East Azerbaijan Governance Palace

The East-Azerbaijan Provincial Palace is the main office for Iran's East-Azerbaijan provincial governor in downtown Tabriz. The history of the palace goes back to the Safavid and Zand dynasties, when it was named Aali Qapou. The original construction of the palace was supervised by Najaf Qoli Khan for the Safavid kings, when Tabriz was the capital of Iran. During the Qajar era, Aali Qapu served as the residence for the crown prince of Iran. It was reconstructed and repaired under Naser al-Din Shah, during which its name was changed to Shams ol-Emareh. Since the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, the palace has been used as the provincial governorship office.

The main parts of the original building were destroyed in a fire in 1933, which was followed by a major flood. Remaining parts of the original palace were destroyed entirely by the East Azerbaijan governor at the time, Ali Mansur, and a newer building was constructed.