Mashhad

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Mashhad
مشهد
Mashhad.jpg
Official seal of Mashhad
Seal
Motto: City of Paradise (Shahr-e Behesht)
Mashhad is located in Iran
Mashhad
Mashhad
Location of Mashhad in Iran
Coordinates: 36°18′N 59°36′E / 36.300°N 59.600°E / 36.300; 59.600Coordinates: 36°18′N 59°36′E / 36.300°N 59.600°E / 36.300; 59.600
Country  Iran
Province Razavi Khorasan
County Mashhad
Bakhsh Central
Mashhad-Sanabad-Toos 818 AD
Government
 • Mayor (Šahrdār) Sowlat Mortazavi
Area
 • City 850 km2 (330 sq mi)
 • Metro 3,946 km2 (1,524 sq mi)
Elevation 995 m (3,264 ft)
Population (2012)
 • City 2,567,243
 • Population Rank in Iran 2nd
  Over 20 million pilgrims and tourists per year[1]
Demonym(s) Mashhadi, Mashadi, Mashdi (informal)
Time zone IRST (UTC+03:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+04:30)
Website www.mashhad.ir

Mashhad (Persian: مشهد‎‎ ; About this sound listen (help·info)) is the second most populous city in Iran and capital of Razavi Khorasan Province. It is located in the northeast of the country, close to the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Its population is 3,131,586 .[3] It was a major oasis along the ancient Silk Road connecting with Merv in the East.

The city is most famous and revered for housing the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam. Every year, millions of pilgrims visit the Imam Reza shrine and pay their tributes to Imam Reza.

Mashhad is also known as the city of Ferdowsi, the Iranian poet of Shahnameh, which is considered to be the national epic of Iran. The city is the hometown of some of the most significant Iranian literary figures and artists such as Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, the famous contemporary poet, and Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, the traditional Iranian singer and composer. Ferdowsi and Akhavan Sales are both buried in Tus, an ancient city that is considered to be the main origin of the current city of Mashhad.

History[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The name Mashhad comes from Arabic, meaning the place of martyrdom[4][5] the place where Ali ar-Ridha (Persian, Imam Reza), the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims, was martyred and so his shrine was placed there.[6]

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 Humayd ibn Qahtaba, the governor of Khurasan. In 808, when Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph, was passing through there to settle down the insurrection of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Transoxania, he became ill and died. He was buried under the palace of Humayd ibn Qahtaba. Several years later in 818 Ali al-Ridha was martyred by al-Ma'mun and was buried beside the grave of Harun.[7]

After this event, the city was called Mashhad al-Ridha (the place of martyrdom of al-Ridha). 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.[8]

It was not considered a great city until Mongol raids in 1220, which caused the destruction of many large cities in Khurasan, leaving Mashhad relatively intact. Thus the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad.[9] When the 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.[1]

Later on, during the reign of the Timurid Shahrukh Mirza, Mashhad became one of the main cities of the realm. In 1418, his wife Goharshad funded the construction of an outstanding mosque beside the shrine, which is known as the Goharshad Mosque.[9] 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 1597 after a long and hard 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 is said to have walked from Isfahan to Mashhad. During the Safavid era, Mashhad gained even more religious recognition, becoming the most important city of Greater Khorasan, as several madrasah and other structures were built besides the Imam Reza shrine.

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 Imam Reza, who made the city his capital. Mashhad was ruled by Shahrukh Afshar and remained the capital of the Afsharid dynasty during Zand dynasty[10] until Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar conquered the then larger region of Khorasan in 1796.[11]

In 1912, the sanctuary of Imam Reza was bombed by the Russian artillery fire, causing some damage, including to the golden dome, resulting in a widespread and persisting resentment in the Shiite Muslim world.

1935 Imam Reza shrine rebellion[edit]

Main article: Imam Reza shrine rebellion

In 1935, a backlash against the modernizing, anti-religious policies of Reza Shah erupted in the Mashhad 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 Yazid." For four 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,[12] killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between Shi'ite clergy and the Shah.[13]

1994 Imam Reza shrine bombing[edit]

On June 20, 1994, a bomb exploded in a prayer hall of the shrine of the Imam Reza[14] The bomb that killed at least 25 people on June 20 in Mashhad exploded on Ashura.[15] The Baluch terrorist, Ramzi Yousef, a Sunni Muslim turned Wahhabi, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was found to be behind the plot.[16] However, official state media blamed Mehdi Nahvi, a supposed member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MKO) in order to prevent sectarian violence.

