Gharasouran, Pioneers of Road Police in Iran

The importance of road and road safety is already known to everybody. In the course of history, many organizations were engaged in road and road safety in Iran, with “Gharasouran” being one of them. The word “Gharasouran” is a Turkish term, meaning “moving darkness”, which was used to refer to people who were engaged in keeping roads safe. The first mention of “Gharasouran” goes back to the period of King Sultan Hosein, from Safavid dynasty. However, “Gharasouran” seem to have been existing for many centuries before. “Gharasouran” could be called the highway police of the time, since they enforced laws and regulations of roads. After Amir Kabir died a martyrand insecurity spread throughout the country, it sounded indispensable to recreate “Gharasouran”. So, Iranian National Parliament ratified to found it again in 1286. During Mohammad Ali Shah's coup, “Gharasouran” stopped working and new organizations took the responsibility of road safety.