Romanize
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...
d as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is written and pronounced as "نِشابور" (without the usage of "پ" or "ب"). In modern times and among the general public and the Persian mass media, "نیشابور" is the most commonly used style of pronunciation and spelling of this city though "نیشاپور" is also correct. Nišâpur, Nişapur, Nīshābūr, or Neyshapur are also the other Romanizations of this city. from
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...
''"New-Shapuhr"'', meaning: "The New City of Shapur", "The Fair Shapur", or "The Perfect built of Shapur") is the second-largest city of Razavi Khorasan Province in the Northeast of
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 ...
. Nishapur is situated in a fertile plain at the foot of Binalud Mountain Range and has been the historic capital of the Western Quarter of
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
Tahirid dynasty
The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in A ...
, the initial capital of the 11th-century
Seljuk Empire
The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to ...
, and is currently the capital city of
Nishapur County
Nishapur County ( fa, شهرستان نیشابور, ''Šahrestâne Neyšhâbur''), or officially Romanized as Neyshabur County, is located in Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. The capital of the county is Nishapur, the second largest city in the ...
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
importance in Iran and the region of
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
.
As of 2016, its central city population was estimated to be 264,180 and its county's population was estimated to be 448,125 making it the third most-populous city in the eastern provinces of Iran. Nearby are
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...
mines that have supplied the world with turquoise of the finest and the highest quality for at least two
millennia
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
.
The city was founded in the 3rd century by
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 ...
as a capital city of
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 ...
satrapy
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
known as
Abarshahr
Abarshahr (Persian:اَبَرشهر) or Nishapur (Persian:نیشاپور) was a Sasanian satrapy (province) in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margian ...
or Nishapur. Nishapur later became the capital of
Tahirid dynasty
The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in A ...
and was reformed by Abdullah Tahir in 830, and was later selected as the capital of
Seljuk dynasty
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
by
Tughril
Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالب محمد تغریل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkmen"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in 1037. From the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
era to the
Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran
The Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia ( fa, حمله مغول به خوارزمشاهیان) took place between 1219 and 1221, as troops of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan invaded the lands of the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia. The campa ...
, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center within the Islamic world. Nishapur, along with
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
,
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
and one of the greatest cities of the Old World in the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
with strategic importance, a seat of governmental power in the eastern section of
caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s, a dwelling place for diverse ethnic and religious groups and a trading stop on commercial routes from
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
, China, Iraq and Egypt.
Nishapur reached the height of its prosperity under the
Samanids People
Samanid
Samanid
Samanid
The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan orig ...
in the 10th century but was destroyed and most of its population was slaughtered by the Mongols in 1221. This massacre, combined with subsequent earthquakes and other invasions, is believed to have destroyed the city several times. Unlike its near neighbor
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
, Nishapur managed to recover from these cataclysmic events, and survive until the present day as an active modern city and county in
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
,
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
commerce
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
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 ...
; however, many of its older and historical archeological remains are left to be uncovered.
The modern city of Nishapur is composed of three main administrative areas/districts (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: منطقه های شهر نیشابور) and is surrounded by many villages which are joining in to the urban area and structure of the city. The Area/district 1 of the city comprises the newer urban developments (initiated mostly in the 1980s and the 1990s) made to the north of the Road 44 and is home to the most of the main higher educational institutions of Nishapur such as the University of Neyshabur and the
IAUN
The Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch (IAUN) (Persian: دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد نجفآباد), also known as the University of Najafabad or Azad University of Najafabad, is an independent comprehensive branch of ...
. The Area/district 2 of the city comprises the downtown of the city and the older and more historic urban structures situated on the south of the Road 44. It is home to some of the main tourists attractions of the city such as the National Garden of Nishapur and the Khanate Mansion of Amin Islami. The Area/district 3 of the city is home to the ruins and the remains of the ancient city of Nishapur destroyed by Mongols in the Middle Ages and is located on the south and the southeast of the city. The third district of the city is a national and registered protected archeological area by law and any unauthorized archeological excavation is considered illegal. This district is also home to the burial and historical monuments (some are shown on the city infobox) of most of the renowned persons of the city throughout history such as the
Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám
The Mausoleum of Omar Khayyam ( Persian: آرامگاه عمر خیام ) is a modern mausoleum of white marble erected over Omar Khayyam's headstone located on the south-east of the city of Nishapur, Iran. This mausoleum is a symbol of modern Per ...
and the
Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur
The Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur ( fa, آرامگاه عطار نیشابوری) is located in Nishapur in northeastern Iran. It's located near the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám.
The structure is octagonal in shape with a tile worked onion sh ...
. The third district is also used as one of the main touristic hotspots of the city.
Many of this city's archeological discoveries are held and shown to the public in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the
National Museum of Iran
The National Museum of Iran ( fa, موزهٔ ملی ایران ) is located in Tehran, Iran. It is an institution formed of two complexes; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran, which were opened in 1937 ...
in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, other international museums and the museums of the city of Nishapur. The city of Nishapur is also a member of international organizations such as the LHC and the ICCN UNESCO.
