Is the capital of one of the most famous provinces of Iran, The Azarbaijan or Aturpatgan. It is the land of Azargoshnasp temple; The fire temple of the Kings and the Nobles of Iran.
It is perhaps the birth place of Zaratushtra.
Tabriz, City hallBrief History Of The Land
The Name
General Location
Climate
History Of Tabriz
Sightseeing In Tabriz
Ark Or Citadel Of Tabriz
Constitution House
Blue Mosque
Golestan gardens
Shah Goli
Azarbaijan Museum
Bazaar
Churches
Tabrizi Rugs And Art
Addresses And Telephone Numbers
Brief History Of The Land:
It all began about 6000 years ago when the dwellers of the sweeping plains of what is now Southwestern Iran began to establish settlements that would grow into cities bustling with rich commerce. Susa (Shush), capital of the region known as Elam, was first among them, and it would be followed by the Elamite cities such as Anshan.
Standing as it did between the Indus valley to the east and the ancient civilization of Sumer to the west, Susa became a focal point for trade. It also became a rich prize for conquerors.
Although the history of the time is murky, the third millennium B.C. seems to have been marked by frequent warfare between Elamites and Mesopotamian forces from Akkad, who eventually overran and occupied Susa. In time the armies of Elam regained the city, but control would fall intermittently to Elamites and to Mesopotamians for centuries to come.
Elamites were renowned for their metalwork, exemplified in the three-inch gold statuette - thought to represent a king at worship, bearing a sacrificial goat, which was unearthed beneath a temple in Susa from about 1200 B.C.
Then came the Aryans from a land according to the Avesta called Aeria Veich, or Iran Veich. They were groups of Indo-Europeans living in cold, icy lands of north western Asia. Maads (Medes according to Greeks) were first of four Indo-European groups (Medes, Persians, Parthians, Segs or Sistanis)who settled in the land they called Iran.
The Medes settled in Northwest of Iran which is today the Azarbaijan, Hamadan, Kermanshahan, Qazvin, Tehran and Espahan. These were called the Median Lands with Azarbaijan being the "Smaller Medes" and the other part being called the "Greater Medes". Medes formed their own Iranian Empire by defeating Assyrians and capturing Asia Minor all the way to Syria.
By the time the Assyrian King, Ashurbanipal sacked Susa in 647 B.C., the Elemites had already been eclipsed by the Indo-European Medes, who would in turn oust the Assyrians. There then arose a new power, the Persians, also Indo-Europeans, and once vassals to the Medes. Under the great king, Koorosh (Cyrus) the Great, (whose mother was a Median Princess and daughter of the great Median king, Astyag), a new alliance was formed between the Persians and the Medes. They defeated the Babylonians ending the Babylonian empire and became undisputed rulers of the old territory of the Elamites. Claiming descent from the legendary Persian King Achaemenes, Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid dynasty, thus forming another more powerful Iranian Empire. Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Iranian Nation and the Persian empire, embarked on an ambitious imperial adventure that would see the Iranian conquest of Syria, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. At his death in 529 B.C., Cyrus the Great was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II who added Egypt to the Persian empire.
Darius the Great, seized the throne in 522 B.C. after Cambyses II, consolidated and expanded the empire and brought Achaemenid Persia to its height. Choosing as his capital the ancient Elamite city of Susa. Achievements of the king Darius’ reign surpasses in glory and majesty anything that history has ever recorded.
The Name:
In reference to the etymology of the term Azarbaijan, the late scholar and iconoclastic thinker, Ahmad Kasravi Tabrizi, himself an Iranian from Azarbaijan, has numerous enlightening articles, the following, is a shortened version of one called The Azarbaigan.
Among the provinces of Iran, perhaps none is as renowned as Azarbaijan or Azarbaigan. Specially after the beginning of the constitutional era, when she achieved all those heroic victories in those revolutionary movements, Azarbaigan gained more prominence both in Iranian and European newspapers. This name, from over 2000 years ago, has been one of the most famous terms in Iran's geography, and in each century her name has been synonymous with momentous historic events. However, if we search for this name in history books we will find three different variations of it listed in Persian books: Azarbaijan, Azarbaigan and Azarbadgan. Ferdosi in Shahnameh calls it Azarabadgan:
Be Yek Mah Dar Azarabadgan Be Boodand Shahan o Azadegan
Arabs refer to it as Azarbaijan. In Armenian books both Azarbayaghan and Azarbadaghan are recorded. In ancient Pahlavi books it is listed as Aturpatgan.
