The gaze of history on old Tehran

Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilisations. Tehran was first mentioned in historical accounts in an 11th-century chronicle as a small village north of the city of Rayy, capital of the Seljuq empire. Rayy declined in importance following internal conflict and the Mongol invasion, and is now the suburb Shahr-e Rey in present-day Tehran. By the 13th century, this “small village” had grown large and prosperous, attracting the attention of the Safavid Shah Tahmasb I, who built a bazaar and a gated town square in Tehran in 1554.