The Idea of Heritage in Nineteenth-Century Iran: Nādir Mīrzā’s Account on Tabriz

Boshra Moossavi

SMArchS Aga Khan Program

Advisors: Arindam Dutta & David Roxburgh

Readers: Pamela Karimi

This thesis focuses on the concept of heritage and its preservation in nineteenth-century Iran through the perspective of Prince Nādir Mīrzā Qājār (1827-1887/8). While heritage and preservation have been extensively studied in the Euro-American context, little attention has been given to their meanings in the non-Western discourses, particularly in Iran. The few studies on Iran focus on the institutionalization of heritage and the Western influences on it. This research seeks to provide a fresh perspective on the idea of heritage for non-reformist groups of people. To this end, Nādir Mīrzā’s The History and Geography of Tabriz, which reflects traditional Iranian patterns of thought, was selected. By an in-depth investigation of the book, I shed light on the difference between Nādir Mīrzā’s understanding of architecture and what later was promoted as heritage by the Society for National Heritage (SNH) in the twentieth century. The manuscript belongs to the antiquarian category of texts that focus on history and geography in tribute to rulers and princes. However, unlike other works of this genre that mainly consist of chronicles,

I would contend that, this book offers insight into a broader era of the traditional built environment in Qajar Iran. Moreover, Tabriz itself, situated near the Ottoman Empire and inhabited predominantly by Azari speakers, is significant from a strategic and ethnic point of view.

The first chapter of this thesis examines Nādir Mīrzā's background, including his family lineage, education, and writing style, to understand how his understanding of heritage was shaped. This chapter suggests that Nādir Mīrzā’s understanding of heritage was rooted in the traditional way of thinking in Iran rather than being influenced by Europe.

The second chapter explores how Nādir Mīrzā's writing is a form of heritage as it attempts to preserve certain aspects of history. The chapter, then, investigates how various identifications, such as religion, class, linguistic, and ethnic identities, influenced Nādir Mīrzā's choice for heritagization of the past.

The third chapter investigates Mīrzā's values by analyzing his accounts of buildings. It concludes that Nādir Mīrzā conferred specif- ic values on buildings, including religious and religious functionality; age, history, and antiquity; architecture, art, and craft; material; function; excursion; and nationalistic value, which were more encompassing than the later values established by SNH.

The fourth chapter investigates the role of those values in preser- vation and maintenance of buildings through extracting the reasons for construction, repair, and destruction from Nādir Mīrzā's accounts. The conclusion proposes further investigation into other sources to complete the narrative of non-European understanding of heritage in nineteenth-century Iran.