Darab ( fa, داراب, translit=Dārāb) — formerly Darabkert, or Darábgerd ("city of
Darius")— is a city and capital of
Darab County
Darab County ( fa, شهرستان داراب) is located in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is Darab. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 172,938, in 39,955 households. Retrieved 30 October 2022 The following census i ...
,
Fars Province,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 54,513, in 13,279 families.
Historical background
Darab is one of the oldest cities in Iran, and is mentioned in the Persian epic ''
Shahname
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...
'' by
Ferdowsi
Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...
. Legend ascribes the foundation of the city to
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
, hence its earlier name Daráb-gerd (Darius-town).
In the neighborhood there are various remains, including the Kalah i Daráb (citadel of Darius), which consists of a series of
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
arranged in a circle around an isolated rock. Another monument in the vicinity is a giant
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
, carved on the vertical face of a rock, representing the victory of the
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
king
Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...
over the Roman emperor
Valerian in 260 A.D.
According to
Hamza al-Isfahani
Hamza ibn al-Hasan bnal-Mu'addib al-Isfahani ( ar, حمزه الاصفهانی; – after 961), commonly known as Hamza al-Isfahani (or Hamza Isfahani; ) was a Persian philologist and historian, who wrote in Arabic during the Buyid era. A Persia ...
, the city was triangular in design, and the circular defensive wall, which has been uncovered, was built in the 8th century by a governor of Fars under
Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi ( ar, أبو محمد الحجاج بن يوسف بن الحكم بن أبي عقيل الثقفي, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī ʿAqīl al-T ...
. The circle is irregular, and about 1,900 m in diameter.
During most of the Middle Ages, the city remained the capital of a large district. The city's products included textiles, jasmine oil, various mineral salts, and ''
mumiya'', a mineral exudate.
Climate
Agricultural products
Major city products are wheat, citrus, cotton, maize and palm.
Higher education
The city has five universities:
Islamic Azad University
The Islamic Azad University (IAU; fa, دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی, ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleg ...
, Darab Branch;
Payame Noor University
Payame Noor University (PNU; Persian: Dāneŝgāhe Payāme Nur) is a large public university in Iran, with its headquarters in Tehran. Established in 1988, is a legal body under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. ''Payame Noor'' m ...
, Darab center; agriculture and national resources school of Darab; Paramedical school of Darab; and a branch of the
Technical and Vocational University
The Technical and Vocational University (TVU) ( fa, دانشگاه فنی و حرفهای, ''Danushgah-e Feni-ye Herfehai'') includes higher education that runs all technical/vocational colleges across the country. The main objective of this U ...
.
In literature
In the notes to his long mystical poem ''
The Kasidah
''The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî'' (1880) is a long English language poem written by "Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî", a pseudonym of the true author, Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), a well-known British Arabist and explorer. In a note ...
'' (1880), Sir
Richard Francis Burton
Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
describes his alter ego "Haji Abdu El-Yezdi" as being a native of Darab.
References
Populated places in Darab County
Cities in Fars Province
Sasanian cities
Achaemenid cities
Darius the Great
{{Darab-geo-stub