History
History of Nishapur has been intermingled with myths and different historical narratives. According to different mythological and historical narratives, the city was founded 7500 years ago during the reign of mythical line of primordial kings known as the Pishdadian dynasty. According to
Arthur Christensen
Arthur Emanuel Christensen (9 January 1875 – 31 March 1945) was a Danish orientalist and scholar of Iranian philology and folklore. He is best known for his works on the Iranian history, mythology, religions
Religion is usually define ...
, Nishapur was founded in the year 260 A.D. Nishapur was founded by 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 ...
emperor
Shapur II
Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigne ...
() during the last years of his rule, as demonstrated by new archaeological findings. In the 9th century, Nishapur became the capital of the
Tahirid dynasty
The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in A ...
, and by the 10th century, was under Samanid rule. The city became an important and prosperous administrative center under the Samanids. In 1037, it was conquered by the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. Despite being sacked by the Oghuz Turks in 1153 and suffering several earthquakes, Nishapur continued as an important urban center until it was destroyed again by Genghis Khan and the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
in 1221.
Archaeological discoveries
Little
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
has been done on this vast and complicated site. George Curzon remarked that Nishapur had been destroyed and rebuilt more times than any other city in history, an evocative statement whether or not it is statistically true. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
undertook excavations from 1935 that were interrupted in 1940. Searching largely for museum-worthy trophies that they shared with the government of the
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
, the Metropolitan's publications were limited to its own Nishapur ceramics. The site of Nishapur has been ransacked for half a century since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, to feed the international market demand for early Islamic works of art.
Shadiyakh
Shadiyakh or Shadyakh ( fa, شادیاخ, presumably, a contracted form of , ''Shadi-Kakh'' means ''(The) Palace of Happiness'') was one of the main palaces, gardens and great neighborhoods of Nishapur in the Middle Ages. It was established by Ab ...
("Palace of Happiness") was one of the main palaces of old Nishapur up to the 9th century AD, which became more important and populated after that. Some notable people like Attar lived there. Attar's tomb is nowadays in that area. This palace was perhaps completely ruined in the 13th century.
Middle Ages
Nishapur occupies an important strategic position astride the old Silk Road that linked
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
with China. On the Silk Road, Nishapur has often defined the flexible frontier between the Iranian plateau and Central Asia. The town derived its name from its reputed founder, the
Sassanian
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 ...
, who is said to have established it in the third century CE. Nearby are the
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...
mines that supplied the world with turquoise for at least two millennia.
It became an important town in the
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
region but subsequently declined in significance until a revival in its fortunes in the 9th century under the
Tahirid dynasty
The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in A ...
, when the glazed
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
of Nishapur formed an important item of trade to the west. For a time Nishapur rivaled
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
or
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
:
Toghrül
Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالب محمد تغریل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkmen"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
, the first ruler of the Seljuk dynasty, made Nishapur his residence in 1037 and proclaimed himself sultan there, but it declined thereafter, as Seljuk fortunes were concentrated in the west. In the year 1000 CE, it was among the ten largest cities on earth.
Mongol siege of Nishapur
In 1221, after the death of Tokuchar, the husband of Genghis Khan's daughter, the entire city of Nishapur was destroyed by the Mongols over the course of 10 days. Genghis Khan's daughter requested the death of every resident of the city as vengeance for her husband's death. In order to become sure that no wounded would survive the massacre, Khan's troops killed and beheaded most of the population of the city and their skulls were reputedly piled in pyramids by the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
. Women, Infants, children, and even cats and dogs were among the beheaded. After the massacre a much smaller settlement was established just north of the ancient town, and the once bustling metropolis lay underground—until a team of excavators from the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
arrived in the mid-20th century. They worked at Nishapur between 1935 and 1940, returning for a final season in the winter of 1947–48. What remains of old Nishapur is a 3500-hectare "Kohandejh (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: کهن دژ)" area, south of the current city of Nishapur.
Ilkhanate and Timurid reign
After the fall of Nishapur in 1221 by the Mongols, the structures of the city were weakened and the agricultural output of the city was reduced.
Mahmud Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of ...
and
Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan
Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335) (Persian, Arabic: ), also spelt Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder ( mn, , ''Busayid Baghatur Khan'', ''Бусайд баатар хаан'' / ''Busaid baatar khaan'', in moder ...
tried to make the city flourish again and the city's population grew once more and some of the villages around the city were improved and rebuilt.
Hamdallah Mustawfi
Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and ...
had visited the city of Nishapur in the Year 1339 or 1340. During this era, the ambassador of
Henry III of Castile
Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390.
Birth and education
Henry was bor ...
