Sir Robert afterwards gives an account of the ruins. From one end of the city to the other, under avenues old and new, through the gardens, and round their delightful "paradises," of shade and fountain, he hardly saw a single creature moving. If, says he, "Isfahan continues fifty years so totally abandoned of its sovereign's notice as it is now, Isfahan will become a total ruin, amidst the saddest of wildernesses." The name of this city is said to have been Sepahan, which it received from the Persian kings, in consequence of its having been the general place of rendezvous for their armies. "This famous city," says Mr. Kinneir[296], "has been so minutely described, even when at the height of its glory, by many travellers, and particularly by Chardin, that it will only be necessary to state the changes that have taken place since the period in which he wrote. The wall, which then surrounded the city, was entirely destroyed by the Afghans, who have left many striking marks of their savage and barbarous habits in every part of the kingdom. The suburb of Julfa has been reduced from twelve thousand to six hundred families; most of the others have shared the same fate; and a person may ride ten miles amidst the ruins of this immense capital. The spacious houses and palaces, which opened to the Royal Avenue, are almost all destroyed. The first view, however," continues Mr. Kinneir, "which the traveller has, on coming from Shirauz, of this great metropolis, is from an eminence, about five miles from the city, when it bursts at once upon his sight, and is, perhaps, one of the grandest prospects in the universe. Its ruinous condition is not observable at a distance; all defects being hid by high trees and lofty buildings; and palaces, colleges, mosques, minarets, and shady groves, are the only objects that meet the eye." The bazaars, constructed by Shah Abbas, which were covered in with vaults, and lighted by numerous domes, are of prodigious extent, and proclaim the former magnificence of the city. They extend considerably more than a mile.