TEHRAN

also spelled Teheran, city, capital of Iran, situated on the southern slopes of the Elburz Mountains, 62 miles (100 km) from the Caspian Sea. It lies at an elevation of about 3,800 feet (1,200 m) above sea level between the Jajrud and the Karaj rivers. To the south extends the Central Plateau of Iran. The name Tehran is derived from the Old Persian teh, warm, and ran, place. Tehran is the successor to the ancient Iranian capital of Rayy, which was destroyed by the Mongols in AD 1220; traces of Rayywhere the conqueror Alexander the Great halted while pursuing Darius III, king of Persia, in 330 BCare still to be found south of Tehran. The village of Tehran is believed to have been a suburb of Rayy in the 4th century, and after the fall of Rayy many of the inhabitants moved to Tehran. The first European to mention Tehran was Don Ruy Gonzlez de Clavijo, ambassador to the king of Castile to the court of Timur (Tamerlane), who visited the town in 1404. Tehran was the home of several Safavid rulers of Persia from the 16th to the 18th century. Tehran became prominent after its capture in 1785 by Agha Mohammad Khan, the founder of the Qajar dynasty (17791925), who made the city his capital in 1788. Since that date Tehran has been the capital of Iran. After the deposition of the last of the Qajars in 1925, the city was greatly expanded under Reza Shah Pahlavi (192541). In 1943 the World War II leaders of the Allies, representing the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, met at the Tehran Conference, at which, among other decisions, they guaranteed the independence of Iran. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (194179) the city was rapidly modernized, partly the result of a booming petroleum industry. Following the overthrow of the shah in 1979 and the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Iran, the city's development was hampered by economic and political difficulties. Tehran experiences warm summers and relatively cool winters. High and low mean monthly temperatures are 84 F (29 C) in July and 39 F (4 C) in January. The average annual rainfall is about 8 inches (203 mm); rain usually falls from November to the end of May, and snow also occurs from December to the end of February. Air pollution has worsened as a result of the increase in motor traffic and the increased use of oil fuel by industry. The ethnic composition of Tehran is similar to that of Iran in general. The majority of the inhabitants are Muslim. Persian (Farsi) is the language in general use, with approximately one-quarter of the population using the Azari dialect. Because it has grown rapidly since 1925, Tehran, of all Iranian towns, has the least Oriental aspect. Since the 1950s a number of buildings with from 10 to 18 stories have been constructed. The fashionable districts of the city are to the north, and the old town and the bazaar are to the south. Important buildings include the Sepah-salar Mosque, the Baharstan Palace (the seat of the Majles, or parliament), the Shams ol-Emareh, and the Niavaran Palace. The Golestan Palace (containing the famous peacock throne and the jewel-studded Naderi throne), the Sa'adabad Palace, and the Marmar (Marble) Palace are now maintained as museums. There is also a notable archaeological museum and an ethnographical museum. Tehran is the seat of the University of Tehran (1932), the Iran University of Science and Technology (1928), and several other institutions of higher learning. More than half of Iran's manufactured goods are produced in Tehran. Industrial plants manufacture such items as textiles, cement, sugar, chinaware and pottery, electrical equipment, and pharmaceuticals. There is also a car-assembly industry, and an oil refinery is in operation at Rayy. Three paved roads run northward, one runs to the west, two to the south, and one to the east. The Iranian state railway has lines running north, northwest, south, and east from Tehran; the city is also linked to the trans-Europe railway system via Turkey. Tehran is linked by air to major cities in Europe and Asia and to states in the Persian Gulf. Domestic air services also link the capital to major Iranian towns. There is an international airport at Mehrabad, 6 miles (10 km) west of central Tehran; two smaller airportsat Qal'eh Morghi and Daushan-Tapehare used by small aircraft. Pop. (1986) 6,042,584.