administrative divisions of Iran
Let an agent identify the level and kind of an Iranian administrative unit, relay the current lists and codes from official sources where available, explain the hierarchy and the roles of governors and councils, and separate legal units from statistical ones.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent identify the level and kind of an Iranian administrative unit, relay the current lists and codes from official sources where available, explain the hierarchy and the roles of governors and councils, and separate legal units from statistical ones.
The hierarchy of administrative units in Iran: 31 provinces, each divided into counties, which are divided into districts, which contain cities and rural districts made up of villages; the system is set by law, administered by the Ministry of Interior through appointed governors, and revised as new units are created.
What it is for: Organising government across Iran.
It can be identify the level of a unit; explain the hierarchy from province to village; relay names and codes with sources; route to the specific unit entry.
Distinguishing features
Five-level hierarchy
Appointed governors with elected local councils
Frequent creation of new units
Persian terminology: ostan, shahrestan, bakhsh, shahr, dehestan
What it looks like
Not a physical object; seen on maps and in official lists.
Physical character
provinces: 31 provinces - as of recent years; changes occur
counties: about 400 or more counties - number grows as units are created
How it is recognised
Province, county, district, city, rural district, village
Governors appointed by the Ministry of Interior; elected councils at city and village level
Historical and statistical units are separate matters
Related models
is a kind of - the category
is part of - the country
is administered by - the responsible ministry
includes - the first level
In practice
Families and kinds
provinces
counties
districts
cities and rural districts
villages
historical divisions such as the old provinces and the Isfahan and Kerman districts
Identifiers
ISO 3166-2 IR-xx provinces
national division codes Ministry of Interior lower units
Standards and regulation
Law on the definitions and criteria of country divisions
Regulations of the Ministry of Interior
Statistical Centre of Iran geography standards
Failure modes and hazards
Outdated lists after new units are created
Confusing counties with cities of the same name
Transliteration inconsistencies
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Hierarchy The levels.
Structure.
Levels
Levels.
Levels
Levels.
- What are the levels of the hierarchy, and how do they nest? definition
- Is the question about a legal unit or a statistical or historical one? boundary
Identify
Identifying a unit.
Identify
Identify.
- Which level and which parent units does a given place belong to? definition
- Which entry fits the specific unit? action
Govern Administration.
Government.
Officials
Governors and councils.
Officials
Officials.
- Who administers each level, and how are governors and councils chosen? provenance
- Which entry fits Iranian local government? action
Law
Legal basis.
Law
Law.
- Which laws define the divisions and the criteria for creating units? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Data Lists and codes.
Data.
Lists
Official lists.
Lists
Lists.
- Where are current lists of provinces, counties and districts published, and how current are they? provenance
- Is the list current? boundary
Statistics
Census geography.
Statistics
Statistics.
- How does the Statistical Centre of Iran organise census geography? provenance
- Which entry fits the Statistical Centre of Iran? action
History Changes over time.
History.
Past
Historical divisions.
Past
Past.
- How did the divisions develop from historical provinces to the present system? provenance
- Which entry fits a former unit? action
Names
Names and transliteration.
Names
Names.
- How are unit names transliterated, and which conventions are used? provenance
- Which entry fits Persian romanisation? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should each level be a separate entry?
- How should official lists be kept current?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific districts; should they be split off?