,
Ruy González de Clavijo
Ruy González de Clavijo (died 2 April 1412) was a Castilian traveler and writer. In 1403-05 Clavijo was the ambassador of Henry III of Castile to the court of Timur, founder and ruler of the Timurid Empire. A diary of the journey, perhaps based ...
reached Nishapur and according to him, Nishapur had become a highly productive agricultural center with 40 non-stop working mills along the ''Abe Bostan'' (Mir Ab River of Nishapur). The current position of the city was formed during this era and on the North West of the older position of the city which is now home to the
Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur
The Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur ( fa, آرامگاه عطار نیشابوری) is located in Nishapur in northeastern Iran. It's located near the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám.
The structure is octagonal in shape with a tile worked onion sh ...
and Shadiyakh Archeological Site and other remains of the old position of the city (the old position of the city is also now a protected
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
by law though it is endangered).
Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur
The Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur ( fa, آرامگاه عطار نیشابوری) is located in Nishapur in northeastern Iran. It's located near the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám.
The structure is octagonal in shape with a tile worked onion sh ...
and the Jame mosque of Nishapur ( congregational mosque of the city) are among the examples of the buildings built during this era in Nishapur. Many poets, scholars and renowned historical figures of the city and the wider region of
Abarshahr
Abarshahr (Persian:اَبَرشهر) or Nishapur (Persian:نیشاپور) was a Sasanian satrapy (province) in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margian ...
( one of the main four regions of
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
with the city capitals of Nishapur,
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
,
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
Mohammad Khodabanda
Mohammad Khodabanda (also spelled Khodabandeh; fa, شاه محمد خدابنده, born 1532; died 1595 or 1596), was the fourth Safavid shah of Iran from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587 by his son Abbas I. Khodabanda had succeeded his brothe ...
Abbas the Great
Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...
Abbas the Great
Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...
to become the Ruler of
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
Abbas the Great
Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...
took back the control of Nishapur from the
Shaybanids
The Shibanids or Shaybanids ( fa, سلسله شیبانیان) or more accurately the Abu'l-Khayrid-Shibanids were a Persianized''Introduction: The Turko-Persian tradition'', Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, ed. Robert L. ...
Nawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...
(the ruler who governed the state of
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
of India), was also born in this period in an influential family in Nishapur.
Afsharid and Qajar Era (18th & 19th century)
After the death of
Nader Shah Afshar
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...
in 1747, the area became an independent khanate under the reign of the Bayat chieftains. In 1751 Ahmad Shah Durrani captured Nishapur with the support of heavy artillery and imposed
Shahrokh Shah
Shahrokh Mirza ( fa, شاهرُخمیرزا; 1734–1796), better known by his dynastic title of Shahrokh Shah () was the Afsharid king (shah) of the western part of Khorasan (corresponding to the present-day Khorasan Province) from 1750 to 17 ...
as the ruler (
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
) of the western part of
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
.
The city was conquered in 1800 by the
Qajars
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin ...
. In 1828, the city came under the influence of the Zafaranlu Confederacy but was given back to the Qajars in 1829. During the
Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar
The Revolt of Hasan Khan Salar was a revolt that occurred in Khorasan from 1846 to 1850. It began as a result of the power struggle in the Qajar court. One of the factions manifested itself in Khorasan by Hasan Khan Salar. Salar's revolt sought t ...
, the city was an isolated outpost of Qajar rule led by Imamverdi Khan Bayat when most of Khorasan was under the wrath of Hasan Khan Salar. On March 21, 1849, Qajar forces entered Nishapur.
Reza Shah
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...
. Omar's previous tomb was separated from his tomb, and a white marble monument ( Current Mausoleum), designed by the Iranian architect
Hooshang Seyhoun
Houshang Seyhoun, ( fa, هوشنگ سیحون) (August 22, 1920 – May 26, 2014) was an Iranian architect, sculptor, painter, scholar and professor. He studied fine arts at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and earned a de ...
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in the
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
, the event was cancelled.
Post Iranian revolution
On February 18, 2004, in the
Nishapur train disaster
The Neishapur train disaster was a large explosion in the village of Khayyam near Nishapur in Iran, on 18 February 2004. Nearly 300 people were killed and the entire village was destroyed when runaway train wagons crashed into the community in ...
, a train carrying flammable goods derailed and caught fire near the town. Five hours later, during fire fighting and rescue work, a massive explosion destroyed the train and many nearby buildings. Around 300 people were said to have been killed, mainly fire and rescue workers but also the local governor and mayor and the heads of the fire and rail services. This disaster has become known as one of the worst railway industry disasters of the world.
Arts
During the 10th century, Nishapur was a thriving economic center home to many religious scholars and artists. Nishapur was located along the Silk Road. An influential trade route connecting China to the Mediterranean Sea. It was a center for cotton, silk, textile and ceramic production. In efforts to uncover the history of life in this city, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
put together an excavation team composed of researchers Joseph Upton, Walter Hauser and Charles Wilkinson. From 1935 to 1940, the team worked to rediscover the ancient city. They were authorized to work under the conditions that half of the material found must be shared with the Iran Bastan Museum in Tehran. Along with pottery, excavators uncovered glass, metalwork, coins and decorated wall fragments. Over the years of excavations, thousands of items were uncovered which provided information on local artistic traditions.
