Mashhad

Mashhad (Persian: مشهد), historically also known as Mashad ( ), Meshhed, or Meshed, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the north-east of the country about 740 kilometres (460 miles) east of Tehran. In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district. It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad, Taman, and Torqabeh.

The city is best known as the home of the Imam Reza Shrine, where the eighth Shia Imam, Ali al-Rida, is buried. It is the most pilgrimaged site in Islam visited by nearly 30 million pilgrims annually, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, and the world's largest mosque after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Originally a small village, Mashhad was known as Sanabad before the martyrdom of Imam Reza. Located alongside Tus on the ancient Silk Road linking the region with Merv to the east, it grew substantially after the Imam's martyrdom, as people settled around his burial place and built homes in its vicinity. Overtime, the village came to be known as Mashhad, meaning "place of martyrdom." It soon emerged as one of the most important pilgrimage centers on earth. The economy of Mashhad has become reliant on pilgrimage, and the city has remained deeply conservative.

Mashhad is also associated with Ferdowsi, the Persian poet and author of the Shahnameh, who was born in Tus, with many institutions in Mashhad named after him. The city enjoyed relative prosperity in the Mongol period, and continued to grow. Between 1736 and 1796, Mashhad became the capital of Iran which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty founded by Nader Shah, whose tomb is located in the city. In the modern era, Mashhad continued to expand and became the hometown of some of the most significant literary figures and artists of modern Iran, such as the poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, and the traditional Iranian singer and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. On 30 October 2009 (the anniversary of Imam Reza's martyrdom), Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Mashhad as "The spiritual capital of Iran." The city has been named the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.