Darab ( fa, داراب, translit=Dārāb) — formerly Darabkert, or Darábgerd ("city of
Darius
Darius may refer to:
Persian royalty
;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire
* Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC)
* Darius II (423 to 404 BC)
* Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC)
;Crown princes
* Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...
")— is a city and capital of
Darab County,
Fars Province,
Iran. 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'' 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, carved on the vertical face of a rock, representing the victory of the
Sasanian king
Shapur I over the Roman emperor
Valerian in 260 A.D.
According to
Hamza al-Isfahani, 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. 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, Darab Branch;
Payame Noor University, Darab center; agriculture and national resources school of Darab; Paramedical school of Darab; and a branch of the
Technical and Vocational University.
In literature
In the notes to his long mystical poem ''
The Kasidah'' (1880), Sir
Richard Francis Burton 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