ABSTRACT
Near the end of the Qajar dynasty (1785-1925), Iran’s relationship with Europe greatly expanded; one eect of this was commissions by the Qajar kings for a wide range of palatial structures that were amalgams of Iranian and European styles. After 1906, when the dynasty was forced by popular unrest to provide a constitutional system, royal funding for the creation of palatial complexes was limited. Subsequently, the country was aorded a series of important new public institutions such as the Society of National Heritage, which was integral to Iran’s massive project of modernization. Ocially established in 1922 (then terminated in 1934, to be relaunched in 1944), the Society of National Heritage became a venue through which many preservation projects, as well as the building of a series of new public institutions, became possible.1 With the support of the founders and members of the Society of National Heritage, many archeological sites were excavated and old monuments restored. Although those in charge were often foreign nationals, they nonetheless contributed immensely to the public awareness of Iran’s national heritage.
