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105-595: The name Transhimalaya was introduced by the Swedish geographer Sven Hedin in early 20th century. The Transhimalaya was described by the Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer in 1952 as an "ill-defined mountain area" with "no marked crest line or central alignment and no division by rivers." On more-modern maps the Kailas Range (Gangdise or Kang-to-sé Shan) in the west is shown as distinct from

210-486: A stupa , and 19 dwellings built of poplar wood. He also found a wooden wheel from a horse-drawn cart (called an arabas ) as well as several hundred documents written on wood, paper and silk in the Kharosthi script. These provided information about the history of the city of Loulan , which had once been located on the shores of Lop Nur but had been abandoned around the year 330 CE because the lake had dried out, depriving

315-851: A Swedish legation to Iran which was to present the Shah of Iran with the insignia of the Order of the Seraphim . As part of the Swedish legation, he was at an audience of the shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in Tehran. He spoke with him and later accompanied him to the Elburz Mountain Range. On 11 July 1890, he and three others climbed Mount Damavand where he collected primary material for his dissertation. Starting in September he traveled on

420-686: A book about these travels entitled Through Persia, Mesopotamia and the Caucasus . From 1886 to 1888, Hedin studied under the geologist Waldemar Brøgger in Stockholm and Uppsala the subjects of geology, mineralogy , zoology and Latin . In December 1888, he became a Candidate in Philosophy . From October 1889 to March 1890 he studied in Berlin under Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen . On 12 May 1890, he accompanied as interpreter and vice-consul

525-418: A bookish, bespectacled appearance, Hedin nevertheless proved himself a determined explorer, surviving several close brushes with death from hostile forces and the elements over his long career. His scientific documentation and popular travelogues, illustrated with his own photographs, watercolor paintings and drawings, his adventure stories for young readers and his lecture tours abroad made him world-famous. As

630-404: A camel caravan and ascertained that at least one of the escorts who, according to Hedin, had died of thirst had survived, and that it is impossible for a camel caravan traveling in springtime on this route to carry enough drinking water for both camels and travelers. According to other sources, Hedin had neglected to completely fill the drinking water containers for his caravan at the beginning of

735-595: A cold, arid montane climate. For example, the Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh , India, has an annual rainfall of about 170 mm. However, studies in Mustang District , Nepal, indicate that climate change is warming the Transhimalayas at a rate of about 0.13 degrees a year. The Transhimalayas generally have low species diversity (and vegetation cover) and are classified as dry alpine steppes. However,

840-544: A crisis and the dissolution of parliament . Ahmad Shah Qajar and his entourage decided to leave Tehran and move the capital to another place, sparking fears of rebellion in other cities. During the Battle of Robat Karim , Iranian forces led by Heydar Latifiyan prevented the Russians from taking Tehran, despite the latter winning the battle. This also allowed government functions to be moved to Qom and then to Isfahan, while

945-481: A grand total of only eight months and collecting primary material for one-and-a-half days on the snow-clad peak of Mount Damavand . Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen not only encouraged Hedin to absolve cursory studies, but also to become thoroughly acquainted with all branches of geographic science and the methodologies of the salient research work, so that he could later work as an explorer. Hedin abstained from doing this with an explanation he supplied in old age: I

1050-613: A renowned expert on Turkestan and Tibet, he was able to obtain unrestricted access to European and Asian monarchs and politicians as well as to their geographical societies and scholarly associations. They all sought to purchase his exclusive knowledge about the power vacuum in Central Asia with gold medals, diamond-encrusted grand crosses, honorary doctorates and splendid receptions, as well as with logistic and financial support for his expeditions. Hedin, in addition to Nikolai Przhevalsky , Sir Francis Younghusband , and Sir Aurel Stein ,

1155-873: A stopover in Kashgar, Hedin visited the 1,500-year-old abandoned cities of Dandan Oilik and Kara Dung , which are located northeast of Khotan in the Taklamakan Desert. At the beginning of March, he discovered Lake Bosten , one of the largest inland bodies of water in Central Asia. He reported that this lake is supplied by a single mighty feeder stream, the Kaidu River . He mapped Lake Kara-Koshun and returned on 27 May to Khotan. On 29 June, he started out from there with his caravan across northern Tibet and China to Beijing, where he arrived on 2 March 1897. He returned to Stockholm via Mongolia and Russia. Another expedition in Central Asia followed in 1899–1902 through

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1260-593: A study in the Spiti region found 23 medicinal plants. Previous surveys in this region had found a total of over 800 species of vascular plants . The Transhimalayas are home to the once endangered snow leopard , the Eurasian lynx , Tibetan wolf , red fox and Tibetan fox . Native herbivores include the argali , Tibetan gazelle , urial , wild ass or kiang , Asiatic ibex , yak and bharal . The Tibetan wolf, snow leopard and lynx are major predators of livestock in

