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Royal Citadel of Tehran
In 1942 AD, dark colored and plain terracotta vessels were found in the Darus region of Shemiran, which belonged to the second millennium BC. Also, in 1968 AD, in Qeytariyeh, Shemiran, quantities of red, gray, and yellow terracotta vessels were found in graves that belonged to three thousand years ago, i.e., the first millennium BC (1200-800). In recent years, a skeleton of a woman has been found in Molavi area of Tehran, which according to archaeologists goes back to 7 thousand years ago, i.e. the fifth millennium BC.
In the past, Tehran was a hamlet located in one of the seventeen villages of Ray city named Qasran. In the ancient times, Ray had famous and inhabited villages, one of which was named Qasran, which was divided into two parts, internal and external. The boundaries of Qasran were limited from the south to the northern slopes of Bibi Shahrbano mountain, from the east to Damavand, from the north to the Mazandaran mountain range, and from the west to Kan. Meanwhile, Tehran was located in the south of Mount Damavand and the great city of Ray. Tehran remained a not very important place until the Mongol invasion, and according to historical documents, its neighboring villages such as Dolab, Tajrish and even Vanak (Ivan) were more famous. From 1100s AD onwards, the name and fame of Tehran gradually emerged and historians and geographers mention this village in their books. Yaqut Hamavi (1174 – 1229) after escaping from the prison of Mongol troops and entering the city of Ray, based on what he heard, describes Tehran as follows: "Tehran is a big village which is located 6 km from Ray, and the houses of its inhabitants are underground and no one can enter them except the residents themselves. The people have rebelled against the ruler of their time many times and he had no choice but to tolerate them. This village has 12 neighborhoods; whose residents are in conflict with each other. In Tehran, there are many interwoven gardens and orchards that prevent the attackers from rushing in suddenly, but despite this, they do not keep cattle, cows and sheep due to the fear of being stolen and do farming manually. He also mentions some of the scholars of this city.
The situation of Tehran before Islam and the early Islamic centuries
the situation of Tehran in the Timurid period: also in the Timurid period, Clavijo (died 1412 AD), envoy of Spain King to the court of the Amir Timur Gorkani (1369 – 1404 AD) on his way to Samarkand, spent a few days in Tehran and was the first European to visit Tehran on January 6, 1404 AD. He describes Tehran as a big city that does not have a fence or wall around it and all kinds of comforts can be found in it.
The situation of Tehran in the Safavid period
Although Tehran began to develop from the 1200s AD onwards, and until the beginning of the 1500 AD, i.e. when the Safavids appeared, it had changed from a small village to a semi-urban state, but its real prestige and fame started from the time of Shah Tahmasb Safavi (1523 – 1576 AD). In 1554 AD, Shah Tahmasb built a rampart around Tehran. The length of this rampart was around 6 km, which is 6 thousand paces, and it had 114 towers, as many as the chapters of the Holy Qur'an, and its four gates were the connecting bridge with the outside of the city. The distance between the towers was 53 paces. The four gates of Tehran during the Safavid era were: A - Hazrat Abdul Azim or Isfahan Gate in the south of Tehran, which was located on the north side of Molavi Street, the beginning of Hazrati Bazaar. B - Dolab gate in the east of Tehran, which at that time was located on Ray Street, about Bouzarjomehri intersection (15 Khordad St.) at the entrance of Nayeb al-Saltaneh Bazaar. C- Shemiran Gate, in the northeast of old Tehran, which was located at the entrance of Pamenar Street, before Cherag Bargh (Amir Kabir) Street. D - Qazvin Gate in the west of Tehran at that time, which was located near Shapur Square (Vahdat Islami) at the entrance to Qavam al-Dowleh Bazaar. During the time of Shah Tahmasb, no special measures were taken to build government or royal buildings in Tehran, and only by the order of his sister, a public bath, a Takyeh, and a school