Tepe Madraseh
The most elaborate architectural excavation took place at the site called Tepe Madraseh. This massive complex had been thoughtfully planned and embellished with many decorative elements. Plaster panels had been carved and painted, along with walls, brickwork and glazed ceramic tiles. A madraseh is a place for religious learning. Such sites have peaked the interest of scholars for centuries for their function and architectural designs. Like most Islamic architecture the entire complex of Tepe Madaseh was oriented to face
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
. The bricks used to construct most of the structures had been dried in the kilns located on the outskirts of the complex.
Pottery
Nishapur during the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, especially the 9th and 10th centuries, was one of the great centers of
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
and related arts. Most of the Ceramic artifacts discovered in Nishapur are preserved in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and Museums in Nishapur,
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and Mashhad. Ceramics produced at Nishapur showed links with Sassanid art and
Central Asian
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...
. Nowadays there are 4 Pottery workshops in Nishapur.
Form and function of Nishapur pottery
"Although the decoration of pottery may only tell us a little about the people who used it, the form of a vessel is directly related to its function". The Pottery of Nishapur incorporated strong colored
slips Slips (or SLIPS) may refer to:
*Slips (oil drilling)
*SLIPS (Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces)
*SLIPS (company)
*SLIPS (Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System)
*Slip (cricket), often used in the plural form
*The Slips, a UK electronic music duo
...
and bold patterns. Common decoration included geometric and vegetal patterns, calligraphy, figures and animals. The ceramic pieces uncovered at Nishapur consisted mainly of vessels and utilitarian wares. Objects such as plates, bowls, bottles, jars, pitchers, coin banks and even a toy hen were found. One decorative technique specifically utilized by Nishapur potters was the refined use of chattering, a rippled texture achieved when trimming a vessel on the wheel. The
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
ware of Nishapur indicates the significant advances in glaze technology that were being discovered during the 10th century. It also indicates how an objects aesthetic became an important part of the piece as a whole.
A selection of these discoveries is shown in the gallery below:
File:Thr muze art islam 7.jpg, Bowl painted on slip under transparent glaze (
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
), Nishabur, 9th or 10th century.
National Museum of Iran
The National Museum of Iran ( fa, موزهٔ ملی ایران ) is located in Tehran, Iran. It is an institution formed of two complexes; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran, which were opened in 1937 ...
,
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
.
File:Cup votive inscriptions MET 40-170-15.jpg, Bowl with Kufic Inscriptions found in the archeological excavations of Nishapur. The
Middle East Institute
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understa ...
's logo has been inspired by this bowl. This bowl is currently held in the Met.
File:Bowl LACMA M.68.22.11 (2 of 2).jpg, Pottery of Nishapur in the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
(10th - 11th century)
File:Bowl LACMA M.68.22.10 (1 of 2).jpg, Pottery of Nishapur in the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
(10th - 11th century)
File:Iran, nishapur, coppa, x sec 04.JPG, Pottery of Nishapur in the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
(10th - 11th century)
File:Bowl LACMA M.73.5.203.jpg, Pottery of Nishapur in the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
(10th - 11th century)
File:Cup votive inscription MET 37-40-22.Jpg, Cup with votive inscriptions in
Kufic script
Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...
. Terracotta, slipped decoration on slip, underglaze painted. 10th-11th century, Nishapur.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
Carpet-weaving
Weaving carpets and rugs common in the more than 470 villages in
Nishapur County
Nishapur County ( fa, شهرستان نیشابور, ''Šahrestâne Neyšhâbur''), or officially Romanized as Neyshabur County, is located in Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. The capital of the county is Nishapur, the second largest city in the ...
Sheikh Zayed Mosque
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque ( ar, جَامِع ٱلشَّيْخ زَايِد ٱلْكَبِيْر, Jāmiʿ Ash-Shaykh Zāyid Al-Kabīr) is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the countr ...
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
.
Modern art of carpet in Nishapur began in 1946 after inauguration of a carpet-weaving workshop in a
caravansary
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside Pub#Inns, inn where travelers (caravan (travellers), caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the ne ...
.
Turquoise masonry
For at least 2,000 years, Iran, known before as
Persia
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 ...
, has remained an important source of turquoise, which was named by Iranians initially "pirouzeh" meaning "victory" and later after Arab invasion "firouzeh". As an important source of turquoise, Nishapur has been sometimes referred to as the "city of turquoise" throughout history. In Iranian architecture, the blue turquoise was used to cover the domes of the Iranian palaces because its intense blue color was also a symbol of heaven on earth.
This deposit, which is blue naturally, and turns green when heated due to dehydration, is restricted to a mine-riddled region in Nishapur, the mountain peak of Ali-mersai, which is tens of kilometers from Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan 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 ...
