Shahrbani

Nazmiyye (1913–1935)
Shahrbani (1935–1991)
Nazmiyye (1913–1935); Shahrbani (1935–1991)
	Official seal until 1979
	1979–1991
Agency overview
Formed	22 June 1913
Dissolved	1 April 1991
Superseding agency	Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Iran
Operations jurisdiction	Iran
General nature	Civilian police;
Operational structure
Headquarters	Tehran
Parent agency	Ministry of Interior

Shahrbani (Persian: شهربانی Shahrbâni [ˌʃæhɹbɒːˈniː]; lit. 'City Police'), formerly called Nazmiyeh (نظمیه Nazmiyye [næzmiːˈje]; lit. 'Order Service'), was a law enforcement force in Iran with police duties inside cities. Founded during the Qajar era, it was eventually merged in 1991 with the Iranian Gendarmerie and the Islamic Revolution Committees to form the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Faraja).^[1]

History

The institutional foundations of the Shahrbani were established in the early twentieth century, when Iran’s urban police were reorganized from locally based Nazmiyeh units into a more centralized national system.^[2] Between 1911 and 1935, spanning the late Qajar (1789-1925) and early Pahlavi (1925-1979) periods, successive governments sought to professionalize law enforcement using European models while promoting Iranian control and nationalization.^[3] Early reforms were introduced by foreign officers, including Count Monteforte of Austria-Hungary and later Swedish police advisers, whose role ended once Reza Shah expelled foreign instructors as part of his program of centralization.^[4] During this period, police academies and new investigative units were created, and the professional journal Nazmiyeh began publication, serving as a medium for technical instruction and moral training.^[5] These reforms transformed policing from a local, mediatory institution into a hierarchical, state-run national service that came to be known as the Shahrbani-ye koll-e keshvar (National Police).^[3]