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At the end of the 18th century the city was divided into several districts, each of which was ruled by a family, until , when the Qajar Prince Abbas Mirza was appointed as the governor of the city. The crown prince normally served as governor of Azerbaijan province as well. Some of the most important events in this period were the wars between Qajar Iran and neighboring Imperial Russia. Prior to the forced cession of Iran's Caucasian territories—comprising what is now Georgia , southern Dagestan , Azerbaijan , and Armenia —to Imperial Russia following the two Russo-Persian Wars of the first half of the 19th century, Tabriz, being strategically located, was instrumental to the implementation of Iranian rule in its Caucasian territories.
During the last Russo-Persian War, the Russo-Persian War of — , the city was captured for Russia in by General Prince Eristov, who marched into the city with 3, soldiers. Nevertheless, Russian political and military influence remained a major force in Tabriz and north-northwestern Iran even until the fall of Russian empire in the early 20th century. He also began a rebuilding campaign and established a modern taxation system.
Painting of Blue mosque , Jules Laurens , Thanks to the geographical closeness to the West and to communications with nearby countries' enlightenment movements, Tabriz became the center of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution movements between and , which led to the establishment of a parliament in Iran and the formation of a constitution. Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan , two Tabrizi reformists who led Tabriz people's solidarity against absolute monarchy, had a great role in achievement to the goals of Iran's constitutional revolution.
In , Tabriz was occupied by the Russian forces. After crushing the local resistance by invading Russian troops, they started suppressing the constitutional revolutionaries and residents of the city. Following the invasion Russian troops executed about 1, of Tabriz residents. Siege of Tabriz during Constitutional Revolution , September 27, From the very start of World War I , Iran declared neutrality. When the war erupted on a full scale, Tabriz and much of northwestern-northern Iran had already been de facto occupied by Russia for several years. In later years of World War I, the Ottoman troops intervened and took control of the city by defeating the Russian troops stationed there.
By escalation of the revolution in Russia , the Russian armies in Iranian Azerbaijan were evacuated, and the actual power passed into the hands of the local committee of the democrat party, with Ismail Nawbari at its head. After World War I, a new era in the county's history began. He started with promises of modernization programs in Iran which was concentrated on the unification of the country, under the idea of one country, one nation. This included centralization of the power and imposing restrictions on the local culture, heritages, and language in Iranian Azerbaijan, and the city of Tabriz.
At the final year of the World War II despite the declaration of the neutrality by the Iranian government, the country was occupied by the allied forces. The allied forces then urged Reza Shah to abdicate and installed his son Mohammad Reza as the new king of the country.
The postwar situation was further complicated by Soviet aid to set up a local government called Azerbaijan People's Government in Northwest Iran , having Tabriz as its capital. The new Soviet-backed local government was run by Ja'far Pishevari and held power for one year starting from Pishevari's government gave more freedom to speech and education in Azerbaijani language and promoted local cultural heritage and gained some popularity among the residents. However, after withdrawal of Soviet forces, Pishevari's limited armed forces were crushed by the Imperial Iranian army and the Iranian government retook control of the city.
One of the major establishments in the period of Pishevari's government was opening of the University of Tabriz which played a major role in the later political movements and protests in the region. Russian Invasion of Tabriz, For the next 30 years, after the collapse of Azerbaijan's Soviet-backed government, Tabriz enjoyed a stable era until the revolution in During this period the city enjoyed a lot of investment in industries and had transformed into a heavy industries hub in the northwest of Iran.
The need for a strong workforce increased the immigration from all around Azerbaijan toward Tabriz. During this era and because of the continuous policy of the government centralization in Tehran as well as changes in communication and transportation, the city lost its historical dominance in favor of being the gate for reform and modernization in the country. Starting with and with the heat of the Iranian Revolution , Tabriz played a major role in the revolution. After revolution, the residents of the city were unsatisfied with the outcome, mainly because of the ignorance of the revolutionary government about the rights of the Azerbaijani minority [ citation needed ].
