Tehran has been experiencing unbalanced and chaotic growth since the Safavid period, especially since it was chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Despite occasional attempts to establish official boundaries and limits for the city, it has continued to expand and develop without proper oversight or control from national authorities. As a result, Tehran has grown haphazardly and irrationally, without proper urban planning principles and scientific regulations that consider the needs of the city and its citizens. This lack of responsibility has led to Tehran’s identity being swallowed up and the city losing its historical heritage and valid identity, as it continues to grow without proper foresight and planning in urban development.

Tehran was initially a large village around Rey, with its own rural characteristics and qualities. After the advent of Islam, the first reliable book that mentions Tehran is “Al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik al-Saqiri”, written in 340 AH. In this book, it is mentioned that Tehran was a large village built underground, with thousands of houses, tunnels, and underground passages. The main occupation of its inhabitants was banditry and raiding caravans traveling from the north, west, and east of Iran towards Rey. (1) This city was located north of Rey and its people built their houses underground for protection. Hamdallah Mustawfi, in his book “Nuzhat al-Qulub” in the early 8th century AH, writes about the expansion of this city during that time: The invasion of the Mongol army into Rey led the inhabitants to seek refuge in Tehran, which had numerous underground tunnels and passages. This

Tehran during the Safavid era.

After the invasion of the Mongols, the second stage of Tehran’s movement towards progress and development begins from the Safavid era. Shah Tahmasb Safavi, who had made Qazvin his capital, had a strong connection to the village of Tehran because the tomb of his ancestor, Seyyed Hamzeh, was located near the grave of Abdolazim Hassani, and he would often visit it for pilgrimage. He became interested in the village of Tehran and gradually started to spend long periods of time there. This caught the attention of the Safavid king to the point where he ordered for a strong wall to be built around the village. In the year 961 AH, on the orders of Shah Tahmasb, the official buildings of Tehran were constructed and 114 towers were built, each representing a chapter of the Quran, and under each tower, verses from the Quran were buried. In addition to the towers and walls that were built around Tehran, there were about six

During the Safavid era, due to the proximity of Tehran to Shah Abdolazim, a large garden was built in Tehran and a building was also created for the temporary residence of the Shah. This garden was completed in 998 AH and Shah Abbas would temporarily reside there during his visits to Shah Abdolazim. During the reign of Shah Suleiman Safavi, another mansion was built with more splendor in this garden and Shah Sultan Hossein Safavi received the ambassador of the Ottoman Empire in this mansion. After the invasion of Afghanistan and the occupation of Isfahan, the capital of Iran, by Mahmoud Afghan, Shah Tahmasb II resided in Tehran for a while and as soon as the Afghans approached Tehran, he fled to Mazandaran. The people of Tehran showed brave resistance against the enemy’s attack and killed many of the Afghan invaders. Eventually, the city fell into the hands of the Afghan soldiers and they took over the government mansion and the Arg

Peter, an Italian tourist who visited Tehran in 997 AH (before the invasion of the Afghans), wrote the following about Tehran after the reconstruction and development carried out by two of the Safavid kings (Shah Tahmasb and Shah Abbas): “Tehran is larger than Kashan and has a smaller population. One third of the city’s land (at that time, Tehran had taken the form of a city) is dedicated to buildings and two thirds to the construction of gardens. Chinar trees have been planted in all the streets and alleys. Some of these trees are so large that four people holding hands can barely reach around the trunk. For this reason, Tehran can be called a “Chinar Garden” in terms of the abundance of these trees.” (1)

After the extinction of the Safavid dynasty, Nader Shah Afshar appointed his son, Reza Qoli Mirza, as the ruler of Tehran in 1154 AH. After the assassination of Nader Shah Afshar and the emergence of the Zand dynasty in the political scene of Iran, Karim Khan Zand, due to his constant conflict with Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, chose Tehran as his center of residence as it was close to Mazandaran (the main and major residence of the Qajar tribe). He made efforts to develop the city and ordered the construction of a large government building and a seminary there. Construction of the building began in the summer of 1173 AH. After Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar was murdered in Sari, Karim Khan’s safety was ensured to some extent. Ghafoor Khan became the ruler of Tehran and Karim Khan himself left for Shiraz. The construction of the government building remained unfinished. After Karim Khan

Tehran during the reign of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar and Fath-Ali Shah.

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, a ruthless and heartless man who had gained power through violence, after 17 years of turmoil, bloodshed, and looting of the people, in the year 1210 AH, in the same hall where he had once been brought as a captive with his family and relatives in the presence of Karim Khan, placed the crown on his head and chose Tehran as the capital. As he was ambitious and loved to travel, he named Tehran “Dar al-Khilafah” in hopes of one day becoming the caliph of all Muslims. Two years later, on the night of the 21st of Dhu al-Hijjah 1212 AH, at the age of sixty-three, after nineteen years of turmoil, murder, and plunder, and two years of reign, he closed his eyes to the world and Tehran became the permanent capital of the Qajar dynasty. (1)

After him, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ruled over Iran for 37 years. During his reign, Tehran became more prosperous than before. After his death, his son Mohammad Shah took over the throne. During this time, Tehran remained in the same state as before and there were not many significant changes to mention. After him, his son Naser al-Din Shah, with the help of the skilled, patriotic and renowned minister of Iran, Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, ascended to the throne.

