Mashhad (mäsh-häd`), city (1991 pop. 1,759,155), capital of Razavi Khorasan prov., NE Iran. It is an industrial and trade center and a transportation hub. Manufactures include carpets, textiles, and processed foods. Mashhad is a religious center visited annually by large numbers of Muslim pilgrims. Formerly known as Sanabadh, it is the site of the shrine of the Imam Ali Riza, a Shiite holy person. Imam Riza died (819) in the city after visiting the grave of Caliph Harun al-Rashid Harun al-Rashid (här
n är-räshēd`) [Arab.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had died there 10 years before; he was buried next to Harun, and the shrine was built over both graves. The city was attacked by the Oghuz Turks (12th cent.) and by the Mongols (13th cent.), but recovered by the 14th cent., when it came to be known as Mashhad [Arab.,="place of martyrdom" or "shrine"]. It prospered under the Safavids Safavid (säfä`wēd), Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion.
..... Click the link for more information. , who were devout Shiite Muslims; Shah Abbas I Abbas I (Abbas the Great) (äbäs`, ăbäs`, ăb`əs)
..... Click the link for more information. embellished Mashhad with elaborate buildings. It reached its greatest glory in the 18th cent., when Nadir Shah Nadir Shah or Nader Shah (both: nä`dēr shä)
..... Click the link for more information. made Mashhad the capital of Persia. The city took on strategic importance in the late 19th cent. because of its proximity to the Russian and Afghan borders. The bombing of the sanctuary of the Imam Riza by the Russians in 1912 caused widespread resentment in the Shiite Muslim world. In 1996 the city became the terminus of a new railroad linking Iran with Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia. Near Mashhad are the remains of the former city of Tus, birthplace of the poet Firdausi Firdausi or Ferdowsi (both: fərdou`sē), c.
..... Click the link for more information. and the philosopher al-Ghazali Ghazali, al- (ăl-găzä`lē), 1058–1111, Islamic theologian, philosopher, and mystic.
..... Click the link for more information. . Mashhad itself is the seat of a university (founded 1947). The city is also known as Meshed.
Mashhad, Meshed
n är-räshēd`) [Arab...... Click the link for more information. , who had died there 10 years before; he was buried next to Harun, and the shrine was built over both graves. The city was attacked by the Oghuz Turks (12th cent.) and by the Mongols (13th cent.), but recovered by the 14th cent., when it came to be known as Mashhad [Arab.,="place of martyrdom" or "shrine"]. It prospered under the Safavids Safavid (säfä`wēd), Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion.
..... Click the link for more information. , who were devout Shiite Muslims; Shah Abbas I Abbas I (Abbas the Great) (äbäs`, ăbäs`, ăb`əs)
..... Click the link for more information. embellished Mashhad with elaborate buildings. It reached its greatest glory in the 18th cent., when Nadir Shah Nadir Shah or Nader Shah (both: nä`dēr shä)
..... Click the link for more information. made Mashhad the capital of Persia. The city took on strategic importance in the late 19th cent. because of its proximity to the Russian and Afghan borders. The bombing of the sanctuary of the Imam Riza by the Russians in 1912 caused widespread resentment in the Shiite Muslim world. In 1996 the city became the terminus of a new railroad linking Iran with Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia. Near Mashhad are the remains of the former city of Tus, birthplace of the poet Firdausi Firdausi or Ferdowsi (both: fərdou`sē), c.
..... Click the link for more information. and the philosopher al-Ghazali Ghazali, al- (ăl-găzä`lē), 1058–1111, Islamic theologian, philosopher, and mystic.
..... Click the link for more information. . Mashhad itself is the seat of a university (founded 1947). The city is also known as Meshed.
Mashhad
or MeshedCity (pop., 1996: 1,887,405), northeastern Iran. It is situated in the valley of the Kashaf River, at an elevation of 3,231 ft (985 m). It was damaged in a Mongol attack in 1220 and was sacked by Turkmen and Uzbeks in the 16th and 17th centuries. Nadir Shah (r. 1736–47) made Mashhad his capital. The city is the burial place of Harun al-Rashid and a site of pilgrimage for Shi'ite Muslims visiting the tomb of the eighth Shi'ite imam, 'Ali al-Rida'.
Mashhad, Meshed
a city in NE Iran: an important holy city of Shi'ite Muslims; carpet manufacturing. Pop.: 2 147 000 (2005 est.)
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