As an explanation for the origin and appearance of the name Azarbaigan, Strabo (63 B.C. - 24 A.D.), the famous Greek geographer happens to be the most accurate. According to him, at the end of the Achaemenid Empire, When Alexander of Macedonia was prevailing in Iran, an Iranian commander by the name of Aturpat, fought successfully against the invaders of Macedonia and prevented them from capturing this region ( part of the " Median territory referred to as the smaller Mede -Maad e Koochek). Thus, this land was named after him - The Aturpatgan. People elected Aturpat as their sovereign and he protected their independence and ruled independently during Alexander's attack on Iran ( 328 B.C.). Aturpat and his children ruled for three centuries independently of Selukian and Ashkanian (Parthian) dynasties over this land in the Northwest of the country which became Iran again later. Strabo, in his book, which was written at the time of the Parthians and close to the birth of Jesus, declares that:
"still the successors of Aturpat are reigning independently. Occasionally they have married into the family of the Armenian, Parthian, and Syrian rulers".
Thus Azarbaigan is a combination of three words:
- Atur, meaning Azar or Fire
- Pat or paay, from paayeedan, meaning To Look After/To watch Over,
- Gan, meaning A place, as in Golpaygan or Zangan (Zanjan) .
Now, the meaning of Azarbaigan is clear to us:
Azarbaigan is derived from: Aturpatgan
and it means: The Land Of Aturpat or Azarbad
General Location:
Tabriz, Being the provincial capital of Eastern Azarbaijan ( Aturpatgan ), has slightly more than 1,400,000 population (1992 census) and was the second largest city in Iran until the early 1970's. Tabriz has been the capital city of Iran on numerous times throughout the old history of this country. Tabriz is located in a valley to the north of the beautiful Mount Sahand. The valley opens out into a plain that slopes down gently to the northern end of Lake Orumieh, about 60 km to the west.
Tabriz is 310 km southeast of Bazargan ( Iranian- Turkish frontier); 159 km south of Jolfa on Iran- Aran (Azarbaijan republic ) border, and can be reached by very good roads, rail (742km from Tehran, with connections to the Europe and Moscow), and air from Tehran and other major cities.
The 160 km long Talkheh Rud or Aji Chai is the major river of the city, formed by merging of three smaller rivers of Ab Nahand, Guri Chai, and Ojan Chai which all originate from the Sabalan Mountain range and heights in the southeastern part of the town. The Talkheh Rud and other streams join the lake of Orumieh after passing through the valleys between the Sorkhband and Yekkeh Chin mountain north of Tabriz and Osku district. Mehran Rud also called Liqvan rud originates from the peaks between Karim and Sultan Mountains overlooking the Liqvan village near the beautiful Esparakhoon and Qeshloq villages.
Climate:
By virtue of its location, Tabriz has a mild Summer climate,which makes this city an ideal Summer vacation spot for the Iranians from the more Southern areas of the country. The Winters are cold and the snow filled mountains of Tabriz are perfect for the lovers of Winter sports. Tabriz has a continental type of climate with low humidity of average annual rainfall of 289 mm.
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.
History Of Tabriz:
The city has 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. The historians believe this castle was situated on the site of the present day Tabriz.
It 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 sacked 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 up of Iran to the West at the turn of this century, when 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 Mohammad Ali Shah, which was only put down with the brutal intervention of the Russians.
In the second Irano-Russian War the city was occupied by the Czar troops. However, it was returned to Iran following the signing of Turkmanchai Treaty, a peace and trade settlement that ended the Irano-Russian War of 1826-1828.
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution originated in Tabriz and culminated during the reign of Mohammad 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, but 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 used to house many historical monuments. Unfortunately, many of them were destroyed in repeated invasions and attacks of foreign forces, negligence of the ruling governments, as well natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. What remains now mostly dates back to the Ilkhanids, the Safavids, and the Qajars. Some of the monuments are unrivaled masterpieces of architecture. { A brief history of Tabriz in Farsi }
There are many factories and great industrial and productive sites in Tabriz which have changed it into one of the industrial centers in the country. The most important factories are as follows:
Tractor, machinery and ball-bearing manufacturing factories, refinery and so many other centers such as carpet weaving sites.
