Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 12 (2018) 757-777 doi: 10.17265/1934-7359/2018.11.001

The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban

Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares

Sanaz Shobeiri

School of Architecture and the Built Environment, University of Westminster, London, NW1 5LS, United Kingdom

Abstract: One of the key current challenges in urban design and planning worldwide is the notion of “scale”, which is important in various levels of decision making for urban spaces such as squares. How “scale” is defined in the field of design and planning will lead to divergent approaches towards urban spaces, such as adaptation, obeying, alteration, and neglect. In order to create successful urban spaces with suitable scales that respond to users’ expectations, it is necessary to minimize the gap between the subjectivity and objectivity, and to this end, this paper studies the chronological process of such changes in Tehran and their impact on the design of one type of space: the urban square. Furthermore, this paper aims to identify if and how the subjectivity and objectivity of squares in Tehran have been changed as a result of chronological phases of transformation, particularly since the foundation of the city in 1524. The findings reveal how aspects of the city’s squares are disappearing, but need to be revived to achieve socio-cultural sustainability. The main methods applied include a review of the related literature, an appropriate analysis, and direct observation.

Key words: Square, Tehran, scale, neighborhood, urban spaces, subjectivity, objectivity.

1. Introduction

In the contemporary global context, one of the most

important issues in the field of design and planning is

the issue of “scale”, which is a factor in various phases

of the entire design process, from the starting concept

until the final product. This approach is necessary in

order to create an artifact that is compatible with—or

more precisely, responsive to—the needs and

expectations of users. At the city level, the issue of

scale can potentially create various and even divergent

possibilities in how people perceive and behave

towards urban spaces. Squares are one of the key urban

spaces in today’s cities, and it is therefore necessary to

consider them in terms of their scale. Some of the ways

in which one can deal with designed urban spaces are

adaptation, obeying, alteration, and neglect.

In order to achieve an urban square that approves

and improves users’ subjectivity, it is first necessary to

study how the issue of scale has chronologically

developed; in other words, the first step in investigating

Corresponding author: Sanaz Shobeiri, Ph.D., research

field: urban development and regeneration.

an appropriate scale for the design of urban spaces in

general and squares in particular is to study the

chronological process of changes in context. It should

be noted that the process of modernization and the

entrance of automobiles in urban areas has affected the

design of cities, and particularly the scales of these

designs. This is a global challenge, and cities have dealt

with this process in different ways, and therefore the

issue should be studied in appropriate detail in each

specific context [1-4].

This paper examines the specified context of the city

of Tehran, and its urban spaces in the form of its

squares. In order to investigate the issue of

chronological changes of “scale” in subjectivity and

objectivity in the design and planning of squares in

Tehran, the paper first studies the city’s expansion and

development, and the dynasties and kings who played a

role in this development. This issue will be discussed in

sections 2-8, after which the paper will go on to analyze

how squares in Tehran have changed over time.

Sections 9-10 will investigate the issue of “scale” in

squares, in terms of subjectivity and objectivity. To

conclude this research, section 11 will touch on the

D DAVID PUBLISHING

The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares

758

disappearing or neglected aspects of scale in squares

that, the author judges, need to be revived. The

methods that will be applied to consider the

chronological process of changes, as well as the

contemporary situation of Tehran and its urban

spaces—in particular its squares, both large and

small—are a review of the related literature, a relevant

analysis, and direct observation.

2. As a Village: Tehran before and during the Mongol Invasion (until the 14th Century)

The Mongol invasion of Iran took the form of three

main attacks that took place between 1219 and 1256.

These invasions, initiated by Genghis Khan, resulted in

the establishment of the Ilkhanate dynasty in Iran,

which ruled from 1256 to 1336, and the fall of the

Khwarezmian1 dynasty (1078-12562) [5-7].

As explained by Anvar in 2011, Tehran, which is

one of the largest cities in the world, was in its infancy

one of many small and trivial villages around the city

of Rey3 and was of such insignificance that the

geographers of the day did not even mention its name,

when listing nearby geographical locations [8].

The earliest records of Tehran as a distinct

geographical location can be traced back to two authors,

Abu Abd-ollah Mohammad ibn Hemad Tehrani Razi in

847, and Mohammad ibn Saeed Doulabi Tehrani in

838-922 [8]. The majority of the historical evidence of

the early days of Tehran indicates that the perimeter of

Tehran extended from the Alborz mountains in the

north to the city of Rey (Ray) in the south. This

description of the scale of the city refers to Tehran

before the Mongol invasion of 1219; the Mongol

attacks affected every city and village in the country to

a certain degree. Tehran during the Mongol invasion is

described as a large and densely populated village

containing orchards and outstanding pomegranate

gardens [8, 9].

Qazvini (1275)4 wrote that the Tehran of those days

was a large village in which people lived in houses

built underground to stay safe from invaders; each time

the village was attacked, people took shelter in their

houses underground, and remained there until the

enemy had left the village, believing it was abandoned.

As a result, Tehran was famous in those days as an

underground village [8, 9].