1365-425: A substantial urban structure as a blessing, because it minimized the chances of resistance to his rule by the notables and by the general public. Moreover, he had to remain within close reach of Azerbaijan and Iran's integral northern and southern Caucasian territories —at that time not yet irrevocably lost per the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay to the neighboring Russian Empire —which would follow in

1470-678: Is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language , and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians . However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars , but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language . Iranian Azeris form

1575-464: Is served by Imam Khomeini International Airport , alongside the domestic Mehrabad Airport , a central railway station , Tehran Metro , a bus rapid transit system, trolleybuses , and a large network of highways . Plans to relocate the capital from Tehran to another area due to air pollution and earthquakes have not been approved so far. A 2016 survey of 230 cities across the globe by Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life . According to

1680-671: The Aegean Region . From the end of 1933 to 1934, Hedin led—on behalf of the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing—a Chinese expedition to investigate irrigation measures and draw up plans and maps for the construction of two roads suitable for automobiles along the Silk Road from Beijing to Xinjiang. Following his plans, major irrigation facilities were constructed, settlements erected, and roads built on

1785-577: The Alborz mountains. In English, it is also spelt " Teheran ", with both variants being used in books since at least 1800, and "Teheran" being the dominant form from after WWII until shortly before the Islamic Revolution. Archaeological remains from the ancient city of Ray suggest that settlement in Tehran dates back over 6,000 years. Tehran is in the historical Media region of ( Old Persian : 𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda ) in northwestern Iran. By

1890-694: The Annapurna Conservation Area (7,629 km.) in Nepal. In addition to protecting species diversity, restoration of the native Transhimalayan grasslands has also been found to trap more carbon in the soil, mitigating climate change. Sven Hedin Sven Anders Hedin , KNO1kl RVO , (19 February 1865 – 26 November 1952) was a Swedish geographer , topographer , explorer, photographer, travel writer and illustrator of his own works. During four expeditions to Central Asia, he made

1995-759: The Caucasus , Tehran , Iraq , lands of the Kyrgyz people and the Russian Far East , India , China and Japan . The posthumous publication of his Central Asia Atlas marked the conclusion of his life's work. At 15 years of age, Hedin witnessed the triumphal return of the Arctic explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld after his first navigation of the Northern Sea Route . From that moment on, young Sven aspired to become an explorer. His studies under

2100-710: The Empire of Japan . Because of political and social unrest in China , he had to abandon an expedition to Xinjiang . Instead, he traveled with Frans August Larson (called the "Duke of Mongolia") in November and December in a Dodge automobile from Peking through Mongolia via Ulan-Bator to Ulan-Ude , Russia and from there on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow. Between 1927 and 1935, Hedin led an international Sino-Swedish Expedition which investigated

2205-680: The Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations . In 2016, the Tehran City Council declared 6 October to be Tehran Day, celebrating the date in 1907 when the city officially became the capital of Iran. Various theories on the origin of the name Tehran have been put forward. Iranian linguist Ahmad Kasravi , in an article "Shemiran-Tehran", suggested that Tehran and Kehran mean "the warm place", and "Shemiran" means "the cool place". He listed cities with

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2310-546: The Golestan Palace , Tekye Dowlat , and Tupkhane Square , were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the buildings of the National Bank , the police headquarters, the telegraph office, and the military academy. Changes to the urban fabric began with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The Grand Bazaar

2415-496: The Ladakh region of India. Goats, sheep, yak and horses were their most common prey. In Mustang, Nepal, rising temperatures and declining snowfall are reducing the area available for agriculture, forcing villagers to relocate and reducing grassland and forest cover. This has also led to bharal shifting to lower elevations, where they raid crops. In turn, this attracts snow leopards to human settlements, where they prey on livestock. On

2520-615: The Mongol invasion . In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city to ruins, and massacred many of its inhabitants. Others escaped to Tehran. In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran on a journey to Samarkand , the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur , the ruler of Iran at the time. He described it in his diary as an unwalled region. Italian traveler Pietro della Valle passed through Tehran overnight in 1618, and in his memoirs called

2625-697: The Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire , the Milad Tower , the world's sixth-tallest self-supporting tower , completed in 2007, another famous landmark in Tehran is the Tabiat Bridge , completed in 2014. Most of the population are Persian , with roughly 99% of them speaking the Persian language , alongside other ethnolinguistic groups in the city which became Persianized and assimilated. Tehran