There are weekly and daily flights from Tabriz International Airport to Tehran, Mashhad, Rasht, Orumiyeh, Pars Abad (Moghan) and Kish Island. There are over ten hotels ( first class), which provide good facilities for the tourists.Sightseeing In Tabriz
Kandovan Village: is located in a cold mountainous area at 50 kms. south of Tabriz and on the slopes of Sahand Mountain. It is very cold for about 9 months of the year. The interesting point about this village is the shape of the mountains with the small cave like spaces, that people are using for living.
Thermal Springs: There are so many thermal springs in Tabriz Township which are used as a remedy by many people, such as: Sofiyan, Kandovan, and Bostan Abad.
Jame' Mosque, Tabriz Museum, Old Bazaar of Tabriz, Bagh-e-Golestan, Bagh-e-Shomal, Ancient Bridge of Chehel Dokhtar near Tabriz, Constitution House and Maqbarat-ol-Shoara are of other places of interest in Tabriz.
Old Bazaar of Tabriz is one of the most well known bazaars of Iran. The architecture of this bazaar is very popular in the Middle East. There are great number of shops, arcades, mosques and schools in this place, which make it an excellent trade center.
Ark Or Citadel Of Tabriz
Ark-e Tabriz in Persian (also called Masjid-e Alishah, Arg-e Alishah) is the impressive remainder of a great and imposing building in the town. The Arg, a huge and crumbling brick citadel, is a notable landmark that was built in the early 14th century on the site of a massive mosque which collapsed over 500 years ago, and which must been one of the largest ever constructed. Inside the Citadel there is nothing except two arches and an indication of the position of the mehrab; Ali Shah’s court has been covered with ignoble buildings, the sanctuary walls have been rebuilt and propped up, and it is hard to believe that any part of this place was ever a mosque.Constitution House
The Constitution House is located next to the Tabriz grand bazaar, on Motahari Ave. During the years which led to the Constitutional Revolution and afterwards, the house was used as the gathering place of the leaders, activists, and the sympathizers of the movement, among them Sattar Khan, Baqer Khan, Seqatoleslam and Haji Mirza Aqa Farshi.
The two-story building was constructed in 1868 by Haj Vali Me’mar-e Tabrizi. It has numerous rooms and halls. The most beautiful part of the house is a skylight and a corridor decorated with colorful glasses and mirrors.Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque (or Masjid-e Kabud) on the north side of town, is a 15th-century structure destroyed partially by one of Tabriz's recurrent earthquakes.
The entrance portal with its two minarets appears to have been connected with the main prayer hall (Shabestan) under the largest cupola of the mosque, by means of vaulted corridor. On both sides along the corridor, there stand the remains of the chambers with vaulted roofs. The walls of the mosque have been riveted with marble slabs and decorated with superb mosaic tiles. Some of the blue mosaics in the mosque's portal are heavily damaged and half missing.Golestan gardens
Also called the National Park, the garden is one of the main recreation centers of the city and covers an area of 53,000 square meters. It was built some 70 years ago and has many huge pools surrounded by green and trees.Shah Goli
Do not miss El Goli (former Shah Goli), a pleasant hillside garden and park around an artificial lake to the area of 54,675 square meters. El Goli, only 4 km south of downstream Tabriz, is so lovely a place that it deserves an illustration. It is a popular weekend resort for the locals.