called Khanom were built in Chaleh Meydan neighborhood, which still the name of passage of public bath and school of Khanom has remained in the minds of old people. Most of the lands inside the rampart of Shah Tahmasb were barren ones and vast gardens and fields, and the residential areas were a small part of these lands inside the rampart. Della Valle (1586-1652), an Italian traveler who visited Tehran during the time of Shah Abbas I Safavi, describes Tehran as a city bigger than Kashan but with a small population, which is covered with large gardens. Thomas Herbert, one of the English nobles and courtiers who visited Tehran about ten years after Della Valle, described it as a city with three thousand white adobe houses. According to him, the market of the city has two parts, with and without roof, and a stream passes through it, which divides into two branches and passes through the city and irrigates the fields and gardens inside the rampart. The successors of Shah Abbas also built buildings in this city. After the fall of the Safavid government by the Afghans and their capture of Tehran, Ashraf Afghan turned Tehran into a base for his military operations and a fortress to confront his opponents in the north and northwest of Iran. The Afghans occupied Tehran for 5 years and built buildings, including a gate called Asad al-Dowleh, in the north of Shah Tahmasab rampart, which connected the citadel to the desert and outside the rampart. Their purpose in building this gate was to escape to the desert during the enemy's invasion and the fall of the citadel. This gate was called by the same name until the time of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1848 – 1895 AD), but based on the Karshish map drawn in 1275 AD, its name was changed to Darvazeh Dowlat Gate.
The situation of Tehran during the Afsharid era
Ashraf Afghan, after defeated by Nader Shah (1735 - 1747 AD) in the Mehmandoost Damghan battle, asked the ruler of Tehran for help and he rushed to his aid with 5 thousand soldiers, but Nader Shah again inflicted a severe defeat on him. After this defeat, the Afghans looted Tehran and killed the city's influential people. During the time of Nader Shah, Tehran was of his interest due to its military importance and he often made this city his camp.
The situation of Tehran during the period of Zand dynasty
Karim Khan, after defeating his rivals, especially his last rival, Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, father of Agha Mohammad Khan, sits on the throne in Tehran. Due to its geographical location and accessibility to four corners of the country, Tehran was the focus of Karim Khan, so he planned to move his court from Shiraz to Tehran, but later he changed his mind. During the time of Karim Khan Zand, the passage to the royal citadel, which was created during the Afghans, was blocked.
The situation of Tehran during the Qajar period
After the death of Karim Khan and the victory over the claimants to the throne, especially Jafar Khan Zand, and the capture of Isfahan, Agha Mohammad Khan also captured Tehran and a year later in 1786 AD, he ascended the royal throne in Tehran and this city officially became the capital of Iran.
Olivier (a French orientalist, traveler, physician and botanist) who was present in Tehran at the end of the reign of Agha Mohammad Khan and the beginning of the reign of Fath Ali Shah (1797 – 1834 AD), described this city as follows: "It seems that the Afghans had been completely destroyed Tehran, because today the walls, markets, mosques and people's houses have been repaired. Agha Mohammad Khan, who placed his capital in this city, built caravanserais and good places for travelers and merchants, so that today, Tehran is considered the best city in Iran. All the fences are made of mud. The perimeter of the city rampart is more than two miles. There are many large gardens full of fruit trees and in the middle of each side of the rampart they have built a gate that in times of necessity and siege, the city and its gates are protected by means of round towers that are more than 300 paces and two or three cannons are placed in them. In this report, the two northern and southern gates of the royal citadel are not considered among the gates of the city.