3. Becoming a City: Tehran during the Safavid5 Dynasty (1501-1723), in Particular under Shah Tahmasp I6 (1524-1576) (Tehran from 1524 to 1723)

During the Mongol invasion, the multiple attacks

caused the decline of the city of Rey, and at the same

time, Tehran gradually started to thrive; in other words,

as a result of the Mongol invasion, Tehran began to

enter a transition phase, transforming from a rural

village into an urban center (for more details, please see

Refs. [8-10]).

In 1537, during the Safavid dynasty, Shah Tahmasp I

went to Tehran to make a pilgrimage to a shrine called

Imamzadeh Hamzeh, located near the shrine of Shah

Abd-ol Azim,7 and it was this experience that drew his

attention to Tehran. He paid at least one visit to this

place and in 1556, ordered a wall to be erected around

it. The wall had 114 towers, each of which bore a verse

from the Holy Quran as a blessing, revealing the central

role that religious beliefs played in the urban designs of

Iran at that time. Tehran had four gates in those days:

the Shah Abd-ol Azim gate in the south, the Shemiran

gate in the north, the Doulab gate in the east, and the

Qazvin gate in the west. This is the process by which

Tehran became a city [3, 4, 8].

At that time, the main city’s structure included a

bazaar, royal citadel,8 and central mosque,9 which were

surrounded by four residential neighborhoods called

Bazaar, Sanglaj, Oudlajan, and Chaleh Meidan. The

co-presence of the bazaar, mosque, and residential

neighborhoods reveals the incorporation of commercial,

religious, and residential aspects in the first phase of

the urban development of Tehran [3, 4, 8].

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The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares

763

Under Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar, the influence of

Western design, and in particular French styles, started

to become apparent in the various functions of the city.

This came about as a result of the presence of European

architects in Iran, and simultaneously, the return of

Iranian-educated architects and engineers from Europe,

and in particular from France. As explained by

Banimasoud in 2009, until the middle of the reign of

Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar, Tehran was known to be a

city with Iranian-Islamic features. From the middle of

the reign of Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar onwards, as a

result of the Western influence, Tehran began to

undergo a period of cultural eclecticism.

While the old part of the city kept its traditional

characteristics, the developing parts started to display

European and Western characteristics. In 1976,

Jamalzadeh described the features of Tehran at the end

of the Qajar dynasty, stating that the city showed signs

of civilization and modernization, but not in a complete

and proper sense; for instance, it had telephone lines

but not piped water; electric lights but not gas; a

national parliament but not a public library; and it had

tramways and automobiles, but not suitable streets for

them to traverse [3, 8, 11, 15].

A further explanation of how the relationship

between tradition and modernity is defined, interpreted,

and reflected in the urban context is beyond the scope

of this research; however, discussions of the

viewpoints of traditionalists and modernists have

formed a key part of the debates that have taken place

among contemporary intellectuals and critics. The

concept of “Iranian modernity” put forward by

Banimasoud in 2009 and “modernization without the

process of modernity” advanced by Ghobadian in 2004

are just two examples of the exciting variety and range

of discussions regarding these viewpoints. One

important facet of the concept of Iranian modernity in

this research is the consequences of the increasing

speed of development and expansion, the growth in

construction, and the increasing population inside the

newly expanded and ramparted Tehran [3, 4, 11, 16, 17].

6. A Capital without Surrounding Walls: Tehran at the Time of Reza Shah Pahlavi22 (1925-1941)

Under Reza Shah Pahlavi, as a result of political,

social, and economic transformations, Tehran

transitioned into an administrative-industrial society.

In order to make the city amenable to these

fundamental changes, the ramparts of the city were

demolished between 1932 and 1937, and the

surrounding moat filled. Furthermore, new

neighborhoods were constructed and added to certain

areas of the city, while some former residential

neighborhoods such as Sanglaj23 were completely

demolished and reconstructed [3, 4, 8].

In the process of these fundamental changes to the

spatial structure of the city, shaped under the effects of

the international movement of modernism, Tehran was

organized in a grid pattern, with streets forming

straight axes; in other words, the previous organic,

irregular, and spontaneous design of the city was

converted into a regular grid network of streets and

buildings, with the potential for expansion in all

directions. As a result, the façade and the identity of the

old town as a medieval city with surrounding walls

were changed into a city that had a completely new

look. The Iranian modernity that started under

Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar, and in particular since

middle of the reign of Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar, came

to its fullest extent at the time of Reza Shah Pahlavi.

This modernity, and then that of the Islamic Republic

(1979-present), entered a phase characterized by a

fissure between tradition and modernity [3, 4, 8, 16].

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he time of the

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Process of Ch

kings that help9, 11]. It shou

r, the most imp

s been transfo

orhoods at th

into an urb

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show a com

Safavid dyna

ehran. This p

hanges in Iran

ped to bring abuld be noted t

portant dates a

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ban conurba

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asty and the l

rocess of cha

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are given in the

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ase Study: Te

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Fig. 14 PastAfsharid, andimage: Refs. [

9. Squaresthe Past

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“square” is e

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, 30].

