Iran seventh largest shopping mall, Isfahan City Center. The fourth most populous city of Iran, Karaj, has a population of around 1.9 million (2016 census). It is the capital of the province of Alborz, and is situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz mountain range. It is a major industrial city in Iran, with large factories producing sugar, textiles, wire, and alcohol. With a population of around 1.7 million (2016 census), Tabriz is the fifth most populous city of Iran, and had been the second most populous until the late 1960s. It was the first capital
Central Bank of Iran of the Asian Clearing Union, controls gold and capital flows overseas, represents Iran in the International Monetary Fund and internationally concludes payment agreements between Iran and other countries. The first attempt at introducing paper currency in Iran occurred during the Mongol Ilkhanate of the 13th century CE. The innovation, developed in Song Dynasty China, did not take hold in Iran, and paper currency did not return to Iran in any significant manner for several centuries. In 1889, the British-owned Imperial Bank of Persia ("Bānk-e Šāhī") was founded and it was given the exclusive right to issue bank notes in Iran.