Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BC. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rhages which was flourishing nearby in the pre-Mongol era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Ray by Mongols, many of its inhabitants fled to Tehran. In some sources of the Mongol era the city is mentioned as "Rhages's Tehran" (طهرانِ ری). The city is later mentioned in Hamdollah Mostowfi's Nuz'hat al-Qulub (written in 1340) as a famous village.

Don Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian ambassador, was probably the first European to visit Tehran, stopping in July 1404, while on a journey to Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan) and the Mongol capital at the time. At this time, the city of Tehran was unwalled.

Tehran became a residence of the Safavid rulers in the 17th century. Tahmasp I built a bazaar and a wall around the city, but it somewhat fell out of favour after Abbas I turned sick when he was passing the city to go to a war with the Uzbeks.

In the early 18th century, Karim Khan Zand ordered a palace, a harem, and a government office to be built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital, but later moved his government to Shiraz. Tehran finally became the capital of Persia in 1795, when the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan was crowned in the city. It remains the capital to this day.

During World War II, British and Soviet troops entered the city. Tehran was the site of the Teheran Conference in 1943, attended by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.

Following the war, the city's older landmarks suffered under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah. The shah believed that ancient buildings such as large parts of the Golestan Palace, Takieh-ye Dowlat, The Toopkhooneh Square (pictured to the right), and others should not be part of a modern city. They were systematically destroyed and modern 1950s and 1960s buildings were built in their place. The decision to carry this out is presently largely seen as a foolish mistake that hurt the visual fabric of the city beyond repair.

On September 8 1978, demonstrations against the Shah led to riots. The army reportedly opened fire on the demonstrating mob. Martial law was installed in the wake of the ensuing revolution, from 1978-80.

During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, Tehran was the scene of repeated Scud missile attacks and air strikes against random residential and industrial targets within the city, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties.
Material damage was repaired soon after each strike.

The Azadi Tower is the first landmark visitors come across when arriving from the Mehrabad International Airport. The tower has become an icon for Tehran and a national symbol of Iran.

Tehran suffers from extremely serious traffic congestion and pollution problems. Respiratory ailments such as asthma are very common. Tehran has become so congested over the past decade that the government has considered moving the nation's capital to another city to alleviate these problems and help de-centralize the economy and population. But because Iran's economy and politics are so centralized, millions have little choice but to live and work in Tehran.

The Peacock Throne of the Persian Shahs can be found in Tehran's Golestan Palace. Some of the important museums are National Museum of Iran, Sa'dabad Palaces Complex, Glassware and Ceramics Museum of Iran, The Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran's Underglass painting Museum, and Niavaran Palace Complex. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is also appealing to many because it features the works of great artists such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

The huge Tehran International Fair organises many expositions. Its book expositions are especially popular. Tehran is also the seat of Iran's Parliament (the Majles). And Tehran is also home to the world's fourth tallest free standing structure, the Milad Tower.

The Tehran International Trade and Convention Center, also called The Milad Complex, is one of the largest structures in Iranian architecture. It is scheduled to be finished in late 2007.
The complex contains the world's 4th highest tower which has several restaurants, a five star hotel, a convention center, a world trade center, and an IT park (to be completed by March 2007). The complex seeks to respond to the needs of business in the globalized world of the 21st century by offering facilities combining trade, information, communication, convention and accommodation all in one place.
The Milad Tower is predicted to replace the long-time symbol of Tehran, the Azadi Tower.

----

The city of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative centers. Within these 22 districts, Tehran contains the following major neighborhoods

In 2001 a metro system that had been in planning since the 1970s opened the first two of seven envisaged lines -- even though the city is prone to earthquakes. Work has been slow and coverage remains very limited. Development of the Tehran metro system had been interrupted by the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Problems arising from the late completion of the metro led to buses taking on the role of the metro lines, serving mainly long distance routes. Taxis filled the void for local journeys. The taxis only drive on main roads, and only within the local area, so it can be necessary to take several taxis to get to one's final destination. This has all led to extreme congestion and air pollution within the city.

Tehran is served by Mehrabad International Airport, the old airport which doubles as a military base located in the western part of the city, and Imam Khomeini International Airport, 50 kilometers south, which handles flights from the Persian Gulf but which will eventually handle all international flights. The new airport is more than overdue, but is efficient, although security concerns have made the governments of Britain and Australia warn their foreign nationals in Iran.

Tehran also has a central train station with connecting services round the clock to various cities in the country. There are four bus terminals that also provide connections at low fares. These are the South, East, West, and Bei-haghi Park-Drive Terminals.

While the center of the city houses the government ministries and headquarters, the commercial centers are more located toward Valiasr Street, Taleghani Ave, and Beheshti Ave. further north. Although administratively separate, Rey, Shemiran, and Karaj are often considered part of the larger Tehran metropolitan area.

