The Development of "Naqsh-e Jahan" Square in Isfahan

Despite numerous studies regarding the development history of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, there are still many questions which have not been accurately answered to date. Some of them include the history of the square, the exact date of initiation and completion of construction of different elements of the square, and the order of their completion. This article tries to answer these questions accurately based on historical sources and documents. The research method is historical analysis of historical texts including historical books written in the Safavid period, travelogues of that era, and field studies such as review of the text of historical epigraphs. The main outcomes of this research are: 1. Answers to the ambiguities regarding the subject of research and delineating a clear time-line of Naqsh-e Jahan Square’s development history; 2. collecting the most important relative pictorial documents and historical texts, and; 3. Presentation of multiple pictorial documents, for the first time, of the history and development of the square during the Safavid era.