Irradiation of the 1-substituted isoquinoline N-acylimides (3), prepared from isoquinolines (1) by successive N-amination and acylation, brought about a novel photoinduced two-step rearrangement to form the fully unsaturated 1H-1, 3-benzodiazepines (4), which were converted into the indole derivative (10) by treatment with acids via the ring-opened intermediate (8) or into (11) upon irradiation presumably via the tricyclic valence isomer (14).
