History and Culture
Historians have recorded Espahan, Sepahan or Isfahan initially as a defense and military base. The security and protection of the gradually increasing castles and fortifications, thereby, would provide the protection of residents nearby, therefore leading to the growth of large settlements nearby. These historical castles were Atashgah, Sarooyieh, Tabarok, Kohan Dej, and Gard Dej to name a few. The oldest of these is Ghal'eh Sefeed and the grounds at Tamijan from prehistoric times. The historic village of Abyaneh, a nationwide attraction, also has Sassanid ruins and fire temples among other historical relics.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Esfahan province enjoyed high standards of prosperity as it became the capital of Safavid Persia. While the city of Esfahan was their seat of monarchy, Kashan was their place of vacation and leisure.
Esfahan province encompasses various sects today. The majority of the people in the province are Persian speakers, but Bakhtiari Lurs, Georgians, Armenians, Qashqais and Persian Jews also reside in the province. The official language of the province is Persian, though different ethnic groups and tribes abide by their own language such as Judeo-Persian, Armenian, Georgian, Qashqai Turkic or Bakhtiari Lurish. Esfahan province is noted for its reputed personalities such as writers, poets and other imminent figures who have been born and brought up or have lived in this territory.
Read more about this topic: Isfahan Province
Famous quotes containing the words history and, history and/or culture:
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“History has neither the venerableness of antiquity, nor the freshness of the modern. It does as if it would go to the beginning of things, which natural history might with reason assume to do; but consider the Universal History, and then tell us,—when did burdock and plantain sprout first?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Cynicism makes things worse than they are in that it makes permanent the current condition, leaving us with no hope of transcending it. Idealism refuses to confront reality as it is but overlays it with sentimentality. What cynicism and idealism share in common is an acceptance of reality as it is but with a bad conscience.”
—Richard Stivers, U.S. sociologist, educator. The Culture of Cynicism: American Morality in Decline, ch. 1, Blackwell (1994)