. Nishapur's turquoise has been sold as souvenirs and jewelry in Nishapur and Mashhad. A weathered and broken
trachyte
Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...
is host to the turquoise, which is found both ''in situ'' between layers of limonite and sandstone, and amongst the
scree
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...
at the mountain's base. These workings, together with those of the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...
, are the oldest known.
Architecture and monuments
A selection of historical buildings and monuments of the city is shown in the city info box on the top of this article, and on the gallery below:
File:Old Picture of Qadamgah Mosque of Nishapur.jpg, Qadamgah Shia pilgrimage of Nishapur, Probably in 1960s or 50s
File:Attar2.jpg, Tomb of Attar & Kamal ol Molk. Part of the national heritage list of Iran.
File:فضل ابن شاذان 4.jpg, Fadhl Ibn Shazan tomb & mosque interior. Part of the national heritage list of Iran.
File:Mohammad Al-Mahruq Mosque before 1900.jpg,
Imamzadeh Mahruq
Immamzadeh Mahruq ( Persian: امامزاده محروق) is an Immamzadeh/mosque and the resting place of Imamzadeh Muhammad Mahruq ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd ibn Ali and Imamzadeh Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Musa al-Kazim situated in Omar Khayyam and Im ...
before 1900.
File:Heydar Yaghma tomb.jpg, Tomb of
Heydar Yaghma
Heydar Yaghma ( fa, حیدر یغما; 1926 – March 1986) was an Iranian poet. He was born in a village near Nishapur. Yaghma was a simple worker and was not literate. He began telling poems while in his thirties and learned how to read an ...
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and are
monolingual
Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...
, however, there are several private foreign language-teaching institutions in the city that teach English and other languages.
Mythology and religion
Nishapur has been of importance in
Iranian mythology Iranian mythology or Iranic mythology may refer to any of the following mythologies of various Iranian peoples:
* Persian mythology
* Kurdish mythology
* Scythian mythology
** Ossetian mythology
* Azerbaijani mythology
See also
* Iranian religio ...
. Before the
Islamization of Iran
The Islamization of Iran occurred as a result of the Muslim conquest of Persia in 633–654 AD. It was a long process by which Islam, though initially rejected, eventually spread among the population. Iranians have maintained certain pre-Islamic ...
,
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
had been the major religion of Nishapur.Mehdi Aminrazavi, ''The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam'',
Oneworld Publications
Oneworld Publications is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Novin Doostdar and Juliet Mabey originally to publish accessible non-fiction by experts and academics for the general market.Rivand (one of the ancient names of Nishapur) has been mentioned in
Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...
and subsequently in
Shahnameh
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 ...
.
Adur Burzen-Mihr
Adur Burzen-Mihr (Middle Iranian) or Azar Barzin ( fa, آذر برزین) was an ''Atash Bahram'' (a Zoroastrian fire temple of the highest grade) located in Parthia. In the Sasanian period it was one of the three Great Fires and was associate ...
a Zoroastrian fire temple of the highest grade was situated in Rivand Mountains ( Binalud mountains) of Nishapur and the lake Rivand of Nishapur was built due to a fight between
Ahriman
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the ...
and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
(probably by water it was meant
Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...
in the Persian text of the Persian wiki). Also, according to Hakim Nishapuri, Dež-e Sɑngi was built by Seth on a giant round soft (flat) stone There are also signs of the influence of Christianity in Nishapur (a street in Nishapur has been called and is still called Masih and also a village on the south of the city was called Masih Abad). After the rise of Islam however, the people living in and near the city of Neyshabur became
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. Nishapur and its people have also had an influence on Sufism (an Islamic mystic practice). Poets and Sufis such as
Attar of Nishapur
Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ...
who had been born in this city had had a profound influence on
Islamic mysticism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
. In the 10th century, Nishapur had been one of the centers of Ismaili missionary spread in Iran and Greater Khorasan. Most of the Ismailis of Nishapur now live in Dizbad and some in the main city itself.
Jama'at Khana
Jamatkhana (from fa, جماعت خانه , literally "congregational place") is an amalgamation derived from the Arabic word ''jama‘a'' (gathering) and the Persian word ''khana'' (house, place). It is a term used by some Muslim communities a ...
Dizbad is the most important Ismaili center in Nishapur today. From the third to the sixth of Hejri Ghamari, Nishapur was one of the centers of Sufism. Most Sufis and Sufi elders in Nishapur were Sunnis and followers of the
Shafi'i school
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
.
Notable people
''Sorted by date''
*
Mazdak
Mazdak ( fa, مزدک, Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭦𐭣𐭪, also Mazdak the Younger; died c. 524 or 528) was a Zoroastrian ''mobad'' (priest), Iranian reformer, prophet and religious reformer who gained influence during the reign of the Sasanian empe ...
– (died c. 524 or 528) was a
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
prophet,
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
reformer and religious activist
*
Kanarang
The ''kanārang'' ( fa, کنارنگ) was a unique title in the Sasanian military, given to the commander of the Sasanian Empire's northeasternmost frontier province, Abarshahr (encompassing the cities of Nishapur, Tus and Abiward). In Byzant ...
