Marble Palace (Tehran)

The image of Marble Palace on a 100 Iranian rial banknote dated 1974

The property in which the Marble Palace is situated used to belong to Prince Abbas Mirza Farman Farmaian, and contained his private residences and office. Upon ascension to the throne, Reza Shah, whom had previously been a sentry guard at the property confiscated it from the Farmanfarmaian family and evicted the family of Abbas Mirza Farman Farmaian in less than 24 hours. The demolition of the earlier buildings took place shortly thereafter.

The Marble Palace was built between 1934 and 1937.[1] It was constructed on the orders of Reza Shah by French engineer Joseph Leon and Iranian architect Fat'hollah Firdaws.[2] It was originally built to host official functions and receptions.[3]

The palace was used by Reza Shah and then his son Mohammad Reza Shah as their residence.[4] Reza Shah and his fourth spouse Esmat Dowlatshahi lived at the palace with their five children until Reza Shah's exile in 1941.[5] Reza Shah signed his letter of abdication at the palace in September 1941.[6]

Numerous significant royal events occurred during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah. It was one of his two significant palaces in addition to Golestan Palace.[2] The Marble palace was identified with the Shah's persona in the 1950s.[2] The palace hosted all three marriage ceremonies of the Shah. The Iranian wedding ceremony of the Shah and his first spouse, Princess Fawzia, was held at the palace in 1939, and it was their residence until their divorce in 1945.[7]

In October 1950, the betrothal ceremony and in February 1951, the wedding ceremony of the Shah and his second spouse, Soraya Esfandiary, were held at the palace.[8][9] Both betrothal and marriage of the Shah to his third wife, Farah Diba, also occurred at the palace.[10][11] Shahnaz Pahlavi, daughter of the Shah and Princess Fawzia, also wed Ardeshir Zahedi at the palace in October 1957.[12] In addition, the palace hosted the Shah's 48th birthday party.[13]

Besides these events the Shah also survived an assassination attempt at the palace on 10 April 1965 perpetrated by an Iranian soldier.[14][15] Following this event which is known as the Marble Palace Plot[16] the palace was no longer in use[17] and was made a museum in 1970.[18]

^ Cyrus Ghani (2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. London: I.B.Tauris. p. 412. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4. ^ a b c Pamela Karimi (2013). Domesticity and Consumer Culture in Iran: Interior Revolutions of the Modern Era. London: Routledge. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-135-10137-4. ^ Cite error: The named reference enir was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Cite error: The named reference farsf was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Diana Childress (2011). Equal Rights Is Our Minimum Demand: The Women's Rights Movement in Iran 2005. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7613-7273-8. ^ Fariborz Mokhtari (Spring 2005). "No One will Scratch My Back: Iranian Security Perceptions in Historical Context". The Middle East Journal. 59 (2): 209–229. doi:10.3751/59.2.12. JSTOR 4330125. ^ "Colorful Fetes Mark Royal Wedding that will Link Egypt and Persian". The Meriden Daily Journal. 13 March 1939. Retrieved 8 August 2013. ^ "Iran's Shah will marry". The Michigan Daily. Tehran. AP. 12 October 1950. Retrieved 26 July 2013. ^ "Gifts for wedding". Daytona Beach Morning. Tehran. AP. 12 February 1951. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ "Teheran - Shah's Wedding 1959". British Pathe. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ Ibrahim Hadidi. "Betrothal of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Diba". IICHS. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ "Iran Shah's daughter to wed engineer in simple ceremony". Lewiston Evening Journal. Tehran. AP. 10 October 1957. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ "Mohamad Reza Shah and Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi's Coronation". Iran Politics Club. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ "Shah of Iran". NNDB. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ Robert Muse (16 July 1975). "The rise of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlevi". Ludington Daily News. London. UPI. Retrieved 23 July 2013. ^ James A. Bill (February 1970). "Modernization and Reform From Above: The Case of Iran". The Journal of Politics. 32 (1): 29. doi:10.2307/2128863. hdl:2152/24201. JSTOR 2128863. S2CID 155052262. ^ Cite error: The named reference alam was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Mir M. Hosseini (30 October 1973). "Marmar Palace Becomes Museum". Fouman. Retrieved 22 August 2013.