2730-498: The Republic of China , was he able to make the expedition also a Chinese one by obtaining Chinese research commissions and the participation of Chinese scientists. He also concluded a contract which guaranteed freedom of travel for this expedition which, because of its arms, 300 camels, and activities in a war theater, resembled an invading army. However, the financing remained Hedin's private responsibility. Because of failing health,

2835-615: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ; the Sven Hedin Foundation established soon thereafter holds all the rights of ownership. Hedin died at Stockholm in 1952. The memorial service was attended by representatives of the Swedish royal household, the Swedish government, the Swedish Academy, and the diplomatic service. He is buried in the cemetery of Adolf Fredrik church in Stockholm. Sven Hedin

2940-936: The Silk Road via cities Mashhad , Ashgabat , Bukhara , Samarkand , Tashkent and Kashgar to the western outskirts of the Taklamakan Desert. On the trip home, he visited the grave of the Russian Asian scholar, Nikolai Przhevalsky in Karakol on the shore of Lake Issyk Kul . On 29 March 1891, he was back in Stockholm. He published the books King Oscar's Legation to the Shah of Persia in 1890 and Through Chorasan and Turkestan about this journey. On 27 April 1892, Hedin traveled to Berlin to continue his studies under Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen . Beginning of July he went to University of Halle-Wittenberg , Halle , attending lectures by Alfred Kirchhoff . Yet in

3045-457: The Trans-Siberian Railway . With financial support from the governments of Sweden and Germany, he led, between 1927 and 1935, an international and interdisciplinary Sino-Swedish Expedition to carry out scientific investigations in Mongolia and Chinese Turkestan, with the participation of 37 scientists from six countries. Despite Chinese counter-demonstrations and after months of negotiations in

3150-724: The Transhimalaya known in the West and located sources of the Brahmaputra , Indus and Sutlej Rivers. He also mapped lake Lop Nur , and the remains of cities, grave sites and the Great Wall of China in the deserts of the Tarim Basin . In his book Från pol till pol ( From Pole to Pole ), Hedin describes a journey through Asia and Europe between the late 1880s and the early 1900s. While traveling, Hedin visited Turkey ,

3255-460: The University of Tehran , in many districts of Tehran across various socio-economic classes in proportion to population sizes of each district and socio-economic class, 63% of the people were born in Tehran, 98% knew Persian, 75% identified themselves as ethnic Persian, and 13% had some degree of proficiency in a European language. Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethnic-social composition in

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3360-572: The civil war in Chinese Turkestan , and a long period of captivity, Hedin, by then 70 years of age, had a difficult time after the currency depreciation of the Great Depression raising the money required for the expedition, the logistics for assuring the supplying of the expedition in an active war zone, and obtaining access for the expedition's participants to a research area intensely contested by local warlords . Nevertheless,

3465-684: The meteorological , topographic and prehistoric situation in Mongolia , the Gobi Desert and Xinjiang . Hedin described it as a peripatetic university in which the participating scientists worked almost independently, while he—like a local manager—negotiated with local authorities, made decisions, organized whatever was necessary, raised funds and recorded the route followed. He gave archaeologists , astronomers , botanists , geographers , geologists, meteorologists and zoologists from Sweden, Germany and China an opportunity to participate in

3570-468: The 1920s, and Tehran became a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century. Tehran is home to many historical sites, including the royal complexes of Golestan , Sa'dabad , and Niavaran , where the last two dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran's landmarks include the Azadi Tower , a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of

3675-604: The Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology and Geology of Munich University . These sedimentary rocks —such as breccia , conglomerate , limestone , and slate , as well as volcanic rock and granite —highlight the geological diversity of the regions visited by Hedin during this expedition. In 1923, Hedin traveled to Beijing via the United States —where he visited the Grand Canyon —and

3780-721: The Caspian Sea, riding through the Alborz Range to Tehran , Esfahan , Shiraz and the harbor city of Bushehr . From there he took a ship up the Tigris River to Baghdad (then in Ottoman Empire ), returning to Tehran via Kermanshah , and then travelling through the Caucasus and over the Black Sea to Constantinople . Hedin then returned to Sweden, arriving on 18 September 1886. In 1887, Hedin published

3885-592: The German geographer and China expert, Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen , awakened a love of Germany in Hedin and strengthened his resolve to undertake expeditions to Central Asia to explore the last uncharted areas of Asia. After obtaining a doctorate, learning several languages and dialects, and undertaking two trips through Persia , he ignored the advice of Ferdinand von Richthofen to continue his geographic studies to acquaint himself with geographical research methodology;

3990-463: The Iraqi air offensives on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at the time, economic isolation gave yet more reason for many inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and having struggled to adapt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and