– was a unique title in the
Sassanid army
The Sasanian army was the primary military body of the Sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the Sasanian navy. The birth of the army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, to the throne. Arda ...
, given to the commander of the Sassanid Empire's northeastern most frontier province,
Abarshahr
Abarshahr (Persian:اَبَرشهر) or Nishapur (Persian:نیشاپور) was a Sasanian satrapy (province) in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margian ...
(encompassing the cities of
Tus
Tus or TUS may refer to:
* Tus (biology), a protein that binds to terminator sequences
* Thales Underwater Systems, an international defence contractor
* Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language, ISO 639-3 code
Education
* Technological Univ ...
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
heresiarch
In Christian theology, a heresiarch (also hæresiarch, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary''; from Greek: , ''hairesiárkhēs'' via the late Latin ''haeresiarcha''Cross and Livingstone, ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' 1974) ...
* Sunpadh – (died 755) cleric
*Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh – muhaddith, faqih
*Abu al-Abbas Iranshahri – 9th-century philosopher, mathematician, natural scientist, historian of religion, astronomer and author
*Ibn Khuzaymah – Islamic scholar, Muslim scholar
*Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj – Islamic scholar, Muslim scholar and one of the most prominent ''muhaddith'' in history
*Abu al-Hassan al-Amiri – (died 992) was a Muslim theologian and philosopher
*Abū al-Wafā' Būzjānī – (10 June 940 – 15 July 998) was a mathematician and astronomer
*Hakim al-Nishaburi – (933–1012), was a Sunni scholar and historian
*Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi – Isma'ili theologian and historian
*Tha'ālibī -(961–1038), Muslim philologist, writer and poet
*Ahmad ibn 'Imad al-Din – was a Persian physician and alchemist. He was probably from Nishapur in the 11th century.
*Ibn Abi Sadiq – was an 11th-century Persian physician
*Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr – (December 7, 967 – January 12, 1049) was a famous Persian Sufi and poet
*Al-Juwayni (1028–1085 CE) was a Sunni Shafi'i Faqih and Mutakallim.
*Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tha'labi – was an 11th-century Islamic scholar.
*Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin Qushayri – was born in 986 CE (376 AH), Philosopher and Sufi
*Omar Khayyám – (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) was a Persian polymath, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet.
*Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi – (1059-1135), Persian scholar of Arabic, history and hadith
*Mu'izzi – was an 11th and 12th-centuries poet
*Haji Bektash Veli – was a Muslim mystic
*
Attar of Nishapur
Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ...
– (c. 1145 – c. 1221), was a Muslim poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer.
*Abu al-Qasim al-Habib Neishapuri – physician mid-15th century.
*Saadat Ali Khan I – (b. c. 1680 – d. 19 March 1739) was the Subahdar Nawab of Oudh. All the rulers of Oudh State in India belonged to a Shia Muslim dynasty of Persian origin from Nishapur. They were renowned for their secularism and broad outlook. After they rebelled against the British their state was annexed to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
*Hamid Hussain Musavi – i (born 1830 – died 1880) was a leading Shia scholar
*
Heydar Yaghma
Heydar Yaghma ( fa, حیدر یغما; 1926 – March 1986) was an Iranian poet. He was born in a village near Nishapur. Yaghma was a simple worker and was not literate. He began telling poems while in his thirties and learned how to read an ...
–
*Badi' –
*Abolghasem Sakhdari – wrestler
*Saeed Khani – footballer
*Yaghoub Ali Shourvarzi – wrestler
*Nur-Ali Shushtari –
*Esmail Shooshtari –
*Parviz Meshkatian –
*Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani – i (born 1939) is a Persian writer, poet, literary critic, editor, and translator.
*Hossein Vahid Khorasani(born January 1, 1921) is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja
*Abdolreza Kahani Director
*Hamed Behdad(1973) Actor
Education
Schools, universities and colleges
High schools
There are several high schools in the city and the county. The most famous and the oldest of which is Omar Khayyam High School.
Higher education
University of Neyshabur, The University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Islamic Azad University of Nishapur, the Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur (IAUN), Payame Noor University, the Payame Noor University of Neyshabur and Technical and Vocational University, the Technical and Vocational University of Neyshabur, are the main universities of the city along with several other public and private technical, vocational, and part-time colleges and schools.
Sport centers
Enghelab Sports Complex is an indoor arena in Nishapur. The arena houses Nishapur's basketball, volleyball, and futsal teams. Nishapur has one professional football team, Jahan Electric Nishapur F.C., Jahan Electric Nishapur, that competes in the Razavi Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan's Provincial Leagues.
Transportation
Road 44
Road 44, a major national expressway that connects the two major cities of
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and Mashhad, is connected to the city of Nishapur and it passes through it.
Rail transport
Nishapur is connected to the Trans-Iranian Railway, Trans-Iranian Railway System which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, world heritage. The Nishapur train station became operational during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and it is located on the southern part of the city.
