With the beginning of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar’s reign and the formation of a central powerful government, Iran entered a new era of political and social life, as this era continued differently with Fath Ali Shah ascending to the throne. The establishment of Tabriz’s Dar al-Saltana in 1798, together with the presence of great viziers such as Mirza Isa and Mirza Abolqasem Qaem-Maqam Farahani, led Crown Prince Abbas Mirza toward what appeared to be a conversion of Tabriz into a hub for a “modern project” far from the “old establishments” of Tehran’s court. Receiving heavy losses and defeats from Russians resulted in a fundamental and deep-thinking crisis in the minds of Abbas Mirza and his great Qaem-Maqam, as well as in society, posing a big question that augured the beginning of an awakening for Iranians. When changes were made to the army, the creation of a new system and modernization in Tabriz did not just remain in minds; rather it expanded to cities and urban developmental processes, which partly transformed the image of the city. Later, these changes turned into a model for similar measures in Tehran and other cities across Iran. This article aimed to re-read modernity at Tabriz’s Dar Al-Saltana, as the effects of this re-reading in the city of Tabriz actualized and became a model for urban changes in Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras. The principles of modern urban developments in the “Tabriz Style” or “Tabriz School” became the origin of the transformation of cities across Iran. For this, the goal of the present study was to investigate this claim by using the literature and different sources to analyze data using a descriptive-explanatory method.
