The First Photography of Iran's Historical Sites Ordered by Naser al-Din Shah

The first photographs of Iran's historical and archaeological sites were taken under the order of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in the first half of the year 1266 in the Islamic calendar. Accordingly, two years after the beginning of his reign, Naser al-Din Shah commissioned the Frenchman Jules Richard to photograph historical monuments in Iran, especially Persepolis. However, Richard was unable to progress beyond Isfahan and suspended the project due to financial shortages and lack of necessary facilities. Experts believe that if he had completed this mission with foresight, he could have immortalized his name in the history of world photography, just as Maxim Du Camp did by photographing ancient Egyptian monuments between 1849 and 1851. According to Heritage News, the first photographs taken of Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rustam, and Pasargadae were captured by Luigi Pesce, an Italian officer, in the year 1274 in the Islamic calendar. His photos are considered the first real images using photography techniques of Iran's ancient sites. Luigi Pesce organized the photos into an album and presented it to Naser al-Din Shah. Later, Pesce also took photos of the Soltaniyeh Dome (around Zanjan) and added them to this album. This album and several others related to historical monuments and religious sites are preserved among the royal albums in Golestan Palace. A year and a half after Pesce photographed Persepolis, in the year 1276 in the Islamic calendar, Naser al-Din Shah took photos of the ancient village of Khoreh, where two columns of ancient ruins still stood, during his travels to Qom, Kurdistan, Soltaniyeh, and Azerbaijan. These photos, along with images of the Soltaniyeh Dome, the Blue Mosque of Tabriz, the Tower of Rey, the Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in Khorramabad, and the old Dezful Bridge, are kept in album number 697 in the album house of Golestan Palace.