TEHRAN – Historical texture of Tabriz and its associated lands, properties, and legal boundaries has been demarcated in order to facilitate the maintenance of the ancient Iranian city. 

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism has announced the exact legal boundaries of the historical core of Tabriz in a letter to the governor-general of the province, the deputy minister Mohammad Hassan Talebian said on Sunday.

Construction inquiries and urban development plans should be done so as to maintain and preserve the historical character of the area, the official added. 

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz embraces several historical and religious sites, including the Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex to name a few. The city became the capital of the Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Gazan (1295–1304) and his successor. Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, took it in 1392. Some decades later the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen made it their capital, it was when the famous Blue Mosque was built in Tabriz.

The city retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548 when Shah Tahmasp I relocated his capital westward to Qazvin. During the next two centuries, Tabriz changed hands several times between Persia and Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the city was temporarily occupied by Turkish and then Soviet troops.

ABU/AFM