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Firuzabad () is a city in the Central District of Firuzabad County, Fars province,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Firuzabad is south of
Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
. The city is surrounded by a mud wall and ditch. The original ancient city of Gor, dating back to the
Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...
period, was destroyed by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
. Centuries later,
Ardashir I Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Par ...
, the founder of the
Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
, revived the city before it was ransacked during the Arab Muslim invasion of the seventh century. It was again revived by the
Buyids The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...
under Fanna Khusraw, but was eventually abandoned in the
Qajar era The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...
and was replaced by a nearby town, which is now Firuzabad. Its only surviving structure is the central core, an ancient
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
.


History

Gor dates back to the Achaemenid era. It was situated in a low-lying area of the region, so, during his invasion of Persia,
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
was able to drown the city by directing the flow of a river into the city. The lake he created remained until
Ardashir I Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Par ...
built a
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
to drain it. He founded his new capital city on this site. Ardashir's new city was known as ''Khor Ardashīr'', ''Ardashīr Khurrah'' and ''Gōr''. It had a circular plan so precise in measurement that the
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 ...
historian Ibn Balkhi wrote it to be "devised using a compass". It was protected by a trench 50 meters in width, and was 2 kilometers in diameter. The city had four gates; to the north was the Hormozd Gate, to the south the Ardashir Gate, to the east the
Mithra Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...
Gate and to the west the Wahram Gate. The royal capital's compounds were constructed at the center of a circle 450 m in radius. At the center of the town there was a lofty platform or tower, called '' Terbal''. It was 30 m high and spiral in design. The design is unique in Iran, and there are several theories regarding the purpose of its construction. It is thought to have been the architectural predecessor of the Great Mosque of Samarra of
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and its distinctive minaret, the ''malwiya''. In the Sasanian era, the abbreviation ART (in
Inscriptional Pahlavi Inscriptional Pahlavi is the earliest attested form of Pahlavi scripts, and is evident in clay fragments that have been dated to the reign of Mithridates I (''r.'' 171–138 BC). Other early evidence includes the Pahlavi inscriptions of Parth ...
) was used as the mint signature to refer to Gōr. Gōr and
Istakhr Istakhr (Middle Persian romanized: ''Stakhr'', ) was an ancient city in Fars province, north of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. It flourished as the capital of the Persian '' Frataraka'' governors and Kings of Persis from the third century BC t ...
strenuously resisted the invading Arab Muslims in the 630s and 640s; they were conquered by Abdallah ibn Amr in 649–50. The city's importance was revived again in the reign of Fanna Khusraw of the
Buyid dynasty The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyn ...
, who frequently used the city as his residence. It is at this time that the old name of the city, ''Gōr'', was abandoned in favor of the new. In New Persian, spoken at the time, the word ''Gōr'' () had come to mean "grave". King Adud al-Dawla, as the story goes, found it distasteful to reside in a "grave". Per his instruction, the city's name was changed to ''Peroz-abad'', "City of Victory." Since then, the city has been known by variations of that name, including ''Firuzabad'' ( ''Fīrūzābād''). However, there is a 7th-century Arab-Sasanian coin from Ardashir-Khwarra during
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
period in which pylwj'b'd ( Pahlavi; ''Pērōzābād'') is mentioned as the mint. The city was eventually abandoned in the
Qajar era The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...
and its nearby settlement was populated, which is now the modern Firuzabad located 3 km to the east of the site of Gor. Today, among the attractions of Firuzabad are the Sassanid Ghal'eh Dokhtar, the Palace of Ardeshir, and the fire temple and its nearby Minar.


Demographics


Ethnicity

According to a 1939 publication of the anthropologist Henry Field, 7,000
Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
lived in Firuzabad.


Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 58,210 in 12,888 households. The following census in 2011 counted 64,969 people in 16,617 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 65,417 people in 20,184 households.


Climate

Firuzabad has a
hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
: ''BSh'').


Education

The city has five universities: Firuzabad Higher education university,
Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; , ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a Private university, private university system Headquarters, headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of university, universities in ...
, Firuzabad Branch;
Payame Noor University Payame Noor University (PNU; Persian language, Persian: Dāneŝgāhe Payāme Nur) is an Open university (concept), open university in Iran, with its headquarters in Tehran. Established in 1988, it is a legal institution under the supervision of t ...
, Firuzabad center; a branch of
Technical and Vocational University The National University of Skill (NUS) (, ''Danushgah-e Melli-ye Maharat'') formerly known as the Technical and Vocational University, is a state comprehensive university, affiliated to Ministry of Science Research and Technology of Iran. NUS head ...
; and a branch of University of Applied Science and Technology.


See also

* Ghal'eh Dokhtar in Firuzabad * Palace of Ardeshir in Firuzabad *
Bishapur Bishapur (Middle Persian: ''Bay-Šāpūr''; , ''Bishâpûr'') was an ancient city in Sasanid Persia (Iran) on the ancient road between Persis and Elam. The road linked the Sassanid capitals Estakhr (very close to Persepolis) and Ctesiphon. It ...
*
Cities of the Ancient Near East The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
*
Round city of Baghdad The Round City of Baghdad is the original core of Baghdad, built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 762–766 CE as the official residence of the Abbasid court. Its official name in Abbasid times was City of Peace (). The famous library known as ...
, modeled after Firuzabad and other Parthian and Sassanian round cities


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links


Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 5: Drawings and Maps, Records of Firuzabad
Collections Search Center, S.I.R.I.S., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. *
Fars Cultural Heritage Organization
{{Iranian Architecture Populated places in Firuzabad County Cities in Fars province Architecture in Iran Sasanian cities Ardashir I Gor (Sasanian city)