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Bozorg Synagogue, Isfahan, Iran

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Setting: Jewish History in Isfahan: 

Isfahan, originally established in the village of Jayy (also known as Shahristan), boasts a rich Jewish history. The Jewish quarter, al-Yahudiyya, was located two miles west of the city center. The exact origins of Jewish settlement in Isfahan are uncertain, with various traditions suggesting their arrival during different periods: Neo-Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II’s reign (605-562 BCE) after the First Temple’s destruction in 586 BCE, Shapur II’s rule between 309 and 379 CE, or Yazdegerd’s reign from 399 to 421 CE.[4] According to tenth-century Persian historian and geographer Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani, local Jewish tradition cites Isfahan’s appeal to Jewish settlement was due to its water and soil, reminiscent of the Holy Land.[5]

Pre-Islamic records documenting Jewish settlement are scarce. However, historical accounts reveal instances of persecution against Jews in Isfahan in 472 CE under the Sassanian Shah Peroz (459-484 CE).[6] During the early Islamic Caliphate, Isfahan witnessed the emergence of a Jewish messianic movement known as the Issawiya, which was influenced by Islamic and Shi’ite prophetic traditions. Throughout the Umayyad (661-750 CE) and Abbasid (750-1258 CE) Caliphates, the Jewish community in Isfahan maintained strong connections with Baghdad’s Jewish population.[7]

The Mongol conquest in 1240-1241 and Timur Lang’s invasion in 1387 led to significant hardships for Isfahan’s Jews.[8] The Safavid era (1501-1722) marked the city’s cultural and political zenith, when Shah Abbas I (1588-1629 CE) moved his government there, making Isfahan his capital. Despite relative prosperity, the Jewish community of Isfahan faced several instances of persecution and forced conversion under Shah Abbas II (1643-1666 CE).[9] From 1656 to 1662, the Jews of Isfahan lived as anusim—Hebrew for forced coverts, at the instigation of Mohammad Beg, Shah Abbas II’s vizier.[10] These events, along with later political instability, famine, and raids contributed to the community’s decline. 

Later, during the Great Famine of 1871, Persian Jews in Isfahan faced severe hardships, leading them to appeal for aid from European Jewry. A significant financial response, particularly from Jews in Germany, resulted in the distribution of over nineteen thousand British pounds to both Jewish and non-Jewish victims in many Persian cities, including Isfahan.[11] In 1873, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar’s visit to Europe offered a strategic opportunity for Jewish leaders to address the Shah directly.[12] Through a coordinated petition campaign, including a meeting with Sir Moses Montefiore in London, Jewish leaders sought to pressure the Shah into improving the condition of Persian Jews. This included advocating for the establishment of special courts, the elimination of discriminatory practices, and reduction of arbitrary taxation placed on Jews.[13]

By the early nineteenth century, the establishment of a Jewish school by the Alliance Israélite Universelle in 1901 marked a period of modernization and growth.[14] The subsequent Pahlavi era (1925-1979) afforded Jews greater freedoms, leading to increased integration and influence. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Jews emigrated, but a small community remains in Isfahan. As of 2003, about 1,500 Jews live in Isfahan, primarily in the city center.[15] Restoration efforts since 2006 by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran aim to preserve the historic synagogues in the Jewish quarter of Jubareh.[16]

Jubareh Quarter of Isfahan: 

Jubareh, one of Isfahan’s oldest neighborhoods, has long been a vital center for the Jewish community. It is home to most of Isfahan’s synagogues, including the oldest one, Mushi Haja, which dates back to around 1700.[17] The neighborhood’s closeness to the Jame’ Mosque highlights the historical coexistence of Jewish and Muslim communities. The synagogues in Jubareh feature an organic, asymmetrical layout, lacking the monumental styles seen in mosques and mausoleums in Isfahan.[18] 

Jewish homes in Jubareh are structurally and stylistically similar to Muslim homes, built with brick and often featuring central courtyards.[19] However, synagogues, while blending in with surrounding buildings through their brick facades, differ in spatial organization. They often have interiors below street level due to height restrictions imposed by the Pact of Umar[20], with vaulted roofs supported by columns and adorned with stucco and plaster.[21] Light plays a significant role in their design, creating a spiritual ambiance through skylights.[22]

Most synagogues in Jubareh were built during the late Qajar period (1880-1920) and are modest due to financial constraints and building policies.[23] Many synagogues are attached to adjacent buildings, requiring Jews to use space efficiently, partly due to limitations in purchasing vacant properties based on slow minority population growth.[24] Housing three synagogues in one single structure could make maintenance easier, cheaper, and more manageable for synagogue-keepers.[25] 

Bozorg Synagogue: 

Located near Mahi Forush-ha Street[26] Bozorg Synagogue is connected with Jima’ati and Molla Rabi Synagogues, forming a single structure with a shared entrance and corridor, with each having a separate door leading to its respective prayer hall.[27] Like the Jima’ati Synagogue, there is no specifc women’s seating area[28] inside Bozorg Synagogue, and is adjacent to both Molla Rabi and Jima’ati synagogues. 

Constructed during the Qajar Period, the Bozorg Synagogue reflects the broader trends and adaptations of the Jewish community in response to dhimmi laws—rules for non-Muslims based on Islamic Law that often restricted construction of religious spaces for Jews. Unlike local mosques in Isfahan, the synagogues in Jubareh, including Bozorg, do not serve as unifying structures for an urban quarter but instead illustrate the diversity within the Jewish community.[29] The construction of the Bozorg Synagogue, along with Molla Rabi and Jima’ati Synagogues, was funded by the local Jewish community, with the land donated by the Bipurat, Yu Matub, and Zakariya’i families.[30]

Bozorg Synagogue is unrecognizable from the outside due to its scale and to the fact that it is covered with thatch, like other buildings.[31] Noteworthily, most synagogues in Isfahan, including the Bozorg synagogue, are geographically close to the Friday Mosque and city center, which expresses the “integration” and “protection” of Jews in the city.[32]

Further, the Bozorg Synagogue architecturally blends seamlessly with its surroundings. From the street, it is nearly indistinguishable from other buildings, with only a small entrance, an unadorned wall, and a skylight on a dome-shaped roof.[33] The exterior integrates the synagogues into the fabric of the neighborhood, making it difficult for strangers to identify it as a place of worship.

As in all synagogues in the Jubareh neighborhood, Bozorg Synagogue is spatially organized to create distance between its entrance and worship area. This allows for symbolic transformation from the secular to the sacred.[34]

The focus of the synagogue is on the interior. A long corridor distinguishes, mentally and physically, the outside from the inside.[35] The bimah, a platform from which the leader recites the prayers, is traditionally set surrounded by chairs.[36] It features a square layout with a central dome supported by four columns and arches, covering the bimah—the platform where Torah scrolls are read. The Bozorg Synagogue includes the Holy Ark (heikhal), and seating arrangements. It may seem surprising that the Bozorg synagogue, like almost all synagogues in Isfahan, was built after the nineteenth century. Based on archaeological evidence, Bozorg Synagogue appears to be built atop an older synagogue.  It is unknown who initially surveyed or planned the layout of Bozorg Synagogue. The synagogue was built during the rule of Aqa Najafi Esfahani (1846–1914), a prominent Shiʿite religious leader.[37] 

Photos Are Available Here: 

https://www.archnet.org/sites/18570

 

Contributions by Anoushiravan A. 

Isfahan, Iran