History

 

The history of Golestan Palace dates back to the time of Shah Abbas Safavi (988 AH) and in a part of Pietro Delavaleh's travelogue (in 1028 AH) the city of Tehran was described with its  maple trees that surrounded the royal palace (as the beginning of royal citadel). More or less this city was noticed in the next dynasties until the reign of Karim Khan Zand between 1173 and 1180 A.H., during of which this complex underwent fundamental changes with the construction of a court house, but the real importance of the citadel can be attributed to the era of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. At the end of the Zandiye period and after Karim Khan's death (1193 AH), he took advantage of Iran's internal crisis and led the Qajar tribes from the Gorgan plain, which was the center of their settlement, to the southern slopes of Alborz, i.e. Tehran and Damghan provinces, and tried to gradually open its way to Fars, which was the center of government and power of Zandieh.However, Lord Karzen in the book of "Persia and Persian Question" about Tehran's selection as a capital by Agha Mohammad Khan and establishment of a royal headquarters in this city, among other reasons referred to the closeness of Tehran to his property and tribe's settlement in Gorgan and  keeping Russians under surveillance. Agha Mohammad Khan returned to Tehran after overcoming Lotfali Khan Zand in Sha'ban 1209 AH and in Norouz 1210 AH he crowned as the King of Iran

Takyeh Dowlat (lit. "State Theater")

Takyeh Dowlat by the order of Naser al-Din Shah and under the supervision of Dost Ali Khan Muayer al-Mamalek (superintendent of the mint) was built for a period of about five years (1284-90 AH) at a cost of 300,000 Tomans. At the time of Takyeh Dolat's construction there were about 40 to 45 Takaya in Tehran, and over time increased and reached 70 to 80 Takaya

In the meantime, because of its type of architecture, the Takyeh Dolat  had attracted the attention of Iranian and non-Iranian historians and art scholars more than the other old Takaya of Tehran, such as the "Royal Court Takyeh and Haj Mizra Aghassi Takyeh". Regarding the reasons for the construction of the Takyeh Dolat, in the History of Golestan Palace and Royal Buildings book, written by Yahya Zoka, it is stated: "The most reliable and extensive takaya of Tehran, where the state ta'zija was held, were the takyeh of Haj Mirza Aghassi and the old state takyeh which It was also called Abbas Abad. The high reception of the people, especially the women, to the religious shows, as well as the smallness of Abbas abad's takyeh space, hindered the work of performing Shabih Gardani, and requirements and situation of that time demanded a bigger and wider takiyeh, therefore Naser al-Din Shah ordered the construction of Shams al-Emareh and also issued an order to Dost Ali Khan Muayer al-Mamalek to build an extensive Takyeh inside the royal citadel. This building was located on the southeast of Golestan Garden and on the southwest of Shams al-Emareh, where the state warehouse of the city's citadel used to be located. Regarding the exact location of the state Takyeh, there are slight differences in the remaining documents, despite this matter, the location of this building in the southwest of Golestan Palace, next to Shams al-Emareh and opposite the former Shah Mosque, has been confirmed, but regarding the plot of land used for the construction of this building, researchers have expressed different opinions. Some believe that only Amir Kabir's residential house was demolished after his death and was dedicated for this purpose, and others wrote that Amir Kabir's house, along with the state prison and dungeon which was a ruined bathhouse, and the old warehouses, were the building sites of state takyeh. In the book of Iranian architects; From the beginning of the Islamic period to the end of the Qajar period, referring to the list of master Yahya Zoka (the article of architects and master craftsmen of the Islamic period) and also in the article of Mr. Enayatullah Shahidi entitled "State Takyeh and incomplete and incorrect reviews about it", citing Professor Karim Pirnia, master Hossein Ali Mehrin is mentioned as the architect of the state Takyeh

Building of State Takyeh was circular and brick and considering that there is no trace left of this magnificent building, based on the available information and also the color image of this Takyeh by the late Kamal al-Mulk, which is the most authentic document of this building, we will introduce its architecture. : Some researchers such as "Ms. Karlaserna", "Dr. Fourier" and "Lord Curzon" have considered the architecture of the State Takyeh as an adaptation of London's Albert Hall (Albert Hall) or western theaters and amphitheatres. Of course, considering that Naser al-Din Shah's first trip to Europe took place in 1290 AH and according to the government's documents, it was made during 1284-90 AH, this opinion is a little thought-provoking. Other researchers, including Bahram Bayzaei, Mehdi Forough and Yahya Zaka, also believe that the building of state Takyeh was designed and built based on the design of city squares, some caravanserais and takaya. The outside shape of State Takyeh building was an octagonal prism and the inside was a complete cylinder with a middle diameter of about 60 meters. This building was designed with a height of about twenty-four meters in four floors (including cellars and basement) with an approximate area of 3824 square meters and a capacity of about twenty thousand people. The foundation was weak and was placed on loose soil and from the beginning, this created problems for its resistance and stability 

The State Takyeh had three entrances: the main and large entrance on the eastern side of the Takyeh was for men, with a double leaf door and gabled transom. The entrance on the west side was for women, which was on the side of the citadel square, with  gabled transom and six small minarets on both sides that were covered with tiles. The third entrance was a meandrous and dark corridor that connected the dais of Takyeh to the south side of the palace and used by the king to enter the Takyeh

Harem or Farah Abad Mansion

Golestan Palace from the north side was connected with the Harem, which was also called Andaron (Interior Residence) and Farah Abad, by several doors and narrow corridors. Before the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, the harem was the same buildings, rooms and halls of Fath Ali Shah's era, and according to the late Moayer al-Mamalek, although this part of the royal palace was not large in size, it had a pleasant architectural style.

At the beginning of the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, when major and important changes were made in the royal citadel buildings, according to the Hedayat's account, important changes were made in the interior residence of Haj Ali Khan Hajib al-Dowleh in 1271 AH.

After the number of women in Naser al-Din Shah's harem began to increase and the space became too cramped for them, they decided to expand the interior residence again and make it larger. For this purpose, in 1299 A.H., under the supervision of Agha Ibrahim Khan Amin al-Sultan, they destroyed all the buildings which were built by Hajib al-Dowlah, and expand the interior residence. After the indoor buildings around the garden and its yard were finished, in 1303 AH, Naser al-Din Shah decided to build a new style palace in the middle of the garden as his dormitory. The construction of this palace was entrusted to Mohammad Ibrahim Khan Amin Sultan. The construction of the palace took a whole year and it started on Sunday, Rajab 9, 1304 AH. This palace was completely in the European style and was built and decorated like the Dolme Palace of the Ottoman Sultan Garden.

Exit Mansion

In the past, a large and long building which attached to the northeast side of Shams al-Emareh, divided the Golestan garden into two parts, that building was called the Exit Mansion. From east to west, this building includes: Museum Room, Golestan Mirror hall, Treasure house and Royal wardrobe. The foundation of this palace was laid during the time of Agha Mohammad Khan, but it ended in 1216 AH during the reign of Fath Ali Shah. Naser al-Din Shah, after returning from the Europe expedition, because of building a bigger museum, he ordered to destroy this building in 1296 AH and turned its place into a lake or a large pool, which connects the pool in front of Badgir  (Wind Catcher Mansion) and Shams al-Emareh and the pool in front of the main palace. This pool was filled in the beginning of the first Pahlavi reign and is currently dedicated to green space. The name of Golestan Palace was taken from the name of the room which was called Golestan Hall of Fath Ali Shahi, this room was in the Exit Mansion, and after a while all the royal palaces were called by this name, but sometimes the new Mirror hall is also called Golestan Hall.