Tabas ( fa, طبس, also
Romanized as Ṭabas), formerly known as Golshan, is the capital city of
Tabas County in
South Khorasan Province of
Iran.
At the 2011 census, its population was 35,150, in 9,903 families.
Tabas is located in
central Iran, 950 kilometers southeast of
Tehran, in
South Khorasan Province. At first, it was part of the
Khorasan province, but in 2001, it was joined to the
Yazd Province. However, in 2013, it was returned to Khorasan, and it became part of South Khorasan province.
The name Khorasan means the land of the rising sun. There are two other places in Khorasan called Tabas, but the name Tabas usually refers to the city under discussion.
It is a
desert city
Desert City is a plant nursery and botanical garden in San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, Spain, that cultivates and sells xerophytic plants, including cacti, succulents and native plants from the Mediterranean region.[accent Accent may refer to:
Speech and language
* Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers
* Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a particular syllable in a word, or a word in a phrase
** Pitch ac ...]
of
Persian that sounds somewhat different from the standard Iranian version ("
Tehrani accent").
History
The history of Tabas dates back to pre-Islamic times. It was an important outpost of the
Sassanid empire
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 ...
, and during the
Arab invasion, it was considered the gateway to Khorasan. It was spared when the
Mongols attacked Iran. It had a local government incorporating not only Tabas but also Ferdows and Gonabad. After the death of
Nader Shah
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 h ...
in 1747, it as under the control of the Zangu'i Arabs as an independent state which included nearby Tun. For a time they even kidnapped
Nader Mirza Afshar and placed the
Kurds of
Khabushan in control of
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
.
In 1978, the 7.4
Tabas earthquake
The 1978 Tabas earthquake occurred on September 16 at 19:05:55 local time in central Iran. The shock measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX+ (''Violent''). The death toll was in the range of 15,000 ...
affected the city with a maximum
Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 15,000 people were killed. Since then, the city has been rebuilt with many new streets, parks and public buildings.
Climate
Tabas has a
hot desert climate (
Köppen ''BWh'').
Operation Eagle Claw
The failed rescue American operation
Operation Eagle Claw on 24–25 April 1980 to free American hostages in Tehran occurred near Tabas. In Iran, the operation is called ''amaliat tabas'' (Tabas operation), and the significance and aftermath of the failed operation made the city Tabas known in almost every corner of Iran. The
Tabas air defense system is accordingly named so.
Transport
Multiple bus lines, a railroad station and an airport connect Tabas to Mashhad, Yazd, Tehran, Kerman and Birjand (the capital city of South Khorasan province).
Agricultural products
ُThe agricultural products of this desert city are very significant. Products such as: oranges,
pistachios, dates,
persimmons, summer fruits and
daffodils; Also, tea bread, chickpea bread, and jams that are prepared from agricultural products, such as: spring orange jam, balang jam, orange peel jam, and Tabas mountain and local
liqueurs.
Mines
Tabas has some of the richest coal mines of Iran.
Notable people
*
Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, born 25 June 1935 in Tabas; Grand Imam and Chairman of the
Astan Quds Razavi board
*
Massoud Rajavi, born 18 August 1948 in Tabas; one of the two leaders of the
People's Mujahedin of Iran
Gallery
File:Pelikan234.jpg
File:گلدسته امامزاده کاظم در طبس.jpg
File:داخل باغ گلشن3.JPG, Bagh-e-Golshan
References
{{Portal, Iran
Populated places in Tabas County
Cities in South Khorasan Province
Oases of Iran
Cities destroyed by earthquakes
pnb:شہرستان طبس