simple and gay, never trivial or vulgar, and he had the excellent librettos of Hoffmann and Etienne to work upon. Of his thirtj-three oi>eras, the following are the best known: he mcdecin turc (1803); L'intrigue aux fenetres (1805); Cendrillon (1810); Le siege de Meziires, with Cheruhini, Catel, and Boieldieu (1814) ; Joconde (1814) ; Jeannot et Collin (1814) ; and Aladin, ou la lampe merveilleuse, completed by Benin- cori (1822).
ISPAHAN, e'spa-han'. The former capital
and one of the largest cities of Persia, situated
on the river Zendeh Eud, over 200 miles south
of Teheran, the present capital (Map: Persia,
D 4) . The surrounding country is of remarkable
natural beauty, and presents a striking contrast
to the half-ruined city. The ancient walls of
Ispahan have a length of about 23 miles, but
only a small part of the area inclosed is in-
habited, the remainder being a succession of
ruined castles, mosques, and schools, which tes-
tify to the former splendor of the city. The
centre of the city is occupied by a magnificent
plaza laid out by iShah Abbas, and formerly
surrounded by fine structures. Of the few build-
ings which have sun-ived the ravages of time,
the palace of Shah Abbas, known as Chehel
Situn, or Hall of ilany Columns, is probably
the finest. A row of twenty graceful columns
extends along the front portal, supporting a mag-
nificently ornamented roof. Behind the columns
is a spacious hall with mirror-cojpered walls and
a fountain in the centre. Besides this hall there
is a large room containing six large oil paint-
ings depicting scenes from the life of Shah Abbas.
On the southeastern side of the plaza stands
the great mosque, ilesjid-i-Shah, erected in
the beginning of the seventeenth century, and
presenting, even in its ruined state, a fine ex-
ample of Eastern architecture. On the western
side of the royal grounds is situated a magnifi-
cent palace known under the name of Hasht
Behesht, or 'Eight Paradises,' built by Shah
Suleiman at the end of the seventeenth century.
It is surrounded by beautiful gardens orna-
mented with fountains. On the western side is
the mosque of Sheikh-Lutfallah. with its dome
of enameled tiles, and at the northwestern end is
the entrance to the extensive covered bazaars
of the city, which have a total length of over two
miles.
The Zendeh Rud, on which the town is situat- ed, is crossed by five bridges, of which that of Ali Verdi Khan is especially remarkable, both for its size and for its architectural beauty. Industrially Ispahan is still a town of some im- portance. Its chief products are silk, woolen, and cotton goods, jewelry, arms, leather goods, and footwear. The town derives also consider- able commercial importance from its position on the main route from Abushehr to Teheran. A little way south of Ispahan is situated the Ar- menian settlement of -Julfa. which contains the entire European colony of Ispahan. It was founded in the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury, and at one time had an Armenian popula- tion of 30.000. which was reduced through perse- cution to about 2000. It has a number of Chris- tian churches and several schools. The popula- tion of Ispahan fs estimated at from 60.000 to 80.000. Ispahan is said by Persian writers to have been founded by some of the Jews who were led into captivity by Xebuchadnezzar. It was a trad- ing town of importance, and the capital of Irak, under the caliphs of Bagdad. It was taken by Timur in 1392, when 70,000 of the inhabitants are said to have been massacred. During the seven- teenth century, under Shah Abbas the Great, it be- came the capital of Persia, and reached the climax of its prosperity. It is said to have had between 000,000 and' 1,000,000 inhabitants. It was then tlie emporium of the Asiatic world; the mer- chandise of all nations enriched its bazaars, and ambassadors from Europe and the East crowded its Court. In 1722 it was devastated by the Afghans, and some time afterwards the seat of government was transferred to Teheran (q.v.). ISPICA, e'spe-ka, Val d'. A valley in South- eastern Sicily, five miles southeast of Modica. It is seven miles long, and is famous for its grot- toes, containing graves. In the fourth century, as numerous inscriptions show, these grottoes were used by Christians as tombs.
ISRAEL, iz'ra-el. See Jacob.
ISRAEL, Kjxgdom of. See Jews.
ISRAEL IN EGYPT. An oratorio in English by Handel (1739).
ISRAELITES, Iz'ra-el-its. See Jews.
ISRAELS, es'ra-als', Josef (1824—). A Dutch genre painter, born at Groningen in North Holland. He is of Jewish parentage, and was intended for a commercial career, but he early showed a taste for art. and was sent to Amsterdam, where he studied under Kruseman and Pieneman. Afterwards he became a pupil of Picot and Seheffer, and of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under Delaroche. In 1848 he returned to Amsterdam, and for several years painted historical pictures, still influenced by his last master, Delaroche. His real style was not revealed until his return from Zandvoort. a fishing village near Haarlem, where he had gone for his liealth. He continued to live principally at Amsterdam until he settled at The Hague in 1870. In 1862 his pictures The Cradle" and '"The Ship^vrecked ilariner," exhibited in London, excited much interest. "The Cradle," with its intimate charm, and touch of agreeable sentimentality, was typical of many of the interiors, both in oil and water-color, that he executed afterivards. An example of this later painting is "Expectation." in the Metropolitan iluseum of Art, Xew York City. It is a moving, homely picture of the genre he made famous bv "Interior of the Orphan Asvlum at Katwijk" (1867): "The Frugal Meal :" '"The Silent House." in the Glasgow iluseum ; "An Interior," in the Dordrecht C4allery; "Alone in the World," Amsterdam Gallery; '"'A Son of God's People," "Before Parting." "Through Darkness to Light." His "David Before Saul" is in a different manner. As he grew older, his work gained in breadth and poetic power. The studies of fisher-folk, by which he is equally well Icnown. include the rather melodramatic "Shipwrecked Mariner;" "The Zandvoort Fisherman," in the Amsterdam Gallery; and his great canvas "The Toilers of the Sea." which with "Between the Field and Seashore," and "The Bric-a-brac Dealer." won medals of honor at the Paris Exposition of 1900. He also received a cold medal at the Universal Exposition of 1889. Israels is often compared with ?Iillet, but to Millet's repose he nearly always
