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 | | Isfahan, a major city in central Iran, was the splendid capital of the Seljuq and Safavid dynasties whose legacies established Iran (formerly Persia) as the cultural heart of the eastern Islamic world in terms of language (Persian), art, and architecture. |
 | | By selecting Isfahan as his royal seat, Abbas associated his rule with an illustrious dynasty of the past, which was especially crucial in the early years of Abbas's rule when the survival of the Safavid dynasty was indeed questionable. |
 | | After the death of Shah Abbas I in 1629, the Safavid dynasty endured for about a century, but, with the exception of the reign of Shah Abbas II (1642 66), it degenerated from the heights achieved under Abbas I. Isfahan was conquered by the Ghilzay Afghans in 1722. |
| depts.washington.edu /uwch/silkroad/cities/iran/isfahan/isfahan.html (2555 words) |
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