Documentary Validity and Official Status of the 1930 “New Map of Tehran”: Reassessing Its Conflict with Tehran Municipality Notice

Ataei Ashtiani, Zohreh

doi:10.22034/dpr.2026.596828.1025

Documentary Validity and Official Status of the 1930 “New Map of Tehran”: Reassessing Its Conflict with Tehran Municipality Notice

https://doi.org/10.22034/dpr.2026.596828.1025

Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
October 2026

Pages 163-190

Journal of Diplomatics Studies and Research

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Zohreh Ataei Ashtiani

Assistant Professor of Asian Cultural Documentation Center.Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies. Tehran. IRAN.

Abstract

Historical urban maps are important sources for understanding physical transformation and urban development; however, a map’s historical validity does not necessarily mean that all of its information is accurate or that its proposed plans were officially approved. The 1930 Plan de la Ville Téhéran, attributed to François de Romeiser, depicts Tehran’s street network, buildings, and institutions, while also identifying proposed streets and street widenings (Romeiser, 1930). In the same year, the Tehran Municipality issued a public notice, reproduced by Shirazian with reference to Ettela’at newspaper dated 27 Aban 1309 SH, stating that the map did not correspond to the “actual map of the city” or the Municipality’s “genuine project” (Ettela’at, 27 Aban 1309 SH, cited in Shirazian, 2016, p. 106).

Using a historical-documentary method, this study compares the 1930 map, the Municipality’s notice, a street map attributed to 1308 SH, and contemporary legal and administrative evidence. The findings suggest that a major point of disagreement concerned the proposed streets and widenings and whether they represented a plan officially approved by the Municipality. At the same time, the notice’s reference to the “actual map of the city” suggests that disagreement over some information concerning existing Tehran cannot be ruled out.

The “New Map of Tehran” remains a valuable source for understanding Tehran and contemporary ideas of urban development in the early Pahlavi period. Nevertheless, its proposed streets and widenings should not be treated as an official municipal plan without independent administrative evidence. Since the original issue of Ettela’at, the precise provenance of the map attributed to 1308 SH, and a document identifying the Municipality’s “genuine project” were unavailable, the conclusions remain cautious. The study therefore distinguishes between the historical validity of a document, the reliability of its information, and the official approval of the plans represented within it.

Keywords

New Map of Tehran

Tehran Municipality

Franç

ois de Romeiser

historical map

urban planning

Subjects

Documentary and Archival Studies Research

References

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