A large printed map of the city of Tehran

Iran, 20th Century, copying an original map made in Muharram 1309/August-September 1891

Footnotes

The original late Qajar map is in the Library of Congress, Washington DC.

The long text in the top right-hand corner relates how Nasir al-Din Shah, who ordered a map of Tehran with all the new buildings added to those of the old city to be made in AH 1285/AD 1868-69. The project was put in charge of the late I'tidad al-Saltanah, the Minister of Sciences and the Dean of the Dar al-Funun (College of Arts), 'Ali Quli Mirza, who employed scholars and students to do research on various aspects of the city. They worked day and night till the map was completed in Muharram 1309/August-September 1891 and it is signed by 'Abd al-Ghaffar, who was also involved in the project. The names and the positions of numerous people involved in the project from start to finish are given.

The text at lower right gives the information that in the previous thirty years many places had been measured but it had not been possible to gain permission for this work to be completed, so in AH 1309 by the order of Nasir al-Din Shah the work on it was restarted including the new buildings. Sulayman Khan Sarhang son of Khudadad Khan and the teacher of mathematics at the Dar al-Funun completed the new map and printed it in black. This note is dated Muharram 1309.

At the bottom the text is signed by 'Abd al-Ghaffar with the statement that what had been done by Mirza Mahmud the Chief astrologer and Reza Quli Khan and many listed others, including his own publications, was added to the map (this note dated Muharram 1309). There is a colophon on the original saying it was the work of Sulayman Khan Sarhang Mohandes, who is mentioned earlier as the person who draw the map. This is missing on our version of the map.

The text at top left gives information on the subjects taught at the Dar al-Funun and gives the measurements of Tehran in French system (19200 metre) and the Qajar (18460 dhar'), populations of the old and new Tehran, the number of buildings in old and new cities, including Christian churches (Catholic, Protestant and Armenians), the number of public baths, Tehran's altitude compared with other places, including Paris, the temperature of Tehran in the summer and winter, the qibla marker at different times.

At lower left is a warning that reproduction of this map on a small or large scale in Persian, French or any other language, in Iran or abroad, without informing the authorities is forbidden. The original text is signed by Mukhbir al-Dawlah, Minister of Sciences and the name of the copyist ([...] al-Hamadani), which is written in a decorative manner and apparently could not be read by the originator of our version of the map.

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