4095-599: The Northwestern Province of China 1927–1933". A painting in the Beijing Palace Museum entitled Nomads in the Desert served as model for the series. Of the 25,000 sets, 4,000 were sold across the counter and 21,500 came into the possession of the expedition. Hedin used them to finance the expedition, selling them for a price of five dollars per set. The stamps were unwelcome at the time due to

4200-626: The Nyenchen Tanglha range in the east. The Transhimalayas are geologically distinct from the other Himalayan ranges. They were probably formed by subduction of sediments from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. A consensus of different dating methods suggests that the older parts of this range formed in the upper Cretaceous (82-113 Mya), while the younger regions formed in the Eocene (40-60 Mya). The Transhimalays generally have

4305-1000: The Pamir Mountains. Several attempts to climb the 7,546 metres (24,757 ft) high Muztagata —called the Father of the Glaciers—in the Pamir Mountains were unsuccessful. He remained in Kashgar until April 1895 and then left on 10 April with three local escorts from the village of Merket to cross the Taklamakan Desert via Tusluk to the Khotan River . Since their water supply was insufficient, seven camels died of thirst, as did two of his escorts (according to Hedin's dramatized and probably inaccurate account). Bruno Baumann traveled on this route in April 2000 with

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4410-442: The Silk Road from Beijing to Kashgar , which made it possible to completely bypass the rough terrain of Tarim Basin. One aspect of the geography of central Asia which intensively occupied Hedin for decades was what he called the "wandering lake" Lop Nur . In May 1934, he began a river expedition to this lake. For two months he navigated the Kaidu River and the Kum-Darja to Lop Nur, which had been filled with water since 1921. After

4515-634: The Swedish government, but also to foreign governments such as China and Germany, in lectures and personal discussions with political representatives of Chiang Kai-shek and Adolf Hitler . Although he was not a National Socialist , Hedin's hope that Nazi Germany would protect Scandinavia from invasion by the Soviet Union , brought him in dangerous proximity to representatives of National Socialism, who exploited him as an author. This destroyed his reputation and put him into social and scientific isolation. However, in correspondence and personal conversations with leading Nazis, his successful intercessions achieved

4620-426: The Tarim Basin, Tibet and Kashmir to Calcutta. Hedin navigated the Yarkand , Tarim and Kaidu rivers and found the dry riverbed of the Kum-darja as well as the dried out lake bed of Lop Nur . Near Lop Nur, he discovered the ruins of the 340 by 310 metres (1,120 by 1,020 ft) former walled royal city and later Chinese garrison town of Loulan, containing the brick building of the Imperial Chinese Army commander,

4725-514: The Tarim and Yanji basins in Xinjiang and the deposits of iron, manganese, oil, coal and gold discovered during the Sino-Swedish Expedition were opened up for mining. Among the discoveries of this expedition should also be counted the many Asian plants and animals unheard of until that date, as well as fossil remains of dinosaurs and other extinct animals. Many were named after Hedin, the species-level scientific classification being hedini . But one discovery remained unknown to Chinese researchers until

4830-403: The ancient history of Iranian languages such as "Tirgan" theory and "Tahran" theory folk etymology . Another theory is that "Tehran" derives from Tiran/Tirgan, "the abode of Tir ", the Zoroastrian equivalent of Hermes . The ancient Parthian town of Tiran had a neighbour, Mehran ("abode of Mehr/Mithra", the Zoroastrian sun/justice angel). Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of

4935-493: The assistance of the UNHCR , but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari -speaking Tajik and Hazara , speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mesopotamian Arabic -speakers who are often of Iranian and Persian ethnic heritage. The majority of Tehranis are officially Twelver Shia Muslims , which has also been

5040-436: The balcony he had a wide view over Riddarfjärden Bay and Lake Mälaren to the island of Långholmen . In the entryway to the stairwell is to be found a decorative stucco relief map of Hedin's research area in Central Asia and a relief of the Lama temple, a copy of which he had brought to Chicago for the 1933 World's Fair . On 29 October 1952, Hedin's will granted the rights to his books and his extensive personal effects to

5145-414: The capital of Tehran province , the city is the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District . With a population of around 9.4 million in the city as of 2018, and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia , the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East after Cairo , and the 24th most populous metropolitan area in

5250-405: The capital of Iran in 1786. Agha Mohammad Khan's choice of his capital was based on a similar concern for the control of both northern and southern Iran. He was aware of the loyalties of the inhabitants of former capitals Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid and Zand dynasties respectively, and was wary of the power of the local notables in these cities. Thus, he probably viewed Tehran's lack of

