Mashhad

Mashhad مشهد
Shrine of Imam Ali Reza in Mashhad,The Islamic republic of Iran
Seal
Nickname(s): Mashhad
Motto: City of paradise(Shahre behesht)
Mashhad Location of Masshad in Iran
Coordinates: 36°18′N 59°36′E / 36.3°N 59.6°E / 36.3; 59.6
Mashhad-Sanabad-Toos	818 AD (Martyrdom Of Imam Reza)
Government
- Mayor(شهردار)	Mohammad Pejman
Area
- Total	204 km2 (78.8 sq mi)
Elevation	985 m (3,232 ft)
Population (2006[1])
- Total	2,907,316
- Population Rank in Iran	2nd
	Over 20 million pilgrims and tourists per year[2]
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
- Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3:30)
Website	http://www.Mashhad.ir

Coordinates: 36°18′N 59°36′E / 36.3°N 59.6°E / 36.3; 59.6

Mashhad (Persian: مشهد, literally the place of martyrdom) is one of the largest cities in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia world. It is located 850 kilometres (530 mi) east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its population was 2,427,316 at the 2006 population census.^[1]

Now Mashhad is notably known as the resting place of the Imam Reza. A shrine was later built there to commemorate the Imam, which in turn gave rise to increasing demographic development.

Mashad is also known as the city of Ferdowsi the great Persian poet of Shahnameh which is considered to be the Persian national epic.

Geography and demographics

The city is located at 36.20º latitude and 59.35º east longitude, in the valley of the Kashaf River near Turkmenistan, between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezar-masjed. The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having very cold winters, pleasant springs, mild summers, and beautiful autumns. It is only about 250 km (156 miles) from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The city is the administrative centre of Mashhad County (or the shahrestan of Mashhad) as well as the somewhat smaller district (bakhsh) of Mashhad. The city itself, excluding parts of the surrounding bakhsh and shahrestan, is divided into 13 smaller administrative units, with a total population of almost 2,5 million.^[1]

Mashhad consists mainly of people of Iranian descent. There are also over 20 million pilgrims who visit the city every year.^[2]

History and notable events

Molla Heydar mosque, 19th century Iranian architecture.

At the beginning of the 9th century (3rd century AH) Mashhad was a small village called Sanabad situated 24 km away from Tus. There was a summer palace of "Hamid ibn Qahtabi", the governor of Khorasan. In 808 when Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph, was passing through there to settle down the insurrection of "Rafi ibn Leith" in Transoxania, he became ill and died. He was buried under the palace of Hamid ibn Qahtabi. Several years later in 818 Imam Ali al-Reza was martyred by Al-Ma'mun and was buried beside the grave of Harun.^[3]

After this event this place was called as Mashhad al-Rida (the place of martyrdom of Ali al-Rida). Shias started visiting there for pilgrimage of his grave. By the end of the 9th century a dome was built on the grave and many buildings and Bazaars sprang up around it. During more than a millennium it has been devastated and reconstructed several times.^[4]

It was not considered a great city until Mongol raids in 1220 which caused the destruction of many large cities in the Greater Khorasan territories, leaving Mashhad relatively intact. Thus the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad.^[5] When the famous world traveller Ibn Battuta visited the town in 1333, he reported that it was a large town with abundant fruit trees, streams and mills. A great dome of elegant construction surmounts the noble mausoleum, the walls being decorated with colored tiles.^[2]

Later on, during the Shahrokh era, it became one of the main cities of the Timurid dynasty. In 1418 his wife Goharshad funded the construction of an outstanding mosque beside the shrine, which is known as Goharshad Mosque.^[5] The mosque remains relatively intact to this date, its great size an indicator to the status the city held in the 15th century.

Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty, conquered Mashhad after the death of Husayn Bayqarah and the decline of the Timurid dynasty. Mashhad was later captured by the Uzbeks during the reign of Shah Abbas I, only to be retaken by the Shah Abbas in the year of 1597 after a long and severe struggle, defeating the Uzbeks in a great battle near Herat as well as managing to drive them beyond the Oxus River.

Shah Abbas I wanted to encourage Iranians to go to Mashhad for pilgrimage. he himself is known to have walked from Isfahan to Mashhad. During the Safavid era Mashhad gained even more religious recognition, becoming the most important city of the Greater Khorasan as several Madrasah and other structures were built beside the shrine of the Imam Reza.

