Shah Mosque

• Landmark Historical Place
• Landmark & Historical Place

The Shah Mosque, also known as Royal Mosque or Imam Mosque after Iranian revolution, is a mosque in Isfahan, Iran, standing in south side of Naghsh-e Jahan Square. Built during the Safavid Empire, ordered by Abbas I of Persia.It is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian architecture in the Islamic era. The Royal Mosque is registered, along with the Naghsh-e Jahan Square, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its construction began in 1611, and its splendor is mainly due to the beauty of its seven-colour mosaic tiles and calligraphic inscriptions.The mosque is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rials banknote.HistoryIn 1598, when Shah Abbas decided to move the capital of his Persian empire from the northwestern city of Qazvin to the central city of Isfahan, he initiated what would become one of the greatest programmes in Persian history; the complete remaking of this ancient city. By choosing the central city of Isfahan, fertilized by the Zāyandeh River ("The life-giving river"), lying as an oasis of intense cultivation in the midst of a vast area of arid landscape, he both distanced his capital from any future assaults by Iran's neighboring arch rival, the Ottomans, and at the same time gained more control over the Persian Gulf, which had recently become an important trading route for the Dutch and British East India Companies.