5355-432: The city Taheran . English traveler Thomas Herbert entered Tehran in 1627, and mentioned it as Tyroan . Herbert stated that the city had about 3,000 houses. In the early 18th century, Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty ordered a palace and a government office built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital; but he later moved his government to Shiraz . Eventually, Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan chose Tehran as

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5460-404: The city, from old to newly built centres, including mosques , churches , synagogues , and Zoroastrian fire temples . The city also has a very small third-generation Indian Sikh community with a local gurdwara that was visited by the Indian Prime Minister , Manmohan Singh in 2012. The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative center. Of

5565-629: The course of the 19th century. After 50 years of Qajar rule, the city still barely had more than 80,000 inhabitants. Up until the 1870s, Tehran consisted of a walled citadel, a roofed bazaar , and the three main neighborhoods of Udlajan , Chale-Meydan, and Sangelaj, where the majority resided. During the long reign of Naser al-Din Shah (1848-1896), Tehran witnessed Iran's first institute of higher learning , bank , railway line and museum. The city expanded rapidly through multiple development plans The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized traditional spatial structure. The second, under

5670-408: The early 1980s. After the political, social, and economic consequences of the 1979 Revolution and the years that followed, a number of Iranian citizens, mostly Tehranis, left Iran. The majority of Iranian emigrations have left for the United States , Germany , Sweden , and Canada . With the start of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the second wave of inhabitants fled the city, especially during

5775-458: The epics as the homeland of the protoplast Keyumars , the birthplace of King Manuchehr , the place where King Fereydun bound the dragon fiend Aždahāk (Bivarasp), and the place where Arash shot his arrow. In 641, during the reign of the Sasanian Empire , Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rhages, before fleeing to Khorasan. Rhages was dominated by the Parthian House of Mihran , and Siyavakhsh —the son of Mehran ,

5880-725: The era of discovery came to a close around 1920, Hedin contented himself with organizing the Sino-Swedish Expedition for qualified scientific explorers. Between 1893 and 1897, Hedin investigated the Pamir Mountains , travelling through the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang region, across the Taklamakan Desert , Lake Kara-Koshun and Lake Bosten , proceeding to study northern Tibet . He covered 26,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) on this journey and mapped 10,498 kilometres (6,523 mi) of them on 552 sheets. Approximately 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) led through previously uncharted areas. He started out on this expedition on 16 October 1893, from Stockholm, traveling via Saint Petersburg and Tashkent to

5985-459: The expedition and carry out research in their areas of specialty. Hedin met Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing , who thereupon became a patron of the expedition. The Sino-Swedish Expedition was honored with a Chinese postage stamp series which had a print run of 25,000. The four stamps show camels at a camp with the expedition flag and bear the Chinese text, "Postal Service of the Prosperous Middle Kingdom" and in Latin underneath, "Scientific Expedition to

6090-583: The expedition and set out for the desert with only half as much water as could actually be carried. When he noticed the mistake, it was too late to return. Obsessed by his urge to carry out his research, Hedin deserted the caravan and proceeded alone on horseback with his servant. When that escort also collapsed from thirst, Hedin left him behind as well, but managed to reach a water source at the last desperate moment. He did, however, return to his servant with water and rescued him. Nevertheless, his ruthless behavior earned him massive criticism. In January 1896, after

6195-402: The expedition was a scientific success. The archaeological artifacts which had been sent to Sweden were scientifically assessed for three years (or four years according to Chung-Chang Shen (C.C. Shen), who was the administrative officer for the Sino-Swedish Expedition Council, and drafted the contract), after which they were returned to China under the terms of the contract. Starting in 1937,

6300-473: The face of Tehran and ambitious projects were planned for the following decades. To resolve the problem of social exclusion , the first comprehensive plan was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and the American firm of Victor Gruen Associates identified the main problems blighting the city as high-density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually,

6405-427: The fundamental social and political upheavals of the 20th century and aligning his thinking and actions accordingly. Concerned about the security of Scandinavia, he favored the Swedish Navy 's construction of the battleship Sverige . In World War I he specifically allied himself in his publications with the German Empire and its conduct of the war. Because of this political involvement, his scientific reputation

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6510-407: The great city of Ray/Rhages. Mehran still exists as a residential district in Greater Tehran, as well as Ray, which forms the southern suburbs of Tehran. The official City of Tehran website says that "Tehran" comes from the Persian words "Tah" meaning "end", or "bottom", and "Ran" meaning "[mountain] slope"—literally, the bottom of the mountain (ته کوه), referring to Tehran's position at the foot of