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The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares

775

Footnotes

1. Also written “Khwarezmid” and “Khwarazmian”. 2. This dynasty enjoyed its fullest power in Iran in

1078-1221, after which wars resulted in the gradual decentralisation of the dynasty’s power. Depending on the source, the duration of authority of this dynasty is written as 1078-1221, 1078-1231, and 1078-1256.

3. Rey or Ray is one of the most ancient cities of Iran, with a history dating to 4,000 BCE. At present, this city is located in the southeast area of Tehran, in district 20. In other words, it is now a suburb of Tehran [16].

4. The original book is called “Asar-ol-Belad va akhbar-ol-Ebad”, and was written in Arabic in 1275. It was translated into Persian and modified later at the time of the Qajar dynasty (Mohammad Shah and Nasser-eddin Shah. It was then revised and additional material included, complemented by Mirhashem Mohaddes in 1994.

5. Also written as the “Safavi” dynasty. 6. Also written “Tahmasb”. 7. The shrine of Shah Abd-ol Azim is located in Rey and is a

key pilgrimage destination for Tehranians. The main areas of this shrine can be dated to 1335 [39].

8. Also written Royal “Arq” or “Arg”, this included the royal family’s dwelling and establishment.

9. The main mosque of the city is known as the Jameh Mosque. “Jameh” means “comprehensive” in Persian, and hence the Jameh Mosque is the city’s principal mosque [40].

10. All diagrams in this paper were graphically edited for presentation, and the text converted into English.

11. This is also written “Agha Mohammad Khan”. 12. This is also written “Nasser al-Din Shah or Nassereddin

Shah”. 13. The center of authority is also called Dar-ol-Khelafeh.

“Dar” in Persian means “house”, and the term “khelafeh” means “authority” and “command”. Hence, “Dar-ol-Khelafeh” means “the center of domination” [2-4, 8, 9, 11].

14. New Year in Iran is called Norouz and occurs at the spring equinox, equivalent to March 20-21.

15. The sources for this diagram are Refs. [3, 4, 11]. 16. The number of gates in Tehran rose to six under the Qajar

dynasty, before the time of Nasser-eddin Shah). 17. Tehran in the first period of the Qajar dynasty (Tehran

1794-1848). 18. Tehran in the second period of the Qajar dynasty (Tehran

in 1848-1925). 19. The sources for this diagram are Refs. [3, 4, 8, 11]. 20. The three gardens were called Khosrow Khan,

Qourkhaneh, and Amanollah Khan [11]. 21. The moat was functional until 1930. During the reign of

Reza Shah Pahlavi. Later, when the city walls were

demolished under Reza Shah Pahlavi, the moat was filled. 22. Reza Shah Pahlavi is also known as Pahlavi I. 23. For more details on the location of this neighborhood,

please see section 3 (“Becoming a city”) in this paper. 24. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi is also known as Pahlavi

II. 25. The term “single-core” focuses on the central core of

Tehran, which has remained in the same place since the time of Shah Tahmasp I.

26. The demolition of the city’s ramparts took place in 1932-1937 under Reza Shah Pahlavi.

27. “Meidancheh” in the Persian language consists of two words: “meidan” and “cheh”. “Meidan” is equivalent to “square” and “cheh” is a suffix that denotes “small” [40].

28. “Bazaarcheh” in the Persian language consists of two words: “bazaar” and “cheh”. The suffix “cheh” means “small” [40].

29. Every year, on the day known as Ashura in Iran and other Islamic countries, a lamentation and public mourning is held for the commemoration of a holy figure in Shia Islam, Imam Husayn. Ashura is held on the 10th day of the month called Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic Arabic calendar. Ashura was the day on which the tragic massacre of Karbala took place in 680 CE. In this massacre, the prophet’s grandson, Husayn, was killed, along with most of his close family members.

30. It should be noted that the main calendar in use in Iran, which was originally formed at the time of the Sassanid Empire, is called “Shamsi” (the Iranian solar calendar). This calendar has been modified and revised over time. In the present format—also known as the Jalali calendar—there are 12 months: Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad, Tir, Mordad, Shahrivar, Mehr, Aban, Azar, Dey, Bahman, and Esfand. The year starts at the exact moment of the vernal equinox. The first six months have 31 days, while the next five have 30, and the last month, Esfand, can have 29 or 30 days. The Zoroastrian Sassanid, also known as the Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE), fell to the Arab Islamic invasion in 651 CE, but the Shamsi calendar that was formed in 621 CE remains the main calendar in use in Iran to the present [41-43].

31. The term “Old Tehran” here refers to the Safavid, Afsharid, Zand, and first-period Qajar dynasties. In other words, the means Tehran from 1501 to 1848 [3, 4].

References

[1] Gandy, M. 2006. “Urban Nature and the Ecological Imaginary.” In In the Nature of Cities, Urban Political Ecology and the Politics of Urban Metabolism, edited by Heynen, N., Kaika, M., and Swyngedouw, E. London and New York: Routledge, 62-73.

[2] Ghobadian, V. 2004. Architecture of Tehran during

The Chronological Process of Changes in Iranian Urban Spaces – A Case Study: Tehran and Its Squares

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