November 23, 2011 at 10:14 AM

The Human Geography of the Bazaar in Iran

The Iranian bazaar thrives as a modern political force capable of bringing about revolution and toppling regimes. The bazaar’s power is so significant that today’s Islamic Republic considers itself a direct result of—and its personnel made up of—the Tehran bazaar. The geographic location of the bazaar and the centrality of its position in social and political affairs give the bazaar a unique place in the human geography of Iran.

There are many factors that have created the political powerhouse that is the bazaar. Some are intrinsic, namely the bazaar’s economic power and its physical location in urban settings. Others have developed over time, such as the use of informal networks to foster group cohesion and the longstanding close relationship between the bazaar and the Shiite clergy.

The bazaar is a distinct social class that occupies the heart of commerce in Iranian cities. It lies between the lowest and highest classes, according to Guilain Deneoux, and contains its own hierarchy, from big-time merchants and moneylenders to street vendors and peddlers. Physically, the bazaar has historically occupied a separate space in urban life that on the one hand helps forge a distinct identity, and on the other hand its central location has aided in the creation of ties and discourse with other segments of society. Arang Keshavarzian notes, “The Tehran bazaar, like most Middle Eastern marketplaces, was adjacent to the royal administrative headquarters, representing a fusion of palace and marketplace.” This, coupled with the fact that the bazaar is often next to Islamic centers, creates a religious and political dynamic unique to the bazaar.

The bazaar is also usually described as a highly heterogeneous place, where intra-class stratification is coupled with religious and ethnic plurality. What ultimately fosters a collective, communal identity among bazaaris are kinship ties, spatial concentration and unique practices and institutions. While the bazaar is also home to Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians—who take up specific trades based on their background—the vast majority is Shiite Muslim. Therefore, the role of the mosque is central in understanding how the bazaar has rebelled throughout history.

A factor that contributes to the cohesion and success of the bazaar as a political force is that the bazaar used and continues to use informal networks of socialization. These networks include “guilds, religious brotherhoods, gymnasiums, and Sufi houses of worship,” according to Deneoux. Within and among these networks, the bazaar saw the exchange of political ideas and news that ultimately led to the bazaar’s mobilization during the revolution. Of all the different avenues of bazaari discourse and communal gathering, none were as influential as the religious gatherings called hayat-e senfis. These gatherings brought bazaaris together under the cause of bettering their community by reaching out to the urban poor. The ulama-led hayat-e senfis also enabled the exchange of political views, often from a religious context that heightened the bond between the clergy and the bazaar.

Throughout Iranian history, the bazaar has played important social, cultural, economic and political roles. As the hub of commerce in Iranian cities, the bazaar was a center for gossip and urban life and garnered a reputation fraught with stereotypes, from the positive to the negative. For some, the bazaar was a bastion of traditional, indigenous and unadulterated Iranian culture. For others, the bazaar was a place of corruption and greed, where merchants manipulated religious appearances for commercial gain. While it contains an intra-class hierarchy, there exists a level of cohesion that has enabled the bazaar to mobilize as an extremely powerful political force. The bazaar is a socio-commercial entity. As a middle class group located in the heart of the Iranian city, it is highly influential due to the benefits of its physical location and cultural interests.

The_Human_Geography_of_the_Bazaar_in_Iran.pdf

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