North Khorasan Province ( fa, استان خراسان شمالی, ''Ostān-e Khorāsān-e Shomālī'') is a province located in northeastern

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 ...

. Bojnord is the capital of the province. The counties of North Khorasan Province are Shirvan County, Esfarayen County,

Maneh and Samalqan County Maneh and Samalqan County, or Mana and Samangan ( fa, شهرستان مانه و سملقان تایباد, ''Maneh va Samalqan'') is located in North Khorasan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and ...

Raz and Jargalan County Raz and Jargalan County ( fa, شهرستان راز و جرگلان) is located in North Khorasan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It i ...

, Jajarm County, Faruj County, and Garmeh County. North Khorasan is one of the three provinces that were created after the division of

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

in 2004. In 2014 it was placed in Region 5.

History

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 Plate ...

has witnessed the rise and fall of many dynasties and governments in its territory throughout history. Various tribes of

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

, Turks,

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

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 ...

Turkmens Turkmens ( tk, , , , ; historically "the Turkmen"), sometimes referred to as Turkmen Turks ( tk, , ), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-weste ...

, and

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

s have brought change to the region time and time again. Ancient geographers of Iran divided Iran into eight segments, of which the largest was the territory of

Esfarayen Esfarayen ( fa, اسفراین, also Romanized as Esfarāyen; formerly, Meyanābād, Mīānābād, and Mīyānābād) is a city and capital of Esfarayen County, North Khorasan Province in Iran. At the 2011 census its population was 60,372 persons ...

, among other cities of the province, was one of the focal points for settlement by

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

tribes entering Iran. The

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

n empire was based near

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 ...

in Khorasan for many years. In Parthian times, Esfarayen was one of the important villages of

Nishapur Nishapur or officially Romanized 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 wr ...

. During the

Sassanid 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 ...

dynasty, the province was governed by a ''Spahbod'' (Lieutenant General) called "Padgoosban" and four margraves, each commander of one of the four parts of the province. In the year 651, the army of Islamic Arabs invaded Khorasan. The territory remained in the hands of 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 ...

clan until 820, followed by the rule of the Iranian Taherid clan in the year 896 and the

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 origin. The empire was centred in Kho ...

dynasty in 900. Khorasan was divided into four parts during the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. Th ...

, each section being named after the four largest cities; Nishapur, Merv,

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 Safēd ...

, and

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

conquered Khorasan in 994 and in the year 1037

Tuğrul Beg Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالبْ محمد طغرل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Tu ...

, the first of the Seljuq empire rulers, conquered Nishapur. Mahmud Qaznavi retaliated against the invaders several times, and finally, the Qaznavi Turks defeated

Sultan Sanjar Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,the Khwarazmids. In 1220 was annexed by the Mongols of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

. When in 1226 the great conqueror finally died, Khorasan was inherited by his son Tolui and then by Tolui's son Hulegu, the first emperor of the Mongolic

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

of Persia. In the 14th century, a flag of independence was hoisted by the Sarbedaran movement in Sabzevar, and in 1368, Khorasan came into the hands of Tamerlane. In 1507, Khorasan was occupied by Uzbek tribes. 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 was occupied by the Afghans. In 1824, Herat became independent for several years when the Afghan Empire was split between the Durranis and Barakzais. The Persians sieged the city in 1837, but the British assisted the Afghans in repelling them. In 1856, the Persians launched another invasion, and briefly managed to recapture the city; it led directly to the Anglo-Persian War. In 1857 hostilities between the Persians and the British ended after the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

was signed, and the Persian troops withdrew from Herat. Afghanistan reconquered Herat in 1863 under

Dost Muhammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

, two weeks before his death. Khorasan was the largest province of Iran until it was divided into three provinces on September 29, 2004. The provinces approved by the parliament of Iran (on May 18, 2004) and the

Council of Guardians The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

(on May 29, 2004) were Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, and

South Khorasan South Khorasan Province ( fa, استان خراسان جنوبی ''Ostān-e Khorāsān-e Jonūbī'') is a province located in eastern Iran. Birjand is the centre of the province. The other major cities are Ferdows, Tabas and Qaen. In 2014, it was ...

North Khorasan today

North Khorasan province is one of the most diverse territories in Iran today, largely reflecting the ethnic make-up of Iran. Most people in North Khorasan are

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Muslims, who are often

Khorasani Kurds Khorasani Kurds ( ku, کوردانی خۆراسان, fa, کردهای خراسان) are Kurds who live in the provinces of North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan in northeastern Iran, along the Iran-Turkmenistan border. There are about 696 Kurdis ...

, Persians, Khorasani Turks and so on, although there is also a small minority of

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

s who generally are Turkmen There used to be a sizeable population of

Lurs Lurs () are an Iranian people living in the mountains of western Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language. Lorestan Province is named after the Lu ...

inhabiting this province, however, most returned to their native area in western Iran as there are no signs of them in the province today Previously there used to be a sizeable community of Arabs who settled in the area during the Arab invasion of Iran, however by 1875 they had intermarried so extensively with Persians and Turks that they were indistinguishable, having largely abandoned the Arab language and culture in favour of the local one. "C. M. MacGregor, Narrative of a Journey through the Province of Khorassan, London, 1879, p. 14

, accessed in March 2014.

Culture

Attractions

This province contains many historical and natural attractions, such as mineral water springs, small lakes, recreational areas, caves, and protected regions, and various hiking areas. Most of the historical relics are from the Qajar dynasty, Qajar era, as earthquakes continue to ravage older relics. The Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran lists 1,179 sites of historical and cultural significance in all three provinces of Khorasan. Some of the popular attractions of North Khorasan are: * Besh Qardash (five brothers) and Baba-Aman springs * Jameh Mosque of Jajarm

Colleges and universities

University of Bojnurd

Islamic Azad University of Bojnurd

Eshragh Institute of Higher Education (Bojnurd, North Khorasan)

Islamic Azad University of Shiravan

Hakiman Institute of Higher Education (Bojnurd, North Khorasan)

Khorasan University of Medical Science (Bojnurd, North Khorasan)

Gallery

File:نمای غربی شهر تاریخی بلقیس.jpg,

File:نمای بیرونی مسجد جامع جاجرم.jpg, Jajarm File:Besh Ghardash 2018-07-29 01.jpg, Bojnord File:Aspakhu Stone Fire Temple.jpg, Bojnord File:آینه‌خانه مفخم.jpg, Bojnord File:Hamed.moosavinezhad 131.jpg, Bojnord File:خراسان شمالی فاروج تیتکانلو آجیل.jpg, Faruj

References

External links

The text of the law for division of Khorasan into three provinces (in Persian)

Cultural Heritage Foundation of Khorasan
{{Authority control Provinces of Iran