Besides its religious significance, Mashhad has played an important political role as well. It saw its greatest glory under Nadir Shah, ruler of Iran from 1736 to 1747 and also a great benefactor of the shrine of the Imam Reza, making the city his capital. It remained the capital of the Afsharid dynasty until Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar conquered the then larger region of Khorasan in 1796.

In 1912, the sanctuary of the Imam Reza was bombed by the Russian forces, causing widespread and persisting resentment in the Shiite Muslim world.

1935 Imam Reza shrine rebellion

In 1935 a backlash against the modernizing, anti-religious policies of Reza Shah erupted in the Mashed shrine. Responding to a cleric who denounced the Shah's heretical innovations, corruption and heavy consumer taxes, many bazaaris and villagers took refuge in the shrine, chanted slogans such as `The Shah is a new Yezid.` For four full days local police and army refused to violate the shrine and the standoff was ended when troops from Azerbaijan arrived and broke into the shrine,^[6] killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between Shi'ite clergy and the Shah.^[7]

1994 Imam Reza shrine bombing

On June 20, 1994, an explosion from a bomb occurred in a prayer hall of the shrine of the Imam Reza^[8] The bomb that killed at least 25 people on June 20 in Mashhad exploded at Ashura.^[9] Mehdi Nahvi, a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MKO), an Iraqi-based opposition group, claimed responsibility. The MKO stated that the bombing was carried out to commemorate the anniversary of the group's founding on June 20, 1981.^{[citation needed]} Although government blamed the Mujahedin-e-Khalq in a TV show to avoid sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni^{[citation needed]}, the Pakistani daily "News" of March 27, 1995 reported, “Pakistani investigators have identified a 24-year-old religious fanatic Abdul Shakoor residing in Lyari in Karachi, as an important Pakistani associate of Ramzi Yousef. Abdul Shakoor had intimate contacts with Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and was responsible for the June 20, 1994, massive bomb explosion at the shrine Imam Reza in Mashhad.”^[10]

Religious minorities

Though primarily a Muslim city, Mashhad has harbored a number of religious minorities over the centuries. Among these were Jews, who in 1839 were forcibly converted to Islam. However, in truth they lived a double life: outwardly they conformed to Islamic ways, and were known as "Jadid al-Islam" or "New Muslims," but secretly they preserved a Jewish identity and Jewish traditions.^[11]

There was a Jewish district in Jennat Street. Jennat Street where the most prestigious shopping centers of Mashhad located at the time and was one the most expensive places of Mashhad.

Current religious situation

Shrine of Imam Ali Reza in Mashad, Iran

Today the holy shrine and its museum hold one of the most extensive cultural and artistic treasuries of Iran, in particular manuscript books and paintings. Several important theological schools are associated with the shrine of the Eighth Imam.

The second largest holy city in the world, Mashhad attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to the Imam Reza shrine (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been a magnet for travellers since medieval times.^[2] It is said that the rich go to Mecca but the poor journey to Mashhad. Thus, even as those who complete the pilgrimage to Mecca receive the title of Haji, those who make the pilgrimage to Mashhad – and especially to the Imam Reza shrine – are known as Mashtee, a term employed also of its inhabitants. It is thought that over 20 million Muslims a year make the pilgrimage to Mashhad.

Astan Quds Razavi

Culture

Relief in Tous depicting popular stories of Persian mythology, from the book of Shahnameh of Ferdowsi.

Long a center of secular as well as of religious learning, Mashhad has been a center for the arts and for the sciences. The large Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, named after the great Iranian poet, is located here. The Madrassa of Ayatollah Al-Khoei, originally built in the seventeenth century and recently replaced with modern facilities, is the city's foremost traditional centre for religious learning. The Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, founded in 1984, stands at the centre of town, within the shrine complex. The prestige of traditional religious education at Mashhad attracts students, known as talaban, internationally.

Mashhad is also home to one of the oldest libraries of the Middle-East called the Central Library of Astan-e Quds Razavi with a history of over six centuries. The Astan-e Quds Razavi Museum, which is part of the Astan-e Quds Razavi Complex, is home to over 70,000 rare manuscripts from various historical eras. There are some six million historical documents in the foundation's central library.

In 1569 (977 H), 'Imad al-Din Mas'ud Shirazi, a physician at the Mashhad hospital, wrote the earliest Islamic treatise on syphilis, one influenced by European medical thought. Kashmar rug is a type of Persian rug indigenous to this region.

