• Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • About
  • Contact

Cold War

Before, During, and After the Cold War

  • Podcast
  • Red Scare
  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • Urbanization
  • Spy
  • Afghanistan
  • Taiwan
  • Vietnam
  • Timelines

ISFAHAN 1960: A TRADITIONAL CITY

August 22, 2011 by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

During the democratic interlude, Isfahan’s status as a former capital, along with its unique architectural history, led to its continuing reputation as one of the world’s great cities of art and culture.

The Beautiful City of Shah Abbas

Well over three hundred years after the death of its patron, Shah Abbas I, Isfahan was still known worldwide for the majesty of the monuments and construction projects he sponsored.

The shah’s goal had been to establish a showplace capital to rival Constantinople, the famed center of the Ottoman Empire.

His projects included wide avenues leading to large public squares, palaces, caravansaries, mosques, and madrasehs (religious schools) as well as an expanded ‘old’ bazaar.

After viewing the Maidan-I-shah, the focal point of the city, seven times the size of Piazza San Marcos in Venice, many tourists were quick to applaud his efforts, citing the old Persian saying Isfahan nisf-I-Jahan or Isfahan is half the world.

Cold War Modernizing (?) of Traditional Isfahan

Most foreigners did not traverse the full length of the bazaar from the elegance of the Maidan to the Friday Mosque in the north of the city.

Tourists were unaware that a ‘gutting’ process, involving the imposition of a gridiron pattern on Isfahan’s traditional morphology, had long been underway, presumably to provide automobile access to the older quarters of the city.

This process had been exacerbated by post World War II demolition in the most historically significant neighborhoods.

The Power of Shi’ism

Importantly, though, even in 1960, Isfahan still visually reflected its past history and its geography.

Although physical change quickened in the early years of the Cold War, many customary aspects of Isfahan’s daily life remained untouched at the end of 1959.

The city’s mosques and madrasehs continued to express the consolidated power of Shi’ism as planned by Shah Abbas I (1587-1629).

The Twelvers

The main branch of the Shi’a surviving today is known as the Twelvers because it traces the line of Imams from Ali down to the twelfth, after which it comes to a stop.

The twelfth Imam is believed to be not dead but hidden, and he will one day return as the Mahdi to purify the world.

This belief has been the official doctrine of the Persian state since the sixteenth century, and is today followed by about 80% of the population of Iran, by the majority of Arabs in neighboring Iraq and by substantial majorities in Turkey, India, Pakistan, Lebanon and the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia. [Edward Mortimer, Faith and Power: The Politics of Islam (New York: Vintage Books, 1982.)]

Ethnic Tolerance in Early Cold War Isfahan

Even though Isfahan’s population had grown from 180,000 in 1940 to 254,000 in 1956, the city had not yet begun to sprawl. Socially, little had changed.

Ethnic tolerance was still an accepted part of everyday life since Isfahan continued to be home to a diverse population of Christians, Jews, tribal groups, and Muslims. However, strict segregation of religious minorities persisted.

The Jewish area, Yahudiyeh, was distincet from the Muslim town, and Jolfa, the (Christian) Armenian quarter of Isfahan, remained intact, although now a more integral part of the city.

A colony of Jews was thought to have been exiled to Isfahan by Nebuchadnezzar in about 690 BC.

In early Arab times, Yahudieh or “Jewish town” could be found on the site of what later became the Jewish quarter in the northeast of Isfahan.

The Armenian area was developed by Shah Abbas I when he moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan in 1597. At that time, he moved the whole Armenian population in northwest Iran (which was being harassed by the Ottoman Turks) to the city, settling them in a new suburb where he allowed them to build their own churches and where he could make use of their abilities as merchants.

Viniculture was also important to the quarter.

Filed Under: Iran Tagged With: Cold War City, Iran, Isfahan

EARLY COLD WAR YEARS: TAIWAN AND THE MAINLANDERS

December 14, 2010 by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

The first Nationalist soldiers arrived in Keelung on the northern tip of Taiwan in October 1945.

Their arrival provoked mixed reactions.

The Taiwanese who were already living on the island expected to be freed from strict Japanese colonial rule.  The arriving Chinese also wanted freedom from Japanese exploitation. At the same time, they respected the efficiency of the over 200,000 professional police and military forces who had kept political order during the long period of  Japanese rule.

The almost 60,000 troops who disembarked in preparation for the Japanese surrender on October 25, 1945,  looked bedraggled and seemed to be lacking in discipline.

The troops from the mainland anticipated a short stay. Their purpose was to accept the Japanese surrender, disarm the Japanese occupation forces, and make sure that Japanese troops left the island.

Afterwards, they expected to return to the front lines of the civil war which was still raging on the Mainland. In actuality, all but 5,000 troops returned home to fight the communists. However, the troops that remained on Taiwan were corrupt and undisciplined. Several incidents occurred between them and local Taipei residents who thought “the mainlanders to be dirty, dishonest, and technologically backward.”

According to John F. Copper in his 1990 book Taiwan: Nation-State or Province:

Stories circulated about mainland Chinese who stole bicycles and did not know what they were, who spent hours staring at elevators they had never seen before, and who were unable to maintain the basic public services, power plants, trains, and buses over which they were given jurisdiction. The Taiwanese also had to adjust to a new legal system. Nationalist soldiers claimed ownership of houses and land based on forced occupation; the Taiwanese considered this stealing. Eviction laws were weakened. Some other laws were changed; many were not enforced.

The troops were not prepared to keep internal order. The Nationalists believed that the Taiwanese considered China their ancestral home and source of culture. So they thought that Taiwan’s residents would be anxious to return to Chinese rule and would not mount any resistance. They were wrong.

Problems between the two groups erupted into violence on February 28, 1947 when Monopoly Bureau agents killed a Taiwanese woman who had been selling black-market cigarettes.

In the aftermath of the shooting, a crowd attacked a police station, set fire to a police vehicle and went on a rampage. Violence spread in the next few days. The authorities treated the protests as a pro-communist rebellion.

On March 8 a large contingent of Nationalist troops used heavy weapons against unarmed Taiwanese.

Order was restored at the end of March but by that time several thousand Taiwanese had been killed, including most of Taiwan’s local political leadership. The incident cemented the ethnic distrust  which had been gaining momentum in Taipei. Ethnic  rivalry continued to shape the city’s social and political climate for most of the Cold War period.

Filed Under: China | Manchuria Tagged With: Cold War, Cold War Cities, Cold War City, Cold War Studies, Taipei, Taiwan

How Much Do You Know?

Want to find out how much you really know about the Cold War. Click here to take our quiz. 

Disappointed with your results. Join Cold War Studies and Download our free ebook  Cold War History A to Z. You’ll get a quick and easy pathway to instant expertise.

Join Cold War Studies and Get Our Free E-Book

Want a quick deep dive into the Cold War? Join Cold War Studies and get Cold War History A to Z for free. You'll also receive occasional email updates and our latest blog posts.

We respect your privacy and will never share your information

Most Popular Posts

Cold War Chile

Egypt Transfers Loyalty From The USSR To The US In The Middle Of The Cold War

Cold War Argentina: The Dirty War

Dr. Seuss and the Cold War

The First Red Scare: A Timeline

Follow Us On Twitter

Check Out Our Red Scare White Paper

Read all about the Red Scare. Just click on the cover below.

Read a Cold War Studies White Paper on Cuban Agriculture

Read all about Cuban Agriculture. Just click on the image for easy access.

Read a Cold War Studies White Paper on Cold War FACTS

Get the inside scoop on the Cold War.  Just click on the image to get started.

Copyright © 2022 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in