TEHRAN
Also
spelled TEHERAN, was one of the villages of REY with rebellious
inhabitants. They not only disregarded their governments, but were in
constant clashes amongst themselves, to the extent that the
inhabitants of its twelve quarters cannot visit one another.
The
first European to mention Tehran was Don Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo,
ambassador to the king of Castile to the court of Timur ( Tameriane
), who visited the town in 1404.
Tehran
was the home of several Safavid rulers of Persia from 16th
to the 18th century.
Now,
Tehran is the successor to the ancient Iranian capital of Rey, which
was destroyed by Mongols.
Tehran
became a capital in 1789 under qajar rule, replacing Shiraz in that
function, and
in 1796, Aqa Mohammad Khan was enthroned there. His successor, Fath
Ali Shah (1797-1834) continued
the transformation of town and had the Shah's Mosque (today,
the Imam Khomeini Mosque) and Golestan Palace built, while
Naser-ad-Din Shah (1848-1896) enlarged the walls and commissioned
the Sepahsalar Mosque (today, Mottahari Mosque).
During
the 19th century, the center of city remained
focused around the palace and the bazaar. However Reza Shah
(1925-1941) preferred to live in his palace to the west of town or
in those of Sa'ad-Abad, 25 Kilometers to the north. This was the
beginning of the vertical north-south axis, which is the
characteristic of Tehran.
Today,
Tehran city area is about 1,200 sq Kms with population of
over 12,000,000.
Some Places of Interest:
