The East-Azerbaijan Provincial Palace ( fa, کاخ استانداری آذربایجان شرقی) is the main office for

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's East-Azerbaijan provincial governor in downtown

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. The history of the palace goes back to the Safavid and

Zand Zand may refer to: * Zend, a class of exegetical commentaries on Zoroastrian scripture * Zand District, an administrative subdivision of Iran * Zand Boulevard, in Shiraz, Iran * Z And, a variable star As a tribal/clan and dynastic name * Zand tr ...

dynasties, when it was named ''Aali Qapou''. The original construction of the palace was supervised by Najaf Qoli Khan for the Safavid kings, when Tabriz was the capital of

. During the

Qajar 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 ...

era, Aali Qapu served as the residence for the crown prince of Iran. It was reconstructed and repaired under

Naser al-Din Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Male ...

, during which its name was changed to ''Shams ol-Emareh''. Since the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...

, the palace has been used as the provincial governorship office ( fa, کاخ استانداری). The main parts of the original building were destroyed in a fire in 1933, which was followed by a major flood. Remaining parts of the original palace were destroyed entirely by the East Azerbaijan governor at the time,

Ali Mansur Ali Khan Mansur ( fa, علی خان منصور, also known as ''Mansur ul-Mulk'' ()‎; 1886 – 8 December 1974) was the Prime Minister of Iran for two terms between 1940 and 1941 and in 1950. Biography Born in Tehran, he served as Govern ...

, and a newer building was constructed. The new building which has survived up to now is mostly constructed in Mansur's time in Tabriz as governor. Part of the state building is open for public visitors.

History

Aali Qapu (1500–1800)

The original building of the ''Aali Qapu'' palace was built in the late Safavid era, when Tabriz was capital of the Iranian Empire. This building was built in competition with

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, while two states were sworn enemies of each other. In later years during

Afsharid dynasty The Afsharid dynasty ( fa, افشاریان) was an Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman Afshar tribe Afshar ( az, Əfşar افشار; tr, Avşar, ''Afşar''; tk, Owşar; fa, اَفشار, Āfshār) ...

and

Zand dynasty The Zand dynasty ( fa, سلسله زندیه, ') was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later quickly came to expand to include much of the rest o ...

, the palace was used as the palace for local governor of Azerbaijan.

Shams ol Emareh (1800–1933)

With the rise of the Qajar dynasty and with the increase of Tabriz's role in Iranian politics, the city was chosen as the office of the Crown Prince. A newer section called Haram-khaneh (''residence'') was constructed next to the palace as the residence of the Prince as well. In period of Naser al-Din Mirza residence, the building was renamed to ''Shams ol-Emareh'', after the eponymous building in Tehran's

Golestan Palace The Golestan Palace ( fa, کاخ گلستان, ''Kākh-e Golestān''), also transliterated as the Gulistan Palace and sometimes translated as the Rose Garden Palace from Persian language, was built in the 16th century, renovated in the 18th cen ...

. During the Qajar era, many royal ceremonies were held in this building, including the wedding of Prince Etezad ol-Saltaneh.

East Azerbaijan Provincial Palace (1933–present)

Following the fall of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty, Tabriz lost its traditional dominant role in Iranian politics, along with its traditional royal importance. The building was then used as the office of the

East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, ...

governor. In 1933 during Adib-ol-Saltaneh Samei (in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ''ادیب السلطنه سمیعی''), large parts of the building were ruined in a fire. Many people were blamed Samei for his ignorance in the protection of the palace. In 1934 some other parts of the building were destroyed during a major flood. In 1946, Governor

(in

: ''علی منصور''), the rest of the remaining parts of the palace were destroyed and a new marble building was constructed instead, which has served as the office of the provincial governor till now. In 1969, the Haram-khaneh building was also destroyed and the city's governor office was built in its place. Local people criticized governors for their ignorance and the destruction of the city's heritages.

Museum

In 2013 a museum titled East Azerbaijan Governorship was established in the building containing the photos of Azerbaijan governors, important documents, memorials and gifts for the governors.

War Heroes Statues

On 2013 statue of six war heroes from Iranian Azerbaijan, who were killed in action during Iran Iraq war, were erected in Shohada square, in front of the Provincial Palace. The statues include statue of

Javad Fakoori Javad Fakoori ( fa, جواد فکوری, 3 January 1936 – 29 September 1981) was a prominent military figure who served as the 4th defence minister of Iran in September 1980 to August 1981. Career Fakoori was a commander of the Islamic Republ ...

, former commander of IRIAF and

Mehdi Bakeri Mehdi Bakeri ( fa, مهدی باکری‎; 1954 – 16 March 1985) was an Iranian war hero in the Iran–Iraq War. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tabriz. During the Iranian revolution of 1979 he joined the proteste ...

, a commander of volunteer forces File:Ali-qapi.jpg, Aali Qapu's main building. File:Ali-qapu-1800s.jpg, Wedding ceremony of Etezad-ol-Saltaneh. File:Aaliqapu-green house.jpg, Haramkhane and green house of Aali-Qapu, in a royal ceremony. File:Tabriz 66381395.jpg, Hail ceremony to Prince Mozaffar Mirza in Haram khana part of Aali Qapu late on 1800s. File:House of Mirza by Eugène Flandin.jpg, Haramkhane, sketched by Eugene Flandin, 1841. File:Shohada square of Tabriz.jpg, A photo of the State Palace after reconstruction.

Etymology

The original name of the building, i.e., ''Aali Qapu'' is made of two parts: 'Aali (عالی) which is from Arabic and means 'high, sublime' and Qapu (قاپو) which is from Turkic and means 'door'. This name was also used in the Safavid era for a building in Isfahan.

References

{{Portalbar, Iran Government buildings in Iran Tourist attractions in Tabriz Buildings and structures in Tabriz Politics of East Azerbaijan Province