A Gorjiduz ( fa, گورجیدوز) was a leather craftsman who practised the profession known as ''gorjiduzi''; creating leather

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

-style shoes. The ''gorjiduz'' were commonly found in cities and towns in 19th century

Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

, and formed their own associations (i.e.

guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

). Formerly, the ''gorjiduz'' also made Georgian shoes for males; these male versions were commonly worn in Iran, but fell into disuse in the course of the 19th century. Thus, the ''gorjiduz'' had become synonym with being a crafter of female Georgian shoes. In his assessment of the 1853 building survey of the Grand Bazaar of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Nobuaki Kondo notes that it hosted many of Tehran's ''gorjiduzi'' shops. In his ''Geography of Isfahan'', Mirza Hosayn (son of Ebrāhīm Khan Taḥwīldār) noted that in the 1890s the business of numerous specialized leather craftsmen in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, including that of the ''gorjiduz'', had declined.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{cite book, last1=Kondo, first1=Nobuaki, title=Islamic Law and Society in Iran: A Social History of Qajar Tehran, date=2017, publisher=Routledge, isbn=978-1351783194 Georgia (country)–Iran relations Iranian clothing Shoemakers Leatherworkers 19th century in Iran