How did Tehran grow after it became the Qajar capital?

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Tehran: mosque in bazaar — Tehran Mosque with cupola in the bazaar, Tehran.

After Agha Mohammad Khan established Tehran as the Qajar dynasty capital in 1786, the city experienced rapid expansion. The arrival of courtiers and soldiers stimulated trade and industry, causing the population to more than triple to 50,000 by 1796.1

By the mid-19th century, residential neighborhoods had developed around the city's central citadel and marketplaces. As Iran became integrated into the global capitalist system, the economy shifted toward exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods.1

In the late 19th century, a significant modernization program drastically transformed the capital. The urban area expanded several times over with the construction of new walls, gates, streets, and institutions. This development created a distinct north-south divide, separating wealthy, modern areas from traditional, poorer districts, which fundamentally altered the city's social and physical character as it approached a period of revolutionary turmoil.1