An Investigation and Analysis of the Elements of Urban Power in Historical and Contemporary Periods

City should be regarded as a mirror in which any change is closely associated with the political, economic, social and cultural systems of different societies. In fact, the city administration in each period indicates the relations and connections of the different systems governing the city. To examine these changes, these relations and connections governing urban communities need to be studied. What has most affected the city is power structure in city, that in fact, power structure and government system are a miniature of all comprehensive relations, which are in close connection with social, economic, political, and legal structures. The main issue is that cities are strongly influenced by power and its elements, and the way of being influenced is the case of this study. The purpose of research is to identify the elements of power and how they affect Iranian cities in different historical periods. Therefore, to understand the general characteristics of the way of city administration in Iran, there is a need to examine the political and social characteristics and general structure of Iran in historical periods. In this paper, the type of pattern governing Iranian cities in different historical periods have been investigated and analyzed using a descriptive and documentary method. The results of this study suggest that investigating the elements of urban power in the past and present eras, the more going further, cities and the elements of urban power undergo a series of changes, which are sometimes advantageous to cities, and sometimes cities have faced bewilderment and crisis.