Nishapur train disaster
On 18 February 2004, runaway train wagons crashed into the village of Khayyam near Nishapur. This accident caused several major explosions and it kill over 300. The entire village of Khayyam was destroyed due to the explosions.
Public transport
The intercity bus terminal of the city is located at the eastern part of the city close to the road 44. Several public bus lines and stations are also active within the city.
Airport
Currently there is only one airport near the north of the city that is only authorized to be used for Glider (sailplane), gliders and small aircraft however, there are plans for building a proper airport near the south of the city of Nishapur.
Economy
The economy of Nishapur is diverse and it is based on several industries like Agriculture, Industrial parks, mining, tourism, health-care, retailing, banking etc.
Food & Agriculture
Many agricultural products such as saffron, cotton, herbs, plums, walnut, wheat, Maize, corn, apples, Cherry, cherries and pistachio are exported from the Nishapur County, county of Nishapur. The city is also a dairy and sugar exporter.
Water supply
Most of the water supply of the city is provided from the Binalud Mountain Range's mostly Intermittent river, seasonal rivers, qanats, dams and modern wells.
Mining
Natural recourses such as
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...
and salt are mined from around the city.
Energy
The electrical power supply of the city is provided from Neyshabur Combined cycle power plant, Combined Cycle Power Plant and Binalood wind farm, Binalood Wind Farm. The excessive electrical energy of the city is mostly exported from the city's public Electrical grid, power grid.
Industry
Khorasan steel, Khorasan Steel Complex and two main industrial parks called the Omar Khayyam, Khayyam Industrial Park and the Attar of Nishapur, Attar Industrial Park are near the city of Nishapur. Many industrial products such as sugar, cooking oils and gas heaters are exported from the city and its county.
Tourism
Several hotels, Ecotourism, ecolodges, resorts, parks, tourist hot-spots, restaurants, museums, a planetarium, cultural centers, mausoleums, religious pilgrimage sites and historic mosques are in and near the city. The tourism industry of the city has a lot of protentional but it needs further development.
Health care
There are two active hospitals (Hakim Hospital and 22 Bahman Hospital) in the city of Nishapur and a third one is also currently under construction.
Geography
Nishapur is located at an elevation of 1213 meters on a wide fertile plain at the southwestern foot of the Binalud Mountains, Binalud Mountain range in northcentral Razavi Khorasan Province. The city is connected by both railways and highways to Mashhad,
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and the South Khorasan Province. Among its agricultural products are cereals and cotton. Pottery making and carpet weaving are among its important handicrafts.
Weather and climate
Sources of the Middle ages
Throughout the Middle Ages, Nishpaur had been praised by many due to its many gardens and its healthy climate in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan. Ibn Hawqal has commented the following about the weather and the climate of this city at that time:
Throughout all of Greater Khorasan, Khorasan, no such companion as enriched with the health of the air, quantity and the vastness of its mansions can be found.
In the same cited work, Hakim Nishapuri praises Nishapur with many nicknames such as " " and compares and claims that the weather and climate (or air Persian: هوا) of Nishapur was better and more healthier (according to him, cholera and other such diseases and disasters could not be found in Nishapur) than many neighboring regions such as Sistan (due to its winds), Indus valley (or سند in Persian) and Hindustan (due to their severe hotness), Khwarazm and Turkestan (due to their coldness) and
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
(due to presence of many insects).
Modern
Nishapur generally has a warm and semi-dry climate called ''Iranian plateau, central Iranian plateau climate''. Precipitation mostly happens in spring and winter. Nishapur is situated on a relatively higher elevation (1250 meters) than its neighboring cities such Sabzevar and Mashhad hence the weather is milder and better than these cities.
= Climate
=
Nishapur has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk).
Geology
The city of Nishapur lies on a Holocene alluvial plain on top of the Pleistocene sediments in the southwestern part of the Binalud Mountains. The Binalud Range, running northwest–southeast, is made predominantly of Triassic and Jurassic rocks. On the southern side of the northwestern part of the range there is a section of Eocene rocks that are volcanic in origin. The well-known Nishabur
turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...
comes from the weathered and broken
trachyte
Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...
s and andesites of the Eocene volcanic rocks of this part of the mountain range. The main turquoise mines are situated about 50 kilometers northwest of the city of Nishapur in the foothills of the Binalud Range.
Seismicity
Nishapur is located in a region with a rather high risk of earthquakes. Many earthquakes have seriously harmed the city; among the important ones are the historical earthquakes that ruined the city in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Mass media
Newspaper publishing
General publications in Nishapur includes the weekly and local newspapers. The first local newspaper of Khorasan province is ''Morning of Nishapur'', published since 1989. Others include ''Shadiakh'', published since 2000, ''Khayyam Nameh'', since 2004, ''Nasim'', since 2006, and ''Far reh Simorgh'', since 2010.
Public Broadcasting
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB center of Mashhad covers the news of Nishapur.