6615-401: The high price Hedin was selling them at, but years later became valuable treasures among collectors. The first part of the expedition, from 1927 to 1932, led from Beijing via Baotou to Mongolia , over the Gobi Desert , through Xinjiang to Ürümqi , and into the northern and eastern parts of the Tarim Basin . The expedition had a wealth of scientific results which are being published up to

6720-487: The inhabitants of drinking water. During his travels in 1900 and 1901 he attempted in vain to reach the city of Lhasa , which was forbidden to Europeans. He continued to Leh , in Ladakh district, India. From Leh, Hedin's route took him to Lahore , Delhi, Agra , Lucknow , Benares to Calcutta , meeting there with George Nathaniel Curzon , England's then Viceroy to India. This expedition resulted in 1,149 pages of maps, on which Hedin depicted newly discovered lands. He

6825-402: The interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population mainly consisted of Iranians of all classes. The Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages in 1035, and again in 1042, but the city was recovered under the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians . Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before

6930-443: The lake dried out in 1971 as a consequence of irrigation activities, the above-mentioned transportation link enabled the People's Republic of China to construct a nuclear weapon test site at Lop Nur. Tehran Tehran ( / t ɛəˈr æ n , - ˈ r ɑː n , ˌ t eɪ -/ ; Persian : تهران Persian pronunciation: [tehˈɾɒːn] Tehrân ) is the capital and largest city of Iran. In addition to serving as

7035-426: The last Swede (to date) to be raised to the untitled nobility and was considered one of Sweden's most important personalities. As a member of two scientific academies, he had a voice in the selection of Nobel Prize winners for both science and literature. Hedin never married and had no children, rendering his family line now extinct. Hedin's expedition notes laid the foundations for a precise mapping of Central Asia. He

7140-404: The last mysterious portions of Asia and filling in the gaps by mapping an area completely unknown in Europe. As an explorer, Hedin became important for the Asian and European powers, who courted him, invited him to give numerous lectures, and hoped to obtain from him in return topographic, economic and strategic information about inner Asia, which they considered part of their sphere of influence. As

7245-463: The monarchy remained in Tehran. After World War I , the constituent assembly elected Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches to governance and planning. From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Several old buildings, including parts of

7350-675: The oil fields of Robert Nobel . Afterward he attended a course in topography for general staff officers for one month in summer 1885 and took a few weeks of instruction in portrait drawing; this comprised his entire training in those areas. On 15 August 1885, he traveled to Baku with Erhard Sandgren and instructed him there for seven months, and he himself began to learn the Latin , French, German, Persian , Russian, English and Tatar languages. He later learned several Persian dialects as well as Turkish , Kyrgyz , Mongolian , Tibetan and some Chinese. On 6 April 1886, Hedin left Baku for Iran (then called Persia), traveling by paddle steamer over

7455-440: The other hand, many wild herbivores are out-competed and displaced by livestock. A historical analysis suggests that the Transhimalayas have lost four wild herbivores over the last millennium or so of human habitation. Many parts of the Transhimalayas are now conserved. These include the Kangrinboqê National Forest Park in China, the Pin Valley National Park (675 km.) and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary (1400 km.) in India and parts of

7560-653: The pardoning of ten people condemned to death and the release or survival of Jews who had been deported to Nazi concentration camps . At the end of the war, United States Army troops deliberately confiscated documents relating to Hedin's planned Central Asia Atlas . The U.S. Army Map Service later solicited Hedin's assistance and financed the printing and publication of his life's work, the Central Asia Atlas . Whoever compares this atlas with Adolf Stielers Hand Atlas of 1891 can appreciate what Hedin accomplished between 1893 and 1935. Although Hedin's research

7665-597: The parliament passed a law on local governance known as the Baladie ( municipal law ), providing a detailed outline of issues such as the role of councils within the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. The then-Qajar monarch Mohammad Ali Shah abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament with the help of the Russian-controlled Cossack Brigade on June 23, 1908. That

7770-533: The planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socioeconomic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah named the White Revolution , Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran developed rapidly under Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered

7875-636: The present time. For example, the discovery of specific deposits of iron, manganese , oil, coal and gold reserves was of great economic relevance for China. In recognition of his achievements, the Berlin Geographical Society presented him with the Ferdinand von Richthofen Medal in 1933; the same honor was also awarded to Erich von Drygalski for his Gauss Expedition to the Antarctic ; and to Alfred Philippson for his research on

7980-462: The result was that Hedin had to leave the evaluation of his expedition results later to other scientists. Between 1894 and 1908, in three daring expeditions through the mountains and deserts of Central Asia , he mapped and researched parts of Chinese Turkestan (now Xinjiang ) and Tibet which had been unexplored by Europeans until then. Upon his return to Stockholm in 1909 he was received as triumphantly as Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. In 1902, he became

