Mashhad
مشهد (Persian) Sanaabad, Tus | |
|---|---|
Left to right from top: bird's eye view of Mashhad; Tomb of Ferdowsi; Tomb of Nader Shah; the Great Museum of Khorasan; Space Age Memorial Monument; Imam Reza Shrine; Imam Hossein Square; and Mashhad at night. | |
 Seal | |
| Motto(s): Mashhad: Smart City, City of Hope and Life | |
  Mashhad Location in Iran | |
| Coordinates: 36°19′35″N 59°32′36″E / 36.32639°N 59.54333°E[1] | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Razavi Khorasan |
| County | Mashhad |
| District | Central |
| Mashhad-Sanabad-Tus | 818 AD |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mohammad Reza Ghalandar Sharif[2] |
| • Chairperson of City Council | Hassan Movahedian |
| Area | |
• City | 351 km2 (136 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 995 m (3,264 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 2,307,177 |
| • Density | 6,600/km2 (17,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,320,665 |
| • Metro | 3,416,000 |
| • Population Rank in Iran | 2nd |
| Over 25 million pilgrims and tourists per year[6] | |
| Demonym(s) | Mashhadi, Mashadi, Mashdi (informal) |
| Time zone | UTC+03:30 (IRST) |
| Climate | BSk |
| Largest district by area | District 9 (64 km2, land area) |
| Largest district by population | District 2 (480,000) |
| Website | www.mashhad.ir |
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Mashhad[a] (Persian: مشهد; [mæʃˈhæd] )[b] is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country[11] about 900 kilometres (560 miles) from Tehran.[12] In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district.[13] It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh.[14]
The city was governed by different ethnic groups over the course of its history. Mashhad was previously a small village, which by the 9th century had been known as Sanabad, and which was located—along with Tus and other villages—on the ancient Silk Road connecting them with Merv to the east. Mashhad would eventually outgrow all its surrounding villages. It gained its current name meaning "place of martyrdom" in reference to the Imam Reza shrine, where the eighth Shia Imam, Ali al-Rida, is buried. The Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid is also buried within the same shrine. The shrine is an important place of pilgrimage, visited by 25 millions each year in what is often described as "the holiest city in Iran".[11][15]
Mashhad later also became associated with Ferdowsi, the Persian poet and author of the Shahnameh, who was born in Tus (with many institutions in Mashhad named after him). Mashhad enjoyed relative prosperity in the Mongol period, and continued to grow. Between 1736 and 1796, Mashhad became the capital of Afsharid Iran which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty founded by Nader Shah, whose tomb is located in the city. In the modern era, Mashhad continued to expand and became the hometown of some of the most significant literary figures and artists of modern Iran, such as the poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, and the traditional Iranian singer and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. On 30 October 2009 (the anniversary of Imam Reza's martyrdom), Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Mashhad to be "Iran's spiritual capital".[16][17]
- ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (4 May 2023). "Mashhad, Mashhad County" (Map). OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 4 May 2023.[self-published source]
- ^ "Mashhad". 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Local Government Profile". United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ^ "Statistical Center of Iran > Home".
- ^ "Major Agglomerations of the World – Population Statistics and Maps". citypopulation.de. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Imam Rezawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Mashhad". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ Sharafedin, Bozorgmehr (29 December 2017). "Hundreds protest against high prices in Iran". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ Dockery, Wesley (3 January 2018). "Iran protests: Arab states between trepidation and glee". DW. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ^ The Cosmopolitan. Vol. 6. 1889. p. 378.
- ^ a b Simigh, Agnes (29 August 2022). "THE BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN MASHHAD, THE HOLIEST CITY IN IRAN". Voice of Guides. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Kuwait to evacuate 700 citizens from Iran's Mashhad amid coronavirus fears". Al Arabiya English. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ Habibi, Hassan (c. 2015) [Approved 21 June 1369]. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the divisions of Khorasan province, centered in Mashhad. rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council. Proposal 3223.1.5.53; Approval Letter 3808-907; Notification 84902/T125K. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2024 – via Islamic Parliament Research Center.
- ^ "Razavi Khorasan (Iran): Counties & Cities – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". citypopulation.de.
- ^ Higgins, Andrew. "Inside Iran's Holy Money Machine - WSJ". WSJ. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ مشهد، پایتخت معنوی ایران اعلام شد [Mashhad, Iran's spiritual capital] (in Persian). Khorasan newspaper. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
- ^ نامگذاري مشهد به عنوان پايتخت معنوي "Nombramiento de Mashhad como capital espiritual de Irán" (in Persian). Shahr.ir. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
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