Bridge Name: | Si-o-se-pol |
Crosses: | Zayanderud |
Locale: | Isfahan, Iran |
Design: | Arch bridge, double-deck |
Material: | Stone and brick |
Spans: | 33 |
Begin: | 1599 |
Complete: | 1602 |
Mapframe-Zoom: | 13 |
Mapframe-Wikidata: | yes |
The Allahverdi Khan Bridge (Persian: پل اللهوردی خان), popularly known as Si-o-se-pol (Persian: سیوسهپل|lit=[the] bridge of thirty-three [spans]),[1] is the largest of the eleven historical bridges on the Zayanderud, the largest river of the Iranian Plateau, in Isfahan, Iran.[2]
The bridge was built in the early 17th century to serve as both a bridge and a dam.[3]
Si-o-se-pol was built between 1599 and 1602,[4] under the reign of Abbas I, the fifth Safavid king (shah) of Iran. It was constructed under the supervision of Allahverdi Khan Undiladze, the commander-in-chief of the armies, who was of Georgian origin, and was also named after him.[5] [6] The bridge served particularly as a connection between the mansions of the elite, as well as a link to the city's vital Armenian neighborhood of New Julfa.[1]
In years of drought (2000–02 and 2013), the river was dammed upstream to provide water for Yazd province.
The bridge has a total length of and a total width of . It is a vaulted arch bridge consisting of two superimposed rows of 33 arches, from whence its popular name of Si-o-se-pol comes, and is made of stone. The longest span is about .[4] The interior of Si-o-se-pol was originally decorated with paintings, which were often described by travelers as erotic.[1]