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. Legend ascribes the foundation of the city to Darius I, 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 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 th ...

, 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'' ...

, 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 t ...

'' (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