'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎71r] (146/610)

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1. Tehran.
Population about 250,000. General.
It is situated 51° 25' 2 , 8" E. 35° 41' 6’83 y N. at an elevation
of 3,810' above sea level on the plain to the South of the Elburz
range which is some 10 miles distant. The town is near the
Southern end of the great gravel beds extending down from the
base of the range, and is itself on a slope of some 282' from
North to South. To the North along the foot of the moun
tains, which rise very steeply, and where streams come down
from them, numerous villages are situated, ■ which are collect
ively termed Shimran and are used as summer resorts.
Mention is made of Tehran as early as 1179-80, but its
importance dates from 1788 when Agha Muhammad Khan,
tbe founder of the Kajar dynasty, selected it to supersede
Isfahan or Shiraz as the capital of Persia owing to its proxi
mity to Mazandaran, the starting point from which he had
conquered the country and whither he would retire if hard
pressed. His choice was made on grounds of policy and
strategy, and not with the object of selecting a site well suited
for the foundation of a large city. Apart from the question of
food supplies, a more uninviting, site than the dreary waterless
gravel slopes on the North can hardly be imagined. South of
the city they give place to earth and a more productive region
begins.
At that time Tehran was a typical small Eastern town
within mud walls, with a circuit of some 2 miles and a population
of 15,000. By becoming the capital it gradually gained impor
tance so that by 1807 its population had risen to 50,000 and by
1870 to 120,000. The present Tehran started in 1869-70 when
Nasir-ud-Din Shah decided to enlarge his capital and give it a
more imposing appearance. The old mud walls were nearly all
pulled down and replaced by a moat and earthen rampart
12 miles in circumference, which was completed in 1874. At the
present time it is being gradually destroyed, as in the North of
the city earth is being taken away for building, and to the South
the clay is dug out for making bricks. The only purpose served
by the rampart is to oblige all animals and goods to enter the
town by one of the gates (see “ Communications below) and 1
1 Its advantages were :—
Proximity to Mazandaran, central position between Meshed, Tabriz and
Isfahan, conveniently situated for keeping a watch on Russia being 500
the frontier at Julfa and only accessible from the North vid Kazym cl s
Caspian but easily defensible against attack from it, and well situated in case ox an
attack vid Isfahan.,