8085-475: The sacred Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash , the midpoint of the earth according to Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The most important goal of the expedition was the search for the sources of the Indus and Brahmaputra Rivers, both of which Hedin found. From India, he returned via Japan and Russia to Stockholm. He returned from this expedition with a collection of geological samples which are kept and studied in

8190-428: The same base and suffix and studied the components of the word in ancient Iranian languages , and came to the conclusion that Tehran and Kehran meant the same thing in different Iranian language families, as the constant "t" and "k" are close to each other in such languages. He also provided evidence that cities named "Shemiran" were colder than those named "Tehran" or "Kehran". He considered other theories not considering

8295-411: The same month, he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a 28-page dissertation entitled Personal Observations of Damavand . This dissertation is a summary of one part of his book, King Oscar's Legation to the Shah of Persia in 1890 . Eric Wennerholm remarked on the subject: I can only come to the conclusion that Sven [Hedin] received his doctorate when he was 27 years old after studying for

8400-465: The scientific material assembled during the expedition was published in over 50 volumes by Hedin and other expedition participants, thereby making it available for worldwide research on eastern Asia. When he ran out of money to pay printing costs, he pawned his extensive and valuable library, which filled several rooms, making possible the publication of additional volumes. In 1935, Hedin made his exclusive knowledge about Central Asia available, not only to

8505-495: The second-largest ethnic group of the city, comprising about 10-15% of the total population, while ethnic Mazanderanis are the third-largest, comprising about 5% of the total population. Tehran's other ethnic communities include Kurds , Armenians , Georgians , Bakhtyaris , Talysh , Baloch , Assyrians , Arabs , Jews , and Circassians . According to a 2010 census conducted by the Sociology Department of

8610-476: The son of Bahram Chobin —who resisted the seventh-century Muslim invasion of Iran . Because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rhages, they ordered the town destroyed and rebuilt anew by traitor aristocrat Farrukhzad . In the ninth century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less so than the city of Rhages, flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by tenth-century Muslim geographers. Despite

8715-414: The southwest of the country bordering Iraq . The unstable situation and the war in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in millions, with Tehran being a magnet for many seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for a far lower pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with

8820-689: The state religion since the 16th-century Safavid conversion . Other religious communities in the city include followers of the Sunni and Mystic branches of Islam, various Christian denominations, Judaism , Zoroastrianism , and the Baháʼí Faith . In the 2016 "Tehran Survey", when residents of Tehran were asked about the importance of religion in their life, 53.5% considered it to be "very important / important", 31.1% to be "rather important", 10.5% to be "not very important" and 4.8% to be "not at all important." There are many religious centres scattered around

8925-539: The supervision of Dar ol Fonun in 1878, included new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, mimicking the Renaissance cities of Europe. Tehran was 19.79 square kilometers, and had expanded more than fourfold. Growing awareness of civil rights resulted in the Constitutional Revolution and the first constitution of Iran in 1906. On June 2, 1907,

9030-526: The time of the Median Empire , part of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages ( Old Persian : 𐎼𐎥𐎠 Ragā ). In the Avesta 's Videvdat (i, 15), Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd . In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province ( Bistun 2, 10–18). From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes , who

9135-457: The turn of the millennium: in the Lop Nur desert, Hedin discovered in 1933 and 1934 ruins of signal towers which prove that the Great Wall of China once extended as far west as Xinjiang . From 1931 until his death in 1952, Hedin lived in Stockholm in a modern high-rise in a preferred location, the address being Norr Mälarstrand 66. He lived with his siblings in the upper three stories and from

9240-488: The urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks. During World War II , Soviet and British troops entered the city. In 1943, Tehran was the site of the Tehran Conference , attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin , and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill . The establishment of

9345-585: The whole plan was marginalized by the 1979 Revolution and the subsequent Iran–Iraq War . Tehran's most famous landmark, the Azadi Tower, was built by the order of the Shah in 1971. It was designed by Hossein Amanat , an architect whose design won a competition, combining elements of classical Sassanian architecture with post-classical Iranian architecture. Formerly known as the Shahyad Tower , it

9450-445: The world. Greater Tehran includes several municipalities, including, Karaj , Andisheh , Eslamshahr , Pakdasht , Qods , and Shahriar . In the classical antiquity , part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages (now Ray ), a prominent Median city almost entirely destroyed in the medieval Arab , Turkic , and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray was absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Tehran