Panoramic view of Mashhad City[edit]

Geography and demographics[edit]

The city is located at 36.20º North latitude and 59.35º East longitude, in the valley of the Kashafrud River near Turkmenistan, between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezar Masjed Mountains. The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having cool winters, pleasant springs, mild summers, and beautiful autumns. It is only about 250 km (160 mi) from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The city is the administrative center 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 more than 3 million.[3]

The vast majority of Mashhadi people are ethnic Persians, who form the majority of the city's population. Other ethnic groups include Kurdish and Turkmen people who have emigrated recently to the city from the North Khorasan province. There is also a significant community of non-Arabic speakers of Arabian descent who have assimilated with the Persian culture and no longer speak their own language although they have retained a distinct Arabian culture, cuisine and religious practices. The people from Mashhad who look East Asians are of Turkmen, Hazara or Uyghur ancestry or indeed a combination of all other ethnic groups as racial mixing has been widely practiced in this region since antiquity. Estimates put the number of East Asian looking people from Mashad close to 33%, i.e. one in three people.

Among the non-Iranians, there are immigrant population of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. The Afghan immigrants have several neighborhoods around the city. One of the districts inhabited by Afghan immigrants is Golshahr.

There are also over 20 million pilgrims who visit the city every year.[1]

Climate[edit]

Climate data for Mashhad (2000-2015, extremes 2000–2015)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 24.0
(75.2)		 26.0
(78.8)		 32.0
(89.6)		 35.4
(95.7)		 39.2
(102.6)		 41.6
(106.9)		 43.8
(110.8)		 42.4
(108.3)		 42.0
(107.6)		 35.8
(96.4)		 29.4
(84.9)		 28.2
(82.8)		 43.8
(110.8)
Average high °C (°F) 7.1
(44.8)		 10.2
(50.4)		 16.5
(61.7)		 22.5
(72.5)		 28.1
(82.6)		 33.3
(91.9)		 34.9
(94.8)		 34.0
(93.2)		 29.4
(84.9)		 23.8
(74.8)		 15.3
(59.5)		 9.7
(49.5)		 22.2
(72)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)		 5.5
(41.9)		 10.8
(51.4)		 16.4
(61.5)		 21.8
(71.2)		 26.3
(79.3)		 28.1
(82.6)		 26.7
(80.1)		 22.4
(72.3)		 16.6
(61.9)		 9.7
(49.5)		 5.0
(41)		 16.0
(60.8)
Average low °C (°F) −2.4
(27.7)		 0.2
(32.4)		 4.8
(40.6)		 10.4
(50.7)		 15.5
(59.9)		 19.9
(67.8)		 21.4
(70.5)		 19.8
(67.6)		 14.7
(58.5)		 9.6
(49.3)		 4.0
(39.2)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 9.8
(49.6)
Record low °C (°F) −20.0
(−4)		 −15.0
(5)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 8.0
(46.4)		 15.0
(59)		 12.0
(53.6)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −13.0
(8.6)		 −20.0
(−4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 33.1
(1.303)		 36.4
(1.433)		 52.0
(2.047)		 48.8
(1.921)		 25.5
(1.004)		 3.0
(0.118)		 0.9
(0.035)		 0.7
(0.028)		 1.5
(0.059)		 11.2
(0.441)		 15.7
(0.618)		 26.9
(1.059)		 255.7
(10.067)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.8 6.3 8.3 7.6 4.4 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.5 2.0 2.7 4.5 43.4
Average snowy days 6.0 6.2 4.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.2 3.8 22.0
Average relative humidity (%) 75 74 70 62 50 37 34 34 39 53 64 72 55
Mean monthly sunshine hours 149.8 146.6 160.3 194.6 280.7 343.5 361.3 357.7 303.2 242.3 190.6 153.7 2,884.3
Source #1: NOAA[17]
Source #2: Iran Meteorological Organization (records)[18][19]
Mashhad City in the morning.jpg

Religion[edit]

See also: Imam Reza shrine

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.[1] 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.

