The Mosques at Ispahan According to an inscription, the portal on the Meidan opposite the Ali Kapu received its tile mosaic in 1602-3, suggesting that the construction probably begun soon after 1598 was already well advanced. An inscription near the mihrab names the architect Muhammad Riza ibn Ustad Hussain of Isfahan and is dated 1618. The mosque was once called the Masjid-i-Sadr or the Masjid-i-Fath Allah, but is now known by the name of Shaykh Lutfullah, the father-in-law of Shah Abbas. It was reserved for the private worship
Ibid
798
Political and Cultural History of Mam
of the Shah, which may explain the absence of a minaret and the
unusual plan.