Attractions

Tous Museum

Mashhad's countryside

Apart from Imam Reza shrine there is a number of beautiful large parks, the tombs of historical celebrities in nearby Tus and Neyshabour, the tomb of Nadir Shah and Kooh Sangi park and Mellat Park that have modern attractions for children such as the biggest ferris wheel or fanfar (چرخ و فلک) in Iran and Koohestan Park-e-Shadi Complex that includes a zoo, where many wild animals are kept and which attracts many visitors to Mashhad. It is also home to the Mashhad Airbase (formerly Imam Reza airbase), jointly a military installation housing Mirage aircraft, and a civilian international airport.

Some points of interest lie outside the city: the tomb of Khajeh Morad, along the road to Tehran; the tomb of Khajeh Rabi' located 6 kilometers north of the city where there are some inscriptions by the renowned Safavid calligrapher Reza Abbasi; and the tomb of Khajeh Abasalt, a distance of 20 kilometers from Mashhad along the road to Neishabur. (The three were all disciples of Imam Reza).

Among the other sights are the tomb of the great poet namedFerdowsi in Tus, 24 kilometers distance, and the summer resorts at Torghabeh, Torogh, Akhlamad, Zoshk, and Shandiz.

The Shah Public Bath, built during the Safavid era in 1648, is an outstanding example of the architecture of that period. It was recently restored, and is to be turned into a museum.

Transportation

Mashhad Urban Railway (under construction)

Airport

Mashhad is served by the Mashhad International Airport which handles domestic flights to Iranian cities and international flights, mostly to neighboring, Arab countries.

Metro

The Mashhad Urban Railway Corporation (MURCO) is constructing a metro system for the city of Mashhad which includes four lines. The first phase (line) of the metro is expected to be finished by 2009-2010.

Rail

Mashhad is connected to three major rail lines: Tehran-Mashhad, Mashhad-Bafgh (running south), and Mashhad-Sarakhs at the border with Turkmenistan. Some freight trains continue from Sarakhs towards Uzbekistan and to Kazakhstan, but have to change bogies because of the difference in Rail gauge. A rail line is being constructed off the Mashhad-Bafgh line to connect Mashhad to Herat in Afghanistan, but has not yet been completed and one is planned to connect to the Gorgan railhead and the port of Bandar Torkaman on the Caspian Sea to the west. Passenger rail services are provided by the national company R.A.J.A. and all trains are operated by R.A.I., Rah-Ahan Iran, the national railway company.

Shopping

The major shopping precincts are:

• Almas-e-Shargh Shopping Center
• Zist-e-Khavar Shopping Center
• Proma Shopping Center
• Kian Center
• Jennat Street Mall
• International Bazaar Shopping Complex
• Bazaar Reza
• Bazaar Markazi

Almas Shargh Shopping Center	Proma Hypermarket	Kian Center	Mashhad is the major trade center of saffron in Iran.
Many beautiful handicraft products are sold in Shandiz and Torghabeh.	Some Iranian Handicrafts (metalwork) in Torghabeh

Colleges and universities

• Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM)
• Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
• Islamic Azad University of Mashhad
• Montazeri Technical College of Mashhad
• Payame Noor University of Mashhad
• Comprehensive University of Applied and Practical Sciences, Khorasan
• Imam Reza University
• Asrar Institute of Higher Education
• Samen Institute of Higher Education
• Razavi University of Islamic Sciences
• Khayyam Institute of Higher Education
• Sadjad Institute of Higher Education
• Bahar Institute of Higher Education
• Binalood Institute of Higher Education
• Montazeri Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Eqbal Lahoori Institute of Higher Education
• Toos Institute of Higher Education
• Khavaran Institute of Higher Education

Mashhad as capital of Persia and Independent Khorasan

The following Shahanshahs had Mashhad as their capital:
Kianid Dynasty

• Malek Mahmoud Sistani 1722-1726

Afsharid dynasty

• Nadir Shah
• Adil Shah
• Ebrahim Afshar
• Shah Rukh of Persia
• Nadir Mirza of Khorasan