Economy[edit]

Bazar-e-Raza, a popular market with spice shops and boutiques

Mashhad is Iran's second largest automobile production hub.The city’s economy is based mainly on dry fruits, salted nuts, saffron, Iranian sweets like gaz and sohaan, precious stones like agates, turquoise, intricately designed silver jewelry studded with rubies and emeralds, eighteen carat gold jewelry, perfumes, religious souvenirs, trench coats, scarves, termeh, carpets and rugs.

Among the major industries in the city, there is nutrition industries, clothing, leather, textiles, chemicals, steel and non-metallic mineral industries, construction materials factories, handicraft industry and metal industries.

With more than 55% of hotels in Iran, Mashhad is the hub of tourism in Iran

In the geography of tourism, religious places known as the most powerful hub to attract travelers around the world, every year 20 to 30 million pilgrims from Iran and more than 2 million pilgrims and tourists from around the world come to Mashhad.

Mashhad is one of the main producers of leather products in the region.

The city's International Exhibition Center is the second most active exhibition center after Tehran, which due to proximity to Central Asian countries hosts dozens of international exhibitions each year.

Companies such as Smart-innovators in Mashhad are pioneers in electrical and computer technology.

Language[edit]

The language mainly spoken in Mashhad is Persian with a variating Mashhadi accent, which can at times, prove itself as a sort of dialect.

Culture[edit]

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

Long a center of secular and religious learning, Mashhad has been a center for the arts and for the sciences. The 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 Talabeh, or "Mollah" internationally.

Mashhad is also home to one of the oldest libraries of the Middle-East called the F 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.

Mashhad active galleries include: Mirak Gallery, Parse Gallery, Rezvan Gallery, Soroush Gallery, and the Narvan Gallery.

Main sites[edit]

Tous Museum

Apart from Imam Reza shrine, there are a number of large parks, the tombs of historical celebrities in nearby Tus and Nishapur, the tomb of Nadir Shah and Kooh Sangi park. The Koohestan Park-e-Shadi Complex 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 poet Ferdowsi in Tus, 24 kilometers distance, and the summer resorts at Torghabeh, Torogh, Akhlamad,[disambiguation needed] 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.

Gallery[edit]

  • Imam Reza Shrine

  • 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

  • Front facade of the Ferdowsi's mausoleum in Tous

  • Haruniyeh Dome in Tous

  • Malek's House in Mashhad

  • St. Mesrop Armenian church in Mashhad

  • Tous Museum near Mashhad

  • Shandiz a tourist town near Mashhad

  • Imam Reza Hospital (formerly Shah Reza Hospital)

  • Homa Hotel

  • Mashhad's countryside

Transportation[edit]

Mashhad Urban Railway (Line 1)

Airport[edit]

Mashhad is served by the Mashhad International Airport, which handles domestic flights to Iranian cities and international flights, mostly to neighbouring Arab countries.The airport is the country's second busiest after Tehran Mehrabad Airport and above the famous Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.[20]

Metro[edit]

Main article: Mashhad Light Rail

The Mashhad Urban Railway Corporation (MURCO) is constructing a metro system for the city of Mashhad which includes four lines with 77 km length. The first phase (line) of the metro has been exploited in 21 Feb 2011 with 19 km length and 22 stations[21] and will be connected to Mashhad International Airport. The second line with 14 km length and 12 stations is under construction and is projected to be finished by early 2016.[22]

Rail[edit]

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 Raja Passenger Trains Company and all trains are operated by R.A.I., Rah-Ahan (Railway) of Iran, the national railway company.