The other major source of dissatisfaction was the support of most of Iranian Azerbaijanis including Tabriz residents from a more liberal cleric, grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari , who was against the new constitutions content which was mixing religion and state together. The unrest in the city calmed down after brutal crush of the protesters in Tabriz and after house arrest of Shariatmadari. In the s, due to the Iran—Iraq War , like the rest of the country, most of the construction and development projects in the city were stopped in order to fund the war costs. In addition to the indirect effects of the war, city's industrial zone, specially the oil refinery was also a major target for air strikes by Iraqi's air forces because of the closeness to the Iraqi border lines, and their strategic roles in the country's economy.
With escalation of the war the attacks turned to War of the Cities and the air attacks later turned into the random strikes on the residential areas of the city in the later phase of the war. In recent years, Tabriz is much more stable and the new developments in the city are rapidly changing the face of the city. Tabriz was chosen as the capital by several rulers commencing from the time of Atropates.
It was the capital of the Ilkhanate Mongol dynasty since During the Ghazan Khan era, who came into power in , the city reached its highest splendour. Finally, it was capital of the Iranian Empire in the Safavid period from until their defeat in In , during a construction project at the north side of the Blue Mosque Part of Silk Road Project , an ancient graveyard was revealed. This was kept secret until a construction worker alerted the authorities.
Radiocarbon analysis by Allameh Tabatabi University has shown the background of the graves to be more than years old. A museum of these excavations including the Blue Mosque was opened to the public in The other excavation site is in Abbasi Street at the site of Rab'-e Rashidi , which was the location for an academic institution since approximately years ago. It was established in Ilkhanid period. The local area is earthquake-prone and during its history, the city has been devastated and rebuilt several times.
The city enjoys mild and fine climate in spring, dry and semi-hot in summer, humid and rainy in autumn and snowy cold in winter. The average annual temperature is Cool winds blow from east to west mostly in summer. Air pollution is one of the major environmental issues in Tabriz. Air pollution is due to increase of number of cars in the commuting in the city and the polluting industries such as thermal power plants, petrochemical complexes and the oil refinery in the west of the city, air pollution levels increased continuously in the second half of the 20th century.
With a mandate of national environmental codes by heavy industries the industrial air pollution is reduced in recent years. However the air quality in the city is far away from world norms for clean air.
An immediate environmental threat is the shrinkage and drying out of the Lake Urmia located in outskirts of Western Tabriz. The lake has faced a grave crisis since the late 20th century. Water depth reduction, increasing water salinity to saturation level and the appearance of vast salt fields around the lake, are alarming indications of gradual total desiccation of a unique ecosystem.
This occurred due to global warming and ever increasing demands for inadequate fresh water sources in the basin.
It is feared in the near future low-lying clouds of airborne salt and minerals may hover over large areas around the lake, posing serious health hazards. Authority for the city lies with the Mayor, who is elected by a municipal board. The municipal board is periodically elected by the city's residents. The Municipal central office is located at the Tabriz Municipality Palace. Tabriz is divided into 12 municipal districts. Each municipal district retains a number of the older neighborhoods that are of cultural and historical interest.
According to an official census, the population of Tabriz is 1,, The language has a strong Iranian substratum since it has been in close contact with the Persian language for many centuries. Similar to the other parts of Iran, the official language is Persian and the most inhabitants have native or near-native knowledge of Persian language , which is the major medium of education. For the first time, an academic program on Azerbaijani language opened at the University of Tabriz in It is believed that before the gradual increase and dominance of Azerbaijani language in the area, other Iranian languages similar to Farsi were spoken in Azerbaijan and Tabriz.
As a result of this royal order, the mostly Sunni population of Tabriz converted to Shia. The city has a visible Armenian Apostolic minority who follow Christianity.
There used to be a small Jewish community, but most of them have moved to Tehran. Sahand , o mountain of pure snow, Descended from Heaven with Zoroaster Fire in your heart, snow on your shoulders, with storm of centuries, And white hair of history on your chest Yadollah Maftun Amini born in [65].
The proximity to Sahand , a mountain in the south of the city, has been a source of inspiration for contemporary revolutionaries and poets alike. The power of this inspiring source, however, goes to much earlier times. Tabriz was a house for numerous Iranian writers, poets, and illumination movements. In old times the city notables, supported poets and writers by organizing periodical meetings.