See also: List of Tehran metro stations, Tehran Monorail

Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe air pollution and the city is often covered by smog making breathing difficult and causing widespread pulmonary illnesses. It is estimated that about 27 people die each day from pollution-related diseases.*

The air pollution is due to several different reasons: 1) Economical: most Iranian industries are located on the outskirts of Tehran. The city is also overrun with old and aging cars which do not meet today's emission regulations. Furthermore, Iran's busiest airport, Mehrabad International Airport, is located in the west of the city; 2) Infrastructure: Tehran has a poor public transportation network. Buses and metros do not cover every area of the city. Most people are then obliged to either use private cars or hire taxis. This has created severe traffic and congestion; 3) Geographical: Tehran is bound in the north by the massive Alborz mountain range that is stopping the flow of the humid Caspian wind. As a result, thermal inversion that traps Tehran's polluted air is frequently observed. The lack of humidity and clouds makes Tehran a very sunny city. The UV radiations then combined with the existing pollutants significantly raise the level of the ozone.

The government, however, is engaged in a battle to reduce the air pollution. It has for instance encouraged taxis and buses to convert from petrol engines to engines that run on compressed natural gas. Furthermore, since 1979 the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has setup a "Traffic Zone" (طرح ترافیک) covering the city center during peak traffic hours. Entering and driving inside this zone is only allowed with a special permit. The government is also trying to raise people's awareness about the hazards of the pollution. One method that is currently been employed is the installation of Pollution Indicator Boards all around the city to monitor the current level of particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO). The board also displays the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI), which is a general indication of air quality based on the measurements of the above-mentioned five pollutants. The Pollution Indicator Boards classify the level of each pollutants as either safe, hazardous or dangerous.

K.N.Toosi University of Technology (KNTU)

Allameh Tabatabaii University (ATU)

Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic)

Alzahra University (AU)

Imam Hossein University (IHU)

Imam Sadeq University (ISU)

Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM)

Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS

Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)

Islamic Azad University of Karaj

Islamic Azad University of Roodehen

Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Medical Sciences

Islamic Azad University of Tehran-North

Islamic Azad University of Tehran-South

Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Central

Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Region one

Islamic Azad University of Shahr-e-Rey

Shahed University

Shahid Beheshti University (SBU)

Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBUMS)

Sharif University of Technology

Tarbiat Modares University (TMU)

Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)

Farabi Institute of Virtual Higher Education

Tarbiat Moallem University

University of The Arts

University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences

University of Tehran

University of Emam Reza

Hadith College of Tehran

Imam Ali University for Army Officers

Comprehensive University of Technology

Tehran University of Applied Science and Technology

Tehran College of Environment

Bagher Aloloum University

International University of Iran

Iran College of Tele-communications

Medical University for the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army

NAJA University of Police

School of Economic Affairs (SEA)

School of International Relations (SIR)

Shahed University of Medical Sciences

Shahid Sattari University of Aeronautical Engineering

University of Islamic Sects

The Research Institute of The Petroleum Industry

Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute

Power and Water Institute of Technology(PWIT) (website)

Baqiyatallah Medical Sciences University

Tehran was the first city in the Middle East to host the Asian Games. The 7th Asian Summer Games in 1974, was held with the participation of 2,363 athletes and officials from 25 countries.

Tehran is also the site of Iran's national football stadium on Azadi Sport Complex with 100,000 seating capacity. Many of the top matches of Iran's Premier League are held here. In 2005, FIFA ordered Iran to limit spectators allowed into Azadi stadium because of a fatal crush and inadequate safety procedures. Other stadiums in Tehran are Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium, Takhti Stadium, and Shahid Shirudi Stadium, among others.

Within 10 minutes of driving distance from Tehran lies a ski resort. Tochal is the world's fifth highest ski resort at over 3730m at its highest 7th station. The resort was completed in 1976 shortly before the overthrow of the Shah.

Here, one must first ride the eight km (five mile) long gondola lift which covers a huge vertical. The 7th station has three slopes. The resort's longest slope is the south side U shaped slope which goes from the 7th station to 5th station. The other two slopes are located on the north side of the 7th station. Here, there are two parallel chair ski lifts that go up to 3900m near Tochal's peak (at 4000m), rising higher than the gondola 7th station. This altitude is higher than any of the European resorts.

From the Tochal peak, one has a spectacular view of the Alborz range, including the 5671 metre (18606 ft) high Mt. Damavand, a dormant volcano.

At the bottom of the lifts in a valley behind the Tochal peak is Tochal hotel, located at 3500m altitude. From there a T lift takes skiers up the 3800 metres of Shahneshin peak, where the third slope of Tochal is.

Tochal 7th station has skiing eight months of the year. But there are also some glaciers and year-round snow fields near Tehran where skiing began in 1938, thanks to the efforts of two German railway engineers. Today, 12 ski resorts operate in Iran, but the most famous are Tochal, Dizin, and Shemshak, all within one to three hours of Tehran.

See also: Sports in Iran

In football (soccer), Tehran is host to seven football clubs in Iran's Premier Football League, namely:

Pirouzi/Persepolis Saba Battery Saipa Paykan

Rah Ahan Pas Tehran Esteghlal

These clubs have on numerous occasions won Asian titles, and some of their players are known internationally. The prominent matches are usually held at Azadi stadium.