After Tehran was chosen as the capital, its development began with the increase in population. For example, after the capture of Fars province by Agha Mohammad Khan, 12 thousand families were moved from this province to the vicinity of Tehran. After the death of Agha Mohammad Khan, his nephew, Fath Ali Khan rushed to Tehran from Shiraz and was officially crowned in Tehran on the day of Eid al-Fitr 1212 AH. During the period of Feth Ali Shah Qajar, following the agreement of Finkenstein, the first French military delegation arrived in Tehran. The officers and engineers of this delegation established two cannon factories in Tehran and Isfahan. Among the monuments that were left in Tehran from the time of this delegation's trip, Mashgh square was in the northern area of Tehran, adjacent to the moat and the rampart. This field was assigned to the military training of soldiers based on the European style. This area maintained its military function as the center of Kazakh Khaneh until the end of the Qajar period. The return of Iranian students from Europe also led to some changes in Tehran, such as the publication of the first Iranian newspaper, News Paper, by Mirza Saleh Shirazi, or the preparation of structural drawing of Dar al-Funun School by Mirza Reza Mohandes.
During the time of Feth Ali Shah, the urban structure of Tehran grew significantly, and during this period, public buildings such as baths, mosques, schools, water tanks, refrigerators and aqueducts, caravanserais, shops, and Takaya were built according to the needs of the population living in each neighborhood. The most excellent buildings in Tehran in terms of architecture and decorations were built inside the Royal Citadel area, especially in the inner and outer parts of Golestan Palace. After the death of Fath Ali Shah, Mohammad Mirza came to Tehran from Tabriz and sat on the throne. In 1845 AD, the population of Tehran increased and the lack of water became a source of torment. By the order of Mohammad Shah Qajar, a new river was directed from the Karaj River to Tehran. During the period of Mohammad Shah Qajar (1834 – 1848 AD) no significant buildings were built in Tehran and its surroundings. Only one bazaar named Abbas Abad was built in the south of the city, which led to the new neighborhood of Mohammadieh, but it was not very prosperous because it was not located on the main route of the market. To solve this problem, in 1847 AD, a gate was created in the southern rampart of the city called Mohammadiyeh (new gate) to facilitate the movement of merchants to this market. In this way, the number of gates in Tehran, including the northern and southern gates of the citadel, increased to seven.
During the 50-year rule of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1895 – 1848 AD), the life style of the people changed by adapting the European ones, and the face and structure of the city changed. Amir Kabir, the first chancellor of Naser al-Din Shah, organized the health, police and economic affairs of the capital within three years. He established factories such as cloth weaving, sugar making, porcelain and crystal making, paper making, carriage making, cast iron and metal work and other small industries. During this period, a governmental organization was established for collecting garbage and clean up the city, the city's tower and ramparts were repaired, and a weapons factory was opened in Tehran. Also, the city's water became plentiful due to the dredging of the stream donated by Haj Mirza Aghasi, which brings water from Karaj to Tehrani. Also, the palace and the citadel were rebuilt by the order of Amir Kabir, and with the placement of war cannons around the citadel square, it was called artillery square. The alleys inside the citadel were paved for carriages, and with the government's encouragement to use carriages, the need for carriage-lined and paved streets increased. Dar al-Funun was established in 1869 AD and five ministries were created with the aim of managing government affairs. With the arrival of Dar al-Funun graduates, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Science were added to the council. In the bazaar area, Sabzeh Meidan Square was renovated and the execution pole was moved from this square and took to the square in front of New Gate in the south of the city, which was known as Execution Square until the contemporary period. In the south of the square, the bazaar and Sarai Amir were built, which became the place of hat tailors and shoemakers, and became known as the cobbler's bazaar. A series of workshops and other parts were also added around Hajib al-Dowleh Timche. With the transfer of cannons from the Arg Square to the new Topkhaneh (Artillery) Square, the Citadel Square became a public promenade and was named Golshan Garden, but among the people it became known as the Maidan Garden, which was one of the most peaceful promenades for the people of Tehran at that time. In 1867 AD, the population growth leads to the need of city expansion. Therefore, Naser al-Din Shah ordered the expansion of the city. The map of the new city was presented by the French master of Dar al-Funun, Buhler in the form of an octagon. It takes about 12 years to prepare the new rampart and moat. The perimeter of the new rampart is estimated to be about 17960 meters, which had twelve gates. At that time, 13 years after the completion of the Topkhaneh Square building, the first Bank of Tehran (Bank of England) was located in this building. One of the most important European phenomena that took place after Naser al-Din Shah's trip to Europe was the gas lamp. In1879 AD, Amin al-Mulk imported a gas engine from Europe, and this factory provided the only lighting for the Topkhaneh Square and a number of streets around the citadel, such as Naseriyeh (Nasser Khosro) and Alaa al-Dowleh (Ferdowsi). This factory did not last long, because it was not easy to get coal and gas for lighting in Iran. The creation of a railway from Tehran to the city of Ray in 1888 AD and the construction of a network of horse-drawn wagon lines in 1889 AD were among the last measures that changed the face of Tehran during the Naseri era.