Safavid Dynasty

• Soleyman II

Autonomous Government of Khorasan

• Colonel Mohammad Taghi Khan Pessyan

Famous people from Mashhad

Religious & Political figures & Martyrs

• Shaykh Tusi, 385-460 A.H., prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief
• Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, born February 1201 in Tūs, Khorasan – 26 June 1274 in al-Kāżimiyyah near Baghdad, Persian of the Ismaili and subesquently Twelver Shī‘ah Islamic belief
• Seyed Ali Khamenei, born 17 July 1939, Supreme Leader of Iran
• Nizam al-Mulk, 1018 – 14 October 1092, celebrated Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire
• Baha' ad-Din al-`Amili, February 1547 - 30 August 1621, Iranian Muslim scholar, philosopher, architect, mathematician, astronomer and poet
• Al-Hurr al-Aamili, Shia scholar and muhaddith
• Mulla Hadi Sabzevari, 1797-1873, philosopher and poet
• Al-Ghazali, 1058-1111, Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, psychologist and mystic of Persian origin
• Ali al-Sistani, Born approximately August 4, 1930, Twelver Shi'a marja residing in Iraq since 1951
• Mohammad-Kazem Khorasani, 1839–1911, Twelver Shi'a Marja, Persian (Iranian) politician, philosopher, reformer
• Hossein Vahid Khorasani, born in 1924, Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja
• Morteza Motahhari, February 3, 1920 – May 1, 1979, Iranian scholar, cleric, University lecturer, and politician
• Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, born January 27, 1958, former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami
• Abu Muslim Khorasani, c. 700 - 755, Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani, Abbasid general of Persian origin
• Martyr Mahmoud Kaveh,
• Al-Ghazali, born 1058 in Tūs and died 1111 in Tus, Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, physician, psychologist and mystic of Persian origin
• Manouchehr Eghbal, born October 14, 1909 - November 25, 1977, a Prime Minister of Iran
• Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty), August 20, 1377 - March 12, 1447, ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by the Central Asian warlord Timur (Tamerlane)
• Goharshad, Persian noble and wife of Shāh Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid Dynasty of Herāt
• Nader Shah, November, 1688 or August 6, 1698 – June 19, 1747, founder of the Afsharid dynasty
• Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, born January 27, 1958, in Mashhad, Iranian theologian, scholar, pro-democracy activist and chairman of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
• Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, born August 23, 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad, the current Mayor of Tehran, Iran
• Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, lecturer, philosopher and political strategist and popular television personality in the Islamic Republic of Iran
• Hadi Khamenei, b. 1947, mid-ranking cleric who is a member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics
• Seyed Hassan Firuzabadi, Current Islamic Republic Of Iran's Major General
• Saeed Jalili, born 1965 in Mashhad, Iranian politician and the present secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council

Writers, Poets and Scientist

• Ferdowsi, 935–1020 in Tus, a highly revered Persian poet
• Abu-Mansur Daqiqi, 935/942-976/980
• Abolfazl Beyhaqi, 995-1077, a Persian historian and author
• Nasir Khusraw, 1004 - 1088, a Persian poet, philosopher, Isma'ili scholar and a traveler
• Abusa'id Abolkhayr, December 7, 967 - January 12 , 1049 / Muharram ul Haram,1 ,357 - Sha'aban,4 ,440 AH, famous Persian Sufi who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi tradition
• Anvari, 1126–1189, one of the greatest Persian poets
• Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, 1928, Mashhad, Iran — 1990, Tehran, Iran, a prominent Persian poet
• Mohammad-Taghi Bahar, November 6, 1884, Mashhad, Iran — April 22, 1951, Tehran, Iran,
• Ebrahim Nabavi, born 1958 in Astara, Iran, prolific Iranian satirist, writer, diarist, and researcher
• Ali Shariati, November 23, 1933 – 1977, highly influential Iranian revolutionary[1] and sociologist
• Asadi Tusi, born: Tus, Iranian province of Khorasan - died: 1072 Tabriz, Iran, arguably the second most important Persian poet of Iranian national epics
• Emad Khorasani,
• Gholam Hosein Yousefi,
• Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin, 900-971, Persian astronomer and mathematician from Khorasan
• Abū al-Wafā' Būzjānī, 10 June 940 – 1 July 998, Persian mathematician and astronomer
• Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, 1135-1213, Persian mathematician and astronomer of the Islamic Golden Age (during the Middle Ages)
• Geber, born c. 721 in Tus–died c. 815 in Kufa, prominent polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician

