

This led to the Persian proverb "Esfahān nesf-e jahān ast" (Isfahan is half of the world).