| Nishapur نیشابور Nishabur |
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| Nishapur Night City | |
| Nickname(s): Abarshahr, Turquoise Town, City of Imam Reza, Night city[1] | |
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Nishapur
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Razavi Khorasan |
| County | Nishapur County |
| Bakhsh | Central |
| Shahpur | |
| Elevation | 1,250 m (4,101 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 205,972 |
| Census | |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) |
| Website | Neyshaboor |
Nishapur or Nishabur (Persian: نیشاپور, also Romanized as Nīshāpūr, Nīshābūr, and Neyshābūr),[2] is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad. Nishapur derived its name from its alleged founder, the Sasanian king Shapur.
The region's economy is largely agricultural, based on grain and cotton, and it is also the second industrial city in Khorasan, and it is one of the most prosperous localities in Iran, although somewhat blighted by drug smuggling from nearby Afghanistan. It had a population of 205,972 people according to 2006 census.[3] The main east-west railway line through Iran passes through the town. The region is very prone to earthquakes, with the most recent significant ones occurring in 1986 and 1997.
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Nishapur occupies an important strategic position astride the old Silk Road that linked Anatolia and the Mediterranean with China. On the Silk Road, Nishapur has often defined the flexible frontier between the Iranian plateau and Central Asia. The town derived its name from its reputed founder, the Sassanian king Shapur I, who is said to have established it in the 3rd century CE. Nearby are the turquoise mines that supplied the world with turquoise for at least two millennia. It became an important town in the Khorasan region but subsequently declined in significance until a revival in its fortunes in 9th century under the Tahirid dynasty, when the glazed ceramics of Nishapur formed an important item of trade to the west. For a time Nishapur rivaled Baghdad or Cairo: Toghrül, the first ruler of the Seljuk dynasty, made Nishapur his residence in 1037 and proclaimed himself sultan there, but it declined thereafter, as Seljuk fortunes were concentrated in the west. In the year 1000CE, it was among the 10 largest cities on earth.[4] After the husband of Genghis Khan's daughter was killed at Nishapur in 1221, she ordered the death of all in the city (~1.7 million), and the skulls of men, women, and children were piled in pyramids by the Mongols. This invasion and earthquakes destroyed the pottery kilns. In 1979, the 15th World Scout Jamboree was scheduled to be held in Nishapur, but it was cancelled because of the uprising against the Shah of Iran led by Khomeini Ayatollah.
Nishapur is also home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The poet and mathematician Omar Khayyám was born in Nishapur in 1048 and is buried a few miles outside the town, near the Imamzadeh Mahroq Mosque. The 12th century poet and mystic Farid al-Din Attar, another native of Nishapur, is also buried nearby. And Iran's greatest contemporary painter, Kamal-ol-molk is buried in the same place. Also Nishapur has been the hometown of famous people including:
US band Santana released an instrumental track entitled "Incident at Neshabur" on their 1970 LP release, Abraxas.
Little archaeology has been done on this vast and complicated site. George Curzon remarked that Nishapur had been destroyed and rebuilt more times than any other city in history, an evocative statement whether or not it is statistically true. The Metropolitan Museum of Art undertook excavations from 1935 that were interrupted in 1940. Searching largely for museum-worthy trophies that they shared with the government of the Shah, the Metropolitan's publications were limited to its own Nishapur ceramics. The site of Nishapur has been ransacked for half a century since World War II, to feed the international market demand for early Islamic works of art.
Shadiyakh (in Persian: شادیاخ, a contracted form of شادی کاخ, Shadi-Kakh or Palace of Happiness) was one of the main palaces of old Nishapur up to the 9th century AD, which became more important and populated after that. Some notable people like Attar lived there. Attar's tomb is nowadays in that area. This palace was perhaps completely ruined in 13th century AD.
ٍExcavations began in 2000 there and continued for around 2 years: buildings (possibly a palace), skeleton, equipments and other items were found there.
