Tehran
(2002 est. pop. 11 million). The city of Tehran, capital of Iran, is located in the north-central part of the country at the foothills of the Elburz Mountains. It is the second largest city in the Middle East, after Cairo, with a population of more than 10 million. According to the historical records, Tehran was first cited by a twelfth-century traveler named Yaqut. Since then, Tehran has been mentioned more regularly in the literature, demonstrating its growing importance.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Safavid monarchs chose Tehran as a temporary residence. In 1796, Agha Mohammad Shah Qajar made Tehran his capital due to its ideal geographic location. However, city conditions were not modernized much during the reigns of Agha Mohammad or his two successors. In fact, it was not until Naser od-Din Shah's reign (1848–1896) that structural changes to the city were undertaken due to the influences of what the Qajar monarch had seen in his travels to Europe.
More substantial improvements to the city were not made again until Reza Shah Pahlavi's reign (1925–1941). During this time, the architectural landscape shifted to the neoclassical style, and many of the older buildings and features of the city were torn down, including ornate gates that were considered symbols of the "old Tehran." Moreover, summer resorts were built in the foothills of the Elburz Mountains, which became a popular retreat for the city's residents. The city underwent another architectural facelift in the early 1950s that was influenced by Iranians who had studied abroad, particularly in the United States. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a tremendous expansion of the population of Tehran and of construction in the city, mainly because of the influx of capital from ample oil revenues. This growth brought with it the usual negative externalities associated with rapid development, such as pollution, housing shortages, crime, and even traffic jams. In the 1980s, the war with Iraq caused severe structural and economic damage to Tehran, which the government worked to restore in the 1990s.
A view of the interior of the Golestan Palace in Tehran. (BRIAN A. VIKANDER/CORBIS)Currently, Tehran is home to several universities, including the famous University of Tehran, as well as museums such as the Archaeological and Ethnological Museums and the Golestan Palace. An international airport is located within the city's periphery to the west. Buses and taxis comprise the main public transportation system in Tehran, but a light rail system is under construction. The government is a major employer of the city's residents, and several industries are based in Tehran, including construction, financial, manufacturing, and petroleum processing. For these reasons, Tehran is considered Iran's cultural, social, political, and economic center.
Further Reading
Adelkhah, Fariba. (2000) Being Modern in Iran. New York: Columbia University Press and Centre d'Études et de Recherches Internationales.
Barthold, W. (1984) An Historical Geography of Iran. Trans. by Svat Soucek. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
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