Isfahan, located on the route from Tehran to the Persian Gulf, hosts one of Persia’s oldest Jewish communities, dating back to various early historical periods as reported by Pehlevi, Armenian, and Muslim sources.
Amid an alleged Israeli strike, as reported by various news outlets, in Isfahan, there are currently some 1,500 Iranian Jews. The city hosts one central synagogue along with 13 smaller ones.
According to Jewish Virtual Library, first documented during the reign of Sassanid ruler Frūz in 472 C.E., the city’s Jewish community faced persecution, including the execution of half its population. Under Arab rule from 641, the community was notably vibrant, with Isfahan’s Jewish quarter, Jayy, becoming so significant that it was called “the city of the Jews.” Isfahan was also the birthplace of a Jewish sectarian movement led by Abu ‘Isā during the Umayyad era.
Isfahan Jews persecuted in the 17th century
Renowned for its scholarship in Hebrew grammar and exegesis, the city’s Jewish population was estimated at 15,000 in the 12th century by Benjamin of Tudela. The community thrived under the Safavid dynasty, engaging in various crafts and trades. However, in the 17th century, local Jews suffered greatly from persecution and forced conversions. Their plight during this period is well-documented in Judeo-Persian chronicles and by various eyewitnesses.
Jewish religious life in Isfahan was traditionally orthodox, with several synagogues, schools, and communal institutions. The 17th century saw translations of biblical texts into Persian, enhancing Jewish literary culture. However, the community’s prominence declined with the Qajar dynasty’s shift of the capital to Tehran in the late 18th century. Despite threats from missionary activities in the 19th century, the community’s cultural life was sustained partly by the establishment of a Jewish school by the Alliance Israélite Universelle in 1901.
Isfahan remains a site of pilgrimage, particularly to the grave of Serah bat Asher near Pir Bakran, signifying its enduring cultural and religious significance to Jews.
