Chaharbagh School

🕰️When was it built?

The school was built between 1116 and 1126 AH (about 1704–1714), under Shah Sultan Husayn, the last Safavid king, and was opened on Friday 10 Rajab 1122 (1710) in the presence of the Shah and the clergy. The dates on its inscriptions range from 1104 to 1122 AH.

🏛️What was it built for?

It was built for the teaching of students of religious sciences, and today it is still a seminary, the Imam Jafar Sadegh School. The mother of Shah Sultan Husayn gave the neighbouring Fathieh caravanserai and royal bazaar as an endowment for the students, which is why it is also called the Madar-e Shah (Shah's Mother) School.

👀What you will see

• The main door of the school is decorated with gold and silver and is counted a masterpiece of goldsmithing, engraving and design.
• In proportion and tilework, the school's dome is ranked just after the dome of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
• Seven-colour tiles, mosaic, geometric lattice and brick-and-tile patterns are all seen here together, which is why the school is called the museum of Isfahan tilework.
• The one-piece marble mihrab and pulpit and the carved wooden lattice windows are among the sights inside.
• In the entrance hall stands a stone water basin from 1110 AH carved in Thuluth script with blessings on the Fourteen Infallibles.

💡Something interesting

In 1900 the design of the Chaharbagh School inspired the French architect Philippe Merit, and it was built as Iran's official pavilion at the Paris World Exhibition.

Good to know before you go