Colleges and universities[edit]

Universities

Colleges

Shandiz Institute of Higher Education

Major sport teams[edit]

Club League Sport Venue Established
Padideh F.C.
Iran Pro League
 Football Samen Stadium
2007
Siah Jamegan Khorasan F.C.
Iran Pro League
 Football Takhti Stadium
1970
Mizan Khorasan VC
Iranian Volleyball Super League
 Volleyball Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex
2010
Farsh Ara Mashhad FSC
Iranian Futsal Super League
 Futsal Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex
1994
Ferdosi Mashhad FSC
Iranian Futsal Super League
 Futsal Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex
2011
Rahahan Khorasan W.C.
Iranian Premier Wrestling League
 Freestyle wrestling Mohammad Ali Sahraei Hall[23]
1995

Mashhad as capital of Persia and Independent Khorasan[edit]

The following Shahanshahs had Mashhad as their capital:

Famous people from Mashhad and Tus[edit]

See also: Category:People from Mashhad
Religious and political figures
  • Amirteymour Kalali, prominent Iraninan statesman
  • Abdolhossein Teymourtash, prominent Iraninan statesman and first minister of justice under the Pahlavis
  • 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 subsequently Twelver Shī‘ah Islamic belief
  • Seyyed Ali Khamenei, born 17 July 1939; former president and current supreme leader of Iran
  • Sheikh Ali Tehrani, brother-in-law of Seyyed Ali Khamenei, currently living in Iran. He is one of the oppositions of current Iranian government.
  • Nizam al-Mulk, 1018 – 14 October 1092; celebrated Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire
  • Al-Hurr al-Aamili, Shia scholar and muhaddith
  • Al-Ghazali, 1058–1111; Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, psychologist and mystic of Persian origin
  • Timur Shah Durrani, Emir of Afghanistan 1772-1793
  • 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
  • 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
  • Manouchehr Eghbal, October 14, 1909 – November 25, 1977, a Prime Minister of Iran
  • Shahrukh (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
  • Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, born August 23, 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad; the current Mayor of Tehran, Iran
  • Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, Conservative 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 major general, Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Saeed Jalili, born 1965 in Mashhad; Iranian politician and the present secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council
Writers and scientists
  • Arion Golmakani, آریان گلمکانی An American author of Iranian origin. His award-winning memoir Solacers details his childhood in Mashhad.
  • Ferdowsi, 935–1020 in Tus; a Persian poet
  • Abu-Mansur Daqiqi, 935/942–976/980
  • Abolfazl Beyhaqi, 995–1077; a Persian historian and author
  • 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 Persian poet
  • Mohammad-Taghi Bahar, November 6, 1884, Mashhad, Iran – April 22, 1951; Tehran, Iran
  • Asadi Tusi, born in Tus, Iranian province of Khorasan, died 1072 Tabriz, Iran; Persian poet of Iranian national epics
  • Mohammad Mokhtari (writer), Iranian writer who was murdered on the outskirts of Tehran in the course of the Chain Murders of Iran.
  • 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)
  • Jābir ibn Hayyān, c. 721 in Tus – 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
  • Homayoun Shajarian, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian's son, born May 21, 1975; renowned Persian classical music vocalist, as well as a Tombak and Kamancheh player
  • Hamid Motebassem, born 1958 in Mashhad, Iranian musician and tar and setar player
  • Noureddin Zarrinkelk, born 1937 in Mashhad, Iran; renowned Iranian animator, concept artist, editor, graphic designer, illustrator, layout artist, photographer, script writer and sculptor
  • Dariush Arjmand, Iranian actor
  • Reza Kianian, born July 17, 1951 in Mashhad, Iran, 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
  • Marshall Manesh, born 16 August 1950 in Mashhad; Iranian-American actor
  • Navid Negahban, born 2 June 1968 in Mashhad; Iranian-American actor
  • Mahdi Bemani Naeini, born November 3, 1968; Iranian film director, cinematographer, TV cameraman and photographer
  • Rafi Pitts, born 1967 in Mashhad, Iran; internationally acclaimed Iranian film director
  • Javad Jalali, born 30 May 1977 in Mashhad, Iranian Photographer and Cinematographer
  • Iran Darroudi, born September 2, 1936 in Mashhad; Iranian artist
  • Mohsen Namjoo, born 1976 in Torbat-e-Jaam; 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
  • Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia, born 19 April 1971; musician/dj (co-founder of Deep Dish)
Scientists
  • Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī, 10 June 940 – 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
Sports figures
Others
  • Ali Akbar Fayyaz, a renowned historian of early Islam and literary critic, founder of the School of Letters and Humanities at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
  • 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.
  • Hesam Kolahan, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Sister cities[edit]

