HISTORY OF TABRIZ

LOCAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

SHAHRYAR, THE POET

TABRIZ WEATHER

 TOWN HALL OF TABRIZ

 TBZMED.AC.IR

HISTORY OF TABRIZ
The provincial capital of Eastern Azarbaijan, Tabriz has a population of approximately 1,500,000 and was the second largest city in Iran until the early 1970's. With an area of 11,800 square km, Tabriz is located in a lush valley to the north of  beautiful Mount Sahand and south of the large red cliffs of the Zagros Mountain Range. 60 km to the west the valley opens onto a plain that gently slopes downward to the northern end of Lake Urumieh, a royal blue salt sea.  The capital city Tehran is 619 km to the southeast of Tabriz.

 Tabriz has been vulnerable to earthquakes throughout its long history, one of which nearly destroyed the city completely in 858. After being rebuilt, it was again devastated in 1041, when more than 40,000 people lost their lives.

 The city has had a long and turbulent history.  Although the early history of Tabriz is shrouded in legend and mystery, the town's origin is believed to date back to distant antiquity, perhaps even before the Sassanian Era (224-651AD). The oldest stone tablet with a reference to Tabriz is that of Sargon the Second, the Assyrian King. The tablet refers to a place called Tauri Castle and Tarmkis.  Historians believe this castle was situated on the site of  present day Tabriz.

Tabriz was the capital of Azarbaijan in the 3rd century AD and again under the Mongol Ilkhanid Dynasty (1256 - 1353), although for some time Maragheh supplanted it.

During the reign of Aqa Khan of the Ilkhanids, as well as under the reign of Ghazan Khan, Tabriz reached the peak of glory and importance. Many great artists and philosophers from all over the world traveled to Tabriz.

 In 1392, after the end of Mongol rule, the town was pillaged by Tamerlane. It was soon restored under the Turkman tribe of the Qara Qoyunlu, who established a short-lived local dynasty. Under the Safavids it rose from regional to national capital for a short period, but the second of the Safavid kings, Shah Tahmasb, moved the capital to Qazvin because of the vulnerability of Tabriz to Ottoman attacks. The town then went into a period of decline, fought over by the Iranians, Ottomans and Russians and struck by earthquake.

Tabriz was the residence of the crown prince under the Qajar kings, but the town did not return to prosperity until the second half of the 19th century. The greatest boost to Tabriz came with the opening of Iran to the west at the turn of this century.  It became the main staging post between the interior of Iran and the Black Sea and, for a short time, the economic capital. In 1908 it was the center of a revolt against Mohammed Ali Shah, which was only put down with the brutal intervention of the Russians.

In the second Iran-Russian War the city was occupied by the Czar troops. However, it was returned to Iran following the signing of the Turkmanchai Treaty, a peace and trade settlement that ended the Iran-Russian War of 1826-1828.

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution originated in Tabriz and culminated during the reign of Mohammed Ali Shah of Qajar dynasty (1779-1925). Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan were the two most prominent leading figures behind the movement.

Tabriz was occupied by Russians several times in the first half of this century, including most of both world wars. A railway line to the border at Jolfa, built by the expansionist Russians, was of little importance until recently. It has increased in significance in the '90s as a result of Iran's friendlier relations with its northern neighbors.

With a very rich history, Tabriz  housed many historic monuments. Unfortunately, many of these ancient structures were destroyed by repeated invasions and attacks of foreign forces, negligence of  ruling governments, as well as, natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. What still remains mostly date back to the Ilkhanids, the Safavids, and the Qajars. Some of the monuments are unrivaled masterpieces of art and architecture.