A hill in the eastern side of the park leads down to the pool with steps, and a fountain from top of the hill flows down to the pool. In the center of the pool there is a grand hexagonal building. The pool itself is said to have been built during the reign of Aq Qoyunlu kings. However, it was extended by the Safavids.Azarbaijan Museum
Azarbaijan Museum, inaugurated in 1962, is on Khomeinie Ave (next to the Kabud Mosque). With an area of 300 square meters, it consists of three main halls in which historical articles, costumes of various tribes of Iran, works of renowned calligraphers, as well as a collection of pictures, tracts, declarations, documents, and personal articles of the leaders of the Constitutional Revolution are on display.Bazaar
Strolling in the center of Tabriz, one is reminded very forcibly that it is a commercial city: one cannot miss its very large and 15th-century covered bazaar. It is already much diminished in its variety of goods, but still a great place for getting hopelessly lost amid its dusty architectural splendors. Its architectural style, numerous caravansaries, mosques, and schools have added further beauty and glory to this complex. Exact information on the history and origin of the bazaar is not available; however, historical buildings such as the Jam’s Mosque, Talebieh School, and Sadeqieh School indicate that the complex is one of the oldest structures of the city. The present structure of bazaar dates back to the closing years of the Zand dynasty (1750-1779 AD).
Leaving the modern chick avenues to see the real bazaar, the visitor will understand with the amusement of recognition the shocked tone of the Moor, that indefatigable traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited Tabriz in 1334:
"I passed through the jewelers’ bazaar, and my eyes were dazzled by the varieties of precious stones that I beheld. They were displayed by beautiful slaves wearing rich garments with a waist-sash of silk, who stood in front of the merchants, exhibiting the jewels to the customers' wives, who bought them in large quantities to outdo each other."
The complex has high brick domes and arches. It includes several small bazaars, or bazaarches, each for a specific guild and craft. Carpet making is the main trade, but Tabriz is also renowned for its silverware and jewelry.
The spice bazaar, one of the most pungent and impressive in Iran, is an excellent place for picking up henna. Look out also for the traditional Azari hats resembling those worn by the gypsies of Western Europe.Churches
From the earliest days of Christianity there has been a sizable Armenian community in Tabriz, and the city boasts a number of churches, including one mentioned by Marco Polo on his travels.
Nowadays, Tabriz has six churches, the most important of which are: Saint Serkis Church, located in Armenian quarter of Tabriz, Baron Avak, which was renovated in 1845; probably the most interesting and the oldest but substantially rebuilt Church of St. Mary (Kelesa-ye Maryam-e Moghaddas) which was completed in 1785, on the corner of North Shari-ati Ave. and Jomhuri Ave; Able Mary Church which was built in 1910 and is on Miar Miar quarter of Tabriz.
Tabrizi Rugs And Art:
Conditions in Azarbaijan favoured all the arts, including carpet weaving. The province is abundantly endowed by nature with wide meadows, fertile valleys, varied terrain, in part cut by not too formidable mountains into well defined districts, a circumstance that so often has fostered a vital culture; and a variety of fundamental natural resources combined with an equable climate to produce wealth. It is not surprising that in this region civilization emerged at an early date, perhaps earlier than anywhere else. Through the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods little is known about it and it may have been overshadowed then by Khurasan and Fars; but after the Mongol invasion for a time it assumed supremacy. In the fourteenth century it dominated, politically and culturally, all Iran(Persia). Here was created a series of architectural masterpieces, here was a centre of learning, and here were the most stimulating contacts with Europe. It was in this century that were laid the foundations of the achievement that was fulfilled in the art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Carpet weaving must have been an ancient art in Azarbaijan. The materials, the facilities, the necessity had all existed here quite as much as, if not more than, the rest of Iran. Tabriz was a carpet market and quite certainly also a producing center in the Middle Ages. It is within the possibilities that some of the carpets which appeared in Europe in the fifteenth century came from this part of the country, for Tabriz was a great cenetr for European merchants. But prior to the end of the fifteenth century definite information is really too scanty to support profitable speculation.
At the opening of the sixteenth century, however, the craft in Northwest Iran had certainly attained the status of a fine art, and it is quite possible that it was in this region that it first reached that high estate. Certainly circumstances at that time were decisively in its favor, for this was the foyer of the brilliant Safavid renaissance. Here ruled two of the greatest and most intelligent patrons of art that Iran(Persia) had ever seen, Isma’il and Tahmasp, monarchs who apparently took a personal interest in carpet weaving and provided the support, the opportunity, and the appreciation which evoked the utmost from the gifted designers and artisans of the day. This would help to explain why more great carpets have come from that district, by far, than from all the rest of Iran put together. Indeed, of the outstanding examples that can be confidently ascribed to the first half of the sixteenth century, practically all are from this province.
