Isfahan (Persian: اصفهان‎, romanized: Esfahān), from its ancient designation Aspadana and later Spahan in middle Persian, rendered in English as Ispahan, is a major city in Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is located 406 kilometres (252 miles) south of Tehran and it's the capital of Isfahan Province. Isfahan has a population of approximately 1.5 million, making it the third-largest city in Iran, after Mashhad and Tehran, and the second-largest metropolitan area.