Consulates[edit]

Afghan Consul General met with the Mayor of Mashhad

Active[edit]

Former[edit]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Sacred Sites: Mashhad, Iran". sacredsites.com. Retrieved 2006-03-13. 
  2. ^ "Local Government Profile". United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Retrieved 4 February 2014. 
  3. ^ a b http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/2/pdf/jamiat_shahrestan_keshvar3.pdf
  4. ^ E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936 p. 127
  5. ^ The Shias: A Short Gistory, Heinz Halm, p. 26
  6. ^ http://persiatours.com/tips.htm
  7. ^ Zabeth (1999) pp. 12–13.
  8. ^ Zabeth (1999) pp. 13–16.
  9. ^ a b Zabeth (1999) pp. 14–15.
  10. ^ نوایی، عبدالحسین. کریم خان زند
  11. ^ Cyrus Ghani (6 January 2001). Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power. I.B.Tauris. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-86064-629-4. Retrieved 4 November 2012. 
  12. ^ Ervand, History of Modern Iran, (2008), p.94
  13. ^ Bakhash, Shaul, Reign of the Ayatollahs : Iran and the Islamic Revolution by Shaul, Bakhash, Basic Books, c1984, p.22
  14. ^ "ABC Evening News for Monday, Jun 20, 1994". Tvnews.vanderbilt.edu. 1994-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  15. ^ "Explosive circles: Iran. (Mashhad bombing)". Highbeam.com. 1994-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  16. ^ "Context of 'Mid-1994: Ramzi Yousef Works Closely with Al-Qaeda Leaders". Historycommons.org. Retrieved March 25, 2010. 
  17. ^ "Mashhad Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved April 7, 2015. 
  18. ^ "Highest record temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Retrieved April 7, 2015. 
  19. ^ "Lowest record temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Retrieved April 7, 2015. 
  20. ^ http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jul/1200.html
  21. ^ . Fars News Agency. 21 February 2011 http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8912020113. Retrieved 29 July 2011 (in Persian).  Check date values in: |access-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ^ . Fars News Agency. 5 July 2011 http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004141078. Retrieved 29 July 2011 (in Persian).  Check date values in: |access-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "هیات کشتی استان خراسان رضوی". Razavisport.ir. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  24. ^ "Karachi and Mashhad Declared Sister Cities". Daily Times. 2012-05-12. 
  25. ^ "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 
  26. ^ http://www.jamejamonline.ir/newstext.aspx?newsnum=100853786536
  27. ^ http://www.golbaharnews.com
  28. ^ http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/11198.html
  29. ^ http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Consulates/Mashhad/contents.aspx?type=statements&id=2
  30. ^ "Saudi consulate opens in Iranian city of Mashhad". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 12 July 2004. 
  31. ^ http://www.tajik-em-mashhad.ir/
  32. ^ http://www.tajembiran.tj/en/contacts.html
  33. ^ http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajikistan_Rejects_Iranian_Offer_For_VisaFree_Regime/2035762.html
  34. ^ http://www.iran-daily.com/News/1633.html
  35. ^ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy13763/
  36. ^ Onley, James. The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj: Merchants, Rulers, and the British in the Nineteenth-Century Gulf. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 15. ISBN 0-19-922810-8.
  37. ^ http://zamane.info/1390/05/%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%84%DA%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AC%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86/
  38. ^ http://tarikhsazan.blogfa.com/post-71.aspx
  39. ^ http://vazeh.com/n-3594868.html

References[edit]

  • Zabeth, Hyder Reza (1999). Landmarks of Mashhad. Mashhad, Iran: Islamic Research Foundation. ISBN 964-444-221-0. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mashhad.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mashhad.
Preceded by
Isfahan		 Capital of Iran (Persia)
1736-1747		 Succeeded by
Shiraz
Preceded by
-		 Capital of Afsharid dynasty
1736-1796		 Succeeded by
-
Capital
  • Mashhad
Razavi Khorasan in Iran.svg
Counties (A-R) and cities
Counties (S-Z) and cities
Landmarks
populated places
Authority control
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