Artists

• Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, born September 23, 1940 in Mashhad, Iran, internationally and critically acclaimed Persian traditional singer, composer and Master (Ostad) of Persian music
• Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, born May 21, 1975, renowned Persian classical music vocalist, as well as a Tombak and Kamancheh player
• Kayvan Saket, Born in 1960 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian composer, Radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and excellent Tar and Setar instrumentalist and improvisor
• Noureddin Zarrinkelk, born 1937 in Mashhad, Iran, renowned Iranian animator, concept artist, editor, graphic designer, illustrator, layout artist, photographer, script writer and sculptor
• Reza Kianian, born July 17, 1951 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian actor
• Dariush Arjmand, born 1944 in Mashad, Iranian actor
• Reza Attaran, born 31 March 1968 in Mashhad, Iranian actor and director
• Hamed Behdad, born 17 November 1973 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian actor
• Mahdi Bemani Naeini, born November 3, 1968, Iranian film director, cinematographer, TV cameraman and photographer
• Rafi Pitts, born 1967 in Mashad, Iran, internationally acclaimed Iranian film director
• Iran Darroudi, born September 2, 1936 in Mashhad, Iranian artist
• Mohsen Namjoo, born in 1976, Iranian singer-songwriter, author, musician, and setar player
• Mitra Hajjar, born February 4, 1977, Iranian actress
• Ovanes Ohanian, - 1961 Tehran, Armenian-Iranian filmmaker who established the first film school in Iran

Scientists

• Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī, born 10 June 940 - died 1 July 998, Persian mathematician and astronomer
• Anousheh Ansari, born 12 September 1966, the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program

Sportspeople

• Heshmat Mohajerani, born January, 1936 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian football coach, manager, and former player
• Khodadad Azizi, born June 22, 1971 in Mashhad, Iran, retired professional football striker
• Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, born June 30, 1980 in Mashhad, Iranian professional football player
• Hossein Badamaki, Iranian professional football player
• Mohammad Mansouri, Iranian professional football player
• Reza Enayati, Iranian professional football player
• Mohsen Ghahramani, Iranain Football Refree
• Mohsen Torki, Iranian Football Refree
• Amir Reza Khadem, born February 10, 1970 in Mashhad
• Rasoul Khadem, born February 17, 1972 in Mashhad
• Amir Tavakkolian

Others

• Ali Akbar Fayyaz,
• Mahmoud Khayami, born 1930 in Mashhad, Iran, Iranian born industrialist and philanthropist, of French nationality
• Hossein Sabet, Iranian businessman and Persian carpet dealer who owns Sabet International Trading Co.

Picture gallery

Imam Reza Shrine	Tomb of Ferdowsi in Tous	Front facade of the Ferdowsi's mausoleum in Tous	Haruniyeh Dome in Tous
Malek's House in Mashhad	St. Mesrop Church in Mashhad	Nadir Shah Museum in Mashhad	Tous Museum near Mashhad
Shandiz a tourist town near Mashhad	Imam Reza Hospital (formerly Shah Reza Hospital)

Sister cities

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Consulates

Flag	Country	Address
	Afghanistan	Mashad Iran
	Iraq	Mashhad Iran
	Kazakhstan	Mashad Iran
	Kyrgyzstan	Mashhad Iran
	Pakistan	Mashad Iran
	Tajikistan	Mashhad Iran
	Turkmenistan	Mashhad Iran
	Saudi Arabia	Mashad Iran

Footnotes

See also

• Allahdad incident
• The National Library of Astan Quds Razavi

References

• Zabeth, Hyder Reza (1999). Landmarks of Mashhad. Alhoda UK. ISBN 9644442210. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mashhad

• Astan Quds Razavi
• Mashhad data
• about Mashhad (in Persian)
• Municipality of Mashhad Official website (in Persian)
• e-Mashhad Mashhad Portal Official website (in Persian)
• Mashhad
• Mashhad
• Mashhad
• Imam Reza Network
• http://www.razavi.ir/
• Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• Islamic Azad University of Mashhad
• Population estimates for Mashhad, Iran, 1950-2015
• Hossein Davoudi, Dizbād: A Staircase to History, in Persian, Jadid Online, 2008, [1].
  A Slide Show of Dizbād, by Hossein Davoudi, Jadid Online, 2008, [2] (5 min 39 sec).
  Note: Dizbād is a small village between Mashhad and Neyshābūr, located at some 40 km distance from Mashhad.

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