During the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, after the 37-year rule of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, it was one of the darkest periods in Iran’s history and the longest reign of a king that our country has ever seen. Before he could celebrate the beginning of his 50th year of rule, he was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani in the holy shrine of Abdul-Azim. Despite the terrible effects and tragedies that Naser al-Din Shah’s rule and centralization had on Iran’s political and social landscape, and the country being vulnerable to the hands of colonial looters, the people became more impoverished and destitute. Tehran, from a different perspective, experienced new changes in the process of capitalist growth and expansion, particularly in the spread of capitalism and the imitation of social relations from industrialized European countries. Naser al-Din Shah, during his reign, changed the boundaries of Tehran twice, expanded its territory, and built

Tehran expanded at the beginning of the awakening era and during the reign of Mozaffar al-Din Shah, but its general appearance remained the same as when it was adorned and adorned by Naser al-Din Shah. Political and social changes during the reign of Mohammad Ali Shah, the grandson of Naser al-Din Shah, did not bring about any changes in the structure and appearance of Tehran. Generally, from the beginning of the Constitutional Revolution to the third coup of February 29, 1921, Tehran remained in the same state as during the reign of Naseri and his successors (Mozaffar al-Din Shah and Mohammad Ali Mirza).

When we look at Tehran from a historical perspective, it can be considered as the inheritor of ancient glories such as Pasargadae and Persepolis, and the successor of a high position that was once held by Shiraz and Isfahan until a few centuries ago. With the rise of Tehran, Media once again regained its superiority that was lost during the time of Cyrus against Pars. This is because the new capital was placed in a location that is almost identical to the ancient city of Ragha (known as Rey in the Avesta), the modern-day Ray, which shares the ancient glories of Ecbatana and is a part of the superiority of Iran. However, if we compare it, Tehran is a new city, a city that has only been in existence for less than seven hundred years, compared to the days when Ragha or “Ray” was being forgotten. In fact, Tehran’s rise to the status of a capital began in 1788

Tehran during the Pahlavi era.

During the reign of Reza Shah, Tehran underwent major transformations and its urban structure changed according to the needs of the government. New buildings, facilities, and streets were constructed or renovated, and the city expanded in size. Infrastructure was also developed to meet the economic and social needs. After consolidating his position as king, Reza Shah implemented reform measures, starting with Tehran. The process of urbanization and the expansion of Tehran began in 1929, following a series of fundamental actions in the development of a modern system. The city expanded by one kilometer based on a map prepared by the municipality, and its boundaries were defined as approximately four kilometers from the north to Shahr-eza (Enghelab) Street, from the south to the train station, from the east to the power plant (Jaleh Square), and from the west to Bagh-e-Shah. Beyond this boundary, it was considered as the outskirts of the city. The area of Tehran within the new

On September 25th, 1941, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi sat on the throne instead of his father. This event took place during the chaos of World War II. The most significant event at the beginning of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s reign in Tehran was the formation of the Allied Leaders Conference in Tehran. This conference, attended by Stalin, Churchill, and Franklin Roosevelt, resulted in the release of a joint statement signed by the allied leaders, guaranteeing Iran’s independence. (1) During the second Pahlavi era, Tehran continued to expand and attract more immigrants. On April 20th, 1949, resolutions were passed in the Council of Ministers, resulting in the final boundaries of the city being changed. As a result, the total area of Tehran was determined to be 36 square kilometers, with the potential to expand up to 58 kilometers if necessary. For the first time during this era, the prioritization of water pipelines in Tehran was established.

During his short tenure as prime minister, Razmara took action in the field of urban reforms in southern Tehran. The covering of the Firouzabad River, which had been a long-standing wish of the residents of southern Tehran, was carried out. This action was very commendable in terms of public health and improving the environment of Tehran. Additionally, the removal of the crows in southern Tehran with the aim of building a public park on their land and providing housing for the crows was considered one of Razmara’s urban and developmental actions. With these actions, Razmara had gained great popularity among the people of Tehran. (1).

During his 27-month tenure as prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh was also successful in providing remarkable services for the well-being of Tehran residents and expanding the city based on the basic needs of the people. During this period, the trend of migration to Tehran was significantly reduced, the implementation of non-oil economy policies created opportunities for new employment in the provinces, and led to the growth of agriculture in rural areas. The creation of income opportunities in cities prevented rural and provincial migration to Tehran. During Mossadegh’s time, the population of Tehran exceeded one million and new neighborhoods were built outside the city limits to address the housing problem of Tehran residents.

After the coup of 28 Mordad 1332, a series of strategic plans and projects led to the expansion of cities. Crooked and narrow streets and winding alleys began to emerge in all corners of Tehran, showing the unreasonable growth that was not based on urban planning regulations and forward-thinking principles. (1) The political and economic centrality of Tehran and the continuous influx of migrants to this city from the beginning indicated that Tehran would face problems, which today, after more than two hundred years of being the capital, have become the main challenges of this metropolis and their quick resolution seems unlikely. These problems include air and environmental pollution, continuous waves of migration, inadequate electricity, water and gas networks, unemployment, abnormal social growth such as theft and addiction, severe class division, and disorder in the distribution of goods, each of which creates a chain of problems that cannot be fully described in this note. After the revolution of 1357, the policy of centralization continued in Tehran

Note:

1- Tehran, the Gateway to Iran’s History, by Hossein Maleki, First Edition 1370, Tehran: Nashr-e Esharh.