9555-551: Was an active player in the British-Russian struggle for influence in Central Asia, known as the Great Game . Their travels were supported because they filled in the "white spaces" in contemporary maps, providing valuable information. Hedin was honored in ceremonies in: Hedin was, and remained, a figure of the 19th century who clung to its visions and methods also in the 20th century. This prevented him from discerning

9660-487: Was born in Stockholm, the son of Ludwig Hedin, Chief Architect of Stockholm. When he was 15 years old Hedin witnessed the triumphal return of the Swedish Arctic explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld after his first navigation of the Northern Sea Route . He describes this experience in his book My Life as an Explorer as follows: On 24 April 1880, the steamer Vega sailed into Stockholms ström . The entire city

9765-544: Was built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Imperial State of Iran . During the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 to 1988, Tehran was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes and Scud missile attacks. The 435-meter-high Milad Tower, one of the proposed development projects of pre-revolutionary Iran, was completed in 2007, and has become a famous landmark of Tehran. Tabiat Bridge, a 270-meter pedestrian overpass that

9870-551: Was damaged among the Allied powers , along with his memberships in their geographical societies and learned associations, as well as any support for his planned expeditions. After a less-than-successful lecture tour in 1923 through North America and Japan, he traveled on to Beijing to carry out an expedition to Chinese Turkestan (modern Xinjiang), but the region's unstable political situation thwarted this intention. He instead traveled through Mongolia by car and through Siberia aboard

9975-399: Was decisive for my future. Thunderous jubilation resounded from quays, streets, windows and rooftops. "That is how I want to return home some day," I thought to myself. In May 1885, Hedin graduated from Beskowska secondary school in Stockholm. He then accepted an offer to accompany the student Erhard Sandgren as his private tutor to Baku , where Sandgren's father was working as an engineer in

10080-418: Was designed by award-winning architect Leila Araghian , was completed in 2014. The city of Tehran had a population of 7,711,230 in 2,286,787 households at the time of the 2006 National Census. The following census in 2011 counted 8,154,051 people in 2,624,511 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 8,693,706 people in 2,911,065 households. With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran

10185-440: Was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished and replaced by wide straight avenues, and the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts in major public spaces such as the bazaar. As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through

10290-564: Was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1786, because of its proximity to Iran's territories in the Caucasus , then separated from Iran in the Russo-Iranian Wars , to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout history, however, and Tehran became the 32nd capital of Persia . Large-scale construction works began in

10395-424: Was followed by the capture of the city by the revolutionary forces of Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July 13, 1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced by his son Ahmad , and the parliament was re-established. During the Persian campaign , Russian forces that were occupying the northwest of Iran marched around Qazvin and approached Tehran, caused

10500-474: Was illuminated. The buildings around the harbor glowed in the light of innumerable lamps and torches. Gas flames depicted the constellation of Vega on the castle. Amidst this sea of light the famous ship glided into the harbor. I was standing on the Södermalm heights with my parents and siblings, from which we had a superb view. I was gripped by great nervous tension. I will remember this day until I die, as it

10605-457: Was not up to this challenge. I had gotten out onto the wild routes of Asia too early, I had perceived too much of the splendor and magnificence of the Orient, the silence of the deserts and the loneliness of long journeys. I could not get used to the idea of spending a long period of time back in school. Hedin had therewith decided to become an explorer. He was attracted to the idea of traveling to

10710-496: Was one of the first European scientific explorers to employ indigenous scientists and research assistants on his expeditions. Although primarily an explorer, he was also the first to unearth the ruins of ancient Buddhist cities in Chinese Central Asia. However, as his main interest in archaeology was finding ancient cities, he had little interest in gathering data thorough scientific excavations. Of small stature, with

10815-609: Was putting down a rebellion in Parthia (Bistun 3, 1–10). Some Middle Persian texts give Rhages as the birthplace of Zoroaster , although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan Province . Mount Damavand , the highest peak of Iran, which is located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsi 's Šāhnāme , an Iranian epic poem based on the ancient legends of Iran . It appears in

10920-698: Was taboo in Germany and Sweden because of his conduct relating to Nazi Germany, and stagnated for decades in Germany, the scientific documentation of his expeditions was translated into Chinese by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and incorporated into Chinese research. Following recommendations made by Hedin to the Chinese Nationalist government in 1935, the routes he selected were used to construct streets and train tracks, as well as dams and canals to irrigate new farms being established in

11025-709: Was the first to describe yardang formations in the Lop Desert. Between 1905 and 1908, Hedin investigated the Central Iranian desert basins, the western highlands of Tibet and the Transhimalaya , which for a time was afterward called the Hedin Range. He visited the 9th Panchen Lama in the cloistered city of Tashilhunpo in Shigatse . Hedin was the first European to reach the Kailash region, including

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