Printing
Two book publishers working in the city are ''Klidar'' & ''Abar Shahr''.
Culture
Anthem
The special Anthem of Nishapur was unveiled for the first time on April 14, 2011; it has introduction and three parts, noted on three invasive and destructive in the history of Nishapur, delineated by frightening sounds of bells, along with sounds of percussion and wailing women represent the miseries caused by these attacks.
Literature
Throughout history, Nishapur has been mentioned and praised in the Persian literature for several times (Mostly due to its prosperity and Persian gardens, gardens). This city has been the birthplace and home of many famous Persian poets such as Omar Khayyam,
Attar of Nishapur
Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ...
,
Heydar Yaghma
Heydar Yaghma ( fa, حیدر یغما; 1926 – March 1986) was an Iranian poet. He was born in a village near Nishapur. Yaghma was a simple worker and was not literate. He began telling poems while in his thirties and learned how to read an ...
, Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani, Shafiei Kadkani and more. Foreign writers such as André Gide, Andre Gide ( in ''The Fruits of the Earth)'' and Jorge Luis Borges have also mentioned this city in their work(s).
Music
Throughout history, music in Nishapur has been influenced by Sasanian music, Sassanid, Arabic maqam, Maqami and Persian traditional music, traditional styles and is a part of the Khorasani Folk Music that has been popular in Nishapur. Following the UNESCO World Register of Maqami Music in Northern Khorasan, research on music in Nishapur has been considered. Maghami music festivals have been also active in Nishapur. One of the oldest study sources related to Iranian music is Resal-e Neyshaburi (in Persian:رساله نیشابور) written by :fa:محمد بن محمود بن محمد نیشابوری, Mohammad bin Mahmoud of Nishapur, which highlights the importance of music in old Nishapur. Among the influential people of Nishapur in music :fa:راتبه نیشابوری, Ratebe Neyshaburi (during the reign of Tahirid dynasty, Tahirids), and the contemporary Parviz Meshkatian can be named.
Other influences
* Yo-Yo Ma released an instrumental track entitled "Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur" as part of the Silk Road Project.
* US band Santana (band), Santana released an instrumental track entitled "Incident at Neshabur" on their 1970 LP release, ''Abraxas (album), Abraxas''. Carlos Santana says this was a reference to a place in Haiti.
Sports
The 15th World Scout Jamboree was scheduled to be held 15–23 July 1979 and was to be hosted by Pahlavi Iran at Nishapur, but was cancelled due to the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in 1979.
Video games
* Nishapur is included as a playable setting in a historical video game series called ''Crusader Kings III, Crusader Kings''.
*Nishapur is included as a playable setting in a historical video game called ''Historinica''.
Films and cinema
Paintings
Local and cultural days
Gastronomy and food culture
The most important foods and drinks in Nishapur are rhubarb and sharbat. Rhubarb (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
or '), a sour vegetable, grows at the foot of the eponymous Rivand Mountains (Mount Binalud). Soft drinks made from the stems of the plant, such as () and (), are sold at some Nishapur resorts. ''Aush Komay'' is also a local Aush made from a vegetable called ''کمای''. Haleem of Neyshabur is also popular in the region along with other common List of Iranian foods, Iranian foods and drinks.
Twin towns – sister cities
Nishapur is Sister city, twinned with:
*
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
, Turkmenistan
* Samarkand, Uzbekistan
See also
*
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
*
Adur Burzen-Mihr
Adur Burzen-Mihr (Middle Iranian) or Azar Barzin ( fa, آذر برزین) was an ''Atash Bahram'' (a Zoroastrian fire temple of the highest grade) located in Parthia. In the Sasanian period it was one of the three Great Fires and was associate ...
*
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
*
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
* Balkh
*Samarkand
*Bukhara
*Nishapur County, Neyshabur county
*Omar Khayyam, Omar Khayyam Neyshaburi
*
Attar of Nishapur
Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ...
IAUN
The Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch (IAUN) (Persian: دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد نجفآباد), also known as the University of Najafabad or Azad University of Najafabad, is an independent comprehensive branch of ...
* Elias Pirasteh, ''Neyshabur'', Photo Set flickr * Ardavan Ruzbeh, ''When National Heritage is not an equal to the Emām-Jom'eh'', a reportage on the demolition of a national monument, ''Madreseh-ye Golshan'' (مدرسه گلشن), in Nishabur, in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
', by Hossein Davoudi, Jadid Online, 2008, (5 min 39 sec). Note: Dizbād is a small village between Mashhad and Neyshābūr, located at some 40 km distance from Mashhad.
{{Authority control
Nishapur,
Populated places in Nishapur County
Cities in Razavi Khorasan Province
Populated places along the Silk Road
Sasanian cities
Ancient Iranian cities
Archaeological sites in Iran
Ismaili centres
Amṣar
Capitals of caliphates
Former capitals of Iran
Seljuk Empire
Shapur I
National works of Iran