CChronica Maps

Tabriz: History, Former Names & Timeline

Trading city of north-western Iran, capital of the Ilkhanate and of the early Safavids; its great bazaar is a World Heritage Site.

Map showing Tabriz in 1500Tabriz
Border map for 1500. See Europe in 1500.

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Former names of Tabriz

FromNameNote
AD 700Tabriz

Timeline of Tabriz

YearEvent
1265Abaqa Khan moves the Ilkhanate capital to Tabriz
1501Ismail I is proclaimed shah in Tabriz, founding the Safavid dynasty
1514The Ottomans occupy Tabriz after the Battle of Chaldiran
1555The Safavids move their capital to Qazvin
1908Tabriz holds out against a royalist siege during the Constitutional Revolution

Who ruled Tabriz

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–324 BCAchaemenid Empire
323 BC–201 BCAtropatene
200 BC–2 BCminor states
1 BC–399Parthian Empire
400–499Persia
500–699Sasanian Empire
700–799Umayyad Caliphate
800–999Abbasid Caliphate
1000–1299Armenia
1300–1399Ilkhanate
1400–1491Timurid Empire
1492–1599Emirate of the White Sheep Turks
1600–1782Ottoman Empire
1783–1919Persia
1920–todayIran

Nearby cities

Further reading

Questions about Tabriz

Which states have ruled Tabriz?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Tabriz lies within 14 different states: Achaemenid Empire, Atropatene, minor states, Parthian Empire, Persia, Sasanian Empire, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Armenia, Ilkhanate and others.

What are the key dates in the history of Tabriz?

1265: Abaqa Khan moves the Ilkhanate capital to Tabriz. 1501: Ismail I is proclaimed shah in Tabriz, founding the Safavid dynasty. 1514: The Ottomans occupy Tabriz after the Battle of Chaldiran. 1555: The Safavids move their capital to Qazvin. 1908: Tabriz holds out against a royalist siege during the Constitutional Revolution.

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.