Muzaffar al-Din Mirza arrived in Tehran from Tabriz on June 5, 1996 and was crowned in Badgir Mansion, which was cooler than other buildings due to the heat of the weather. During this period, the educational system was invented by Mirza Hassan Rushdieh and several high schools were established. During the Mozafari period, two more hospitals were built in Tehran and the first public cinema was opened in 1902 AD. In addition, circus as a new phenomenon started its work in Tehran for the first time in 1898 AD. Among the factories of Mozaffari period, we can mention Amin al-Dowleh sugar factory, machine brick factory and Amin al-Zarb electric factory. In the 11th year of Muzaffar al-Din Shah's reign, the use of electric lights became common in the streets of Tehran, houses, mosques and schools. The constitutional movement in the city of Tehran started with the organization of freedom seekers in 1905 AD, during this period and on August 5, 1906, after the dismissal of Ein al-Dowleh and the succession of Mushir al-Dowleh, Muzaffar al-Din Shah signed the constitutional decree and the order for the formation of the National Council in Sahibqaranieh Palace. The chancellor considered Baghe Baharestan mansion, which was the government guest house at that time, as a place for National Council. On Sunday, October 7, 1906, the National Assembly was opened in Golestan Palace. After that, the meetings of the National Assembly were held in the big room of Baharestan mansion, which was a magnificent, decorated and furnished hall. Adl Muzaffar's tablet was installed on the façade of the National Assembly building on December 23, 1906. Shortly after, Muzaffar al-Diin Shah died on the 9th of January of the same year, and his body was placed in trust with great honor in Takiye Dowlat, and the parliament was closed for three days to honor him.
The coronation ceremony of Mohammad Ali Shah was held in the citadel on January 20, 1906. The assassination of Amin al-Sultan on August 30, 1907 made the Shah determined to dismantle the constitutional system. On March 9, 1908 when Mohammad Ali Shah was going to Dushan Tape, there was an attempt on his life. This incident made him determined to make a serious decision on this matter. He went from the citadel to Baghe Shah on June 4, 1908 and with all-out attacks and using the power of artillery, he destroyed and looted the parliament and the center of leading associations and also killed several constitutionalist leaders. He did not return to the citadel during the 13 months of his autocratic rule and until the conquest of Tehran.
On July 17, 1909, the High Council of Mujahedeen in Tehran elected Ahmad Mirza, the eldest son of Mohammad Ali Shah, who was no more than 12 years old at that time, to the throne. Since he was under age, this assembly appointed Azod al-Mulk, who was considered one of the dignitaries of the Qajar dynasty, as the viceroyalty. Ahmad Shah's independent rule began on July 21, 1914, at the same time as the start of the First World War, and continued until December 11, 1925, when the National Council decreed the end of the Qajar dynasty. During this period, few health centers were established. Urban transportation, especially cars, expanded more after the constitutional period and the First World War. Apart from the hotels and inns that were open in the middle of the Qajar period, on Alaa al-Dowleh (Ferdowsi) street, many others also appeared in the streets around Topkhaneh Square, some of which are still open. Important service and commercial centers such as the Shahanshahi Bank, the Post Office, the Customs Office, the Telegraph Office, and the Police Station were still located in Topkhaneh Square.
Source: Tehran Royal Citadel, Golestan Palace - Abbas Khaksar