‘Northwest Iran` is an inclusive term and even the narrower unit of Azarbaijan is a large territory, including various separate cultural and ethnographical groups; hence it was but natural that a number of different rug types should have evolved there. These regional schools stand out more or less clearly, and can be given a general and sometimes a specific localization. Relations to modern carpets indicate, for example, for certain types a Qara-bagh or Qara-dagh orgin. Tabriz is mentioned in the early literature as producing carpets, and there is general agreement in assigning one fairly large class to the capital, and local histories refer to a court loom operating in Sultaniya in the early part of the sixteenth century.
But within these regional types there are different kinds of products: first, the ordinary designs wholly indigenous, the results of a long accumulating tradition; second, special efforts in which the master weaver either surpassed himself or was aided by a professional designer called in from outside, perhaps in response to an order from king or courtiers, perhaps in the hope of attracting such profitable patronage; and third, less ambitious productions, which were, however, affected in various respects by these more important cartoons. Thus the limits of the stylistic classes became very elastic.Addresses And Telephone Numbers
Access and Distances:
597 km to Tehran. 278 km to Zanjan. 216 km to Ardabil. 297 km to Orumieh. 482 km to Rasht. 553 km to Hamadan.Hotels And Inns:
Ark, Dr Shari-ati , Ark Alley , Tel. 31 51288
Asia, Dr Shari-ati , Tel. 56 59051-3
Darya, Rah-Ahan St, Tel. 106 4499501-9
Ghodss, Terminal Sq , Tel. 25 50898, 68098
Iran, Rah-Ahan St , Tel. 51 449515-1
Marmar, Tehran Road , Tel. 35 306680
Morvarid, Bagh-e Golestan Sq , Tel. 28 60520-56398
Park, Imam St, Near Farhangian Dept Store , Tel. 11 51852, 55801
Park-e Mellat, El Goli Tel. 306233
Sina, Bagh-e Golestan Sq , Tel. 56 54583-56453
Tabriz, Abrasani Sq., Before Daneshgah Sq, Tel. 134 341082-9Air Traveling Agents:
The Iran Air office is in its own building on the northeast corner of Azadi intersection. Telephone numbers: 35501-4, 79079-80.Airport:
Tabriz International Airport is located in Northwest of the city. Taxis are available from the airport into town. There is no airport bus.Railway Station:
There are two overnight daily trains to Tehran 47666.
Tabriz, Main Train Station
Bus Terminal:
On Jomhuri Eslami Ave . Buses usually leave punctually. There are local services to all major towns and provincial centers from Tabriz.Taxi:
Taxis are available everywhere.Medical Services:
The emergency clinic is close to Darvazeh Tehran on the far eastern edge of town.Post and Telecommunications:
The main post office is at the east side of Shohada Square, opposite Bank Melli Iran . The main telegraph office is in Seghat ol-Eslam Ave, immediately to the south of the river.Bank Melli Iran:
On the north side of Shohada Square .City Dialing Code Number:
The dialing area code for Tabriz is 041.Governor's Office:
Ostandari, east of Bank Melli Iran on Shohada Square 22696.Municipality:
In the southeastern side of Shahrdari Square.Police:
Kucheh Ark, near the Ark 110, 30322, 47050, 44533.Visa Extension for Tourists:
Go to the police headquarters near the Ark, Kucheh Ark.Tourist Map:
Available in English and Persian at every newspaper stand.Tourist Office:
Locally known as Ershad-e Eslami, it is a few meters west of Daneshsara Square 46041-3, 23841.Restaurants:
Tabriz is famous for its Chelo Kabaabs, Abgushts and of course the legendary Koofte Tabrizi. There are plenty of fantastic restaurants with pleasant surroundings all over the City.
Excerpts from: IRAN Today, by: Gita Shenasi, 2nd Edition,1995
Printed by: Peykan,Tehran - Iran
A Travel Guide To IRAN, copyright 1995 by: M.T. Faramarzi
A Survey Of Persian Art, From Prehistoric Times To The Present, Author: Arthur Upham Pope, Copyright In Japan Under ICC, By Jay gluck, 1964, 67, 77, 1981
Copyright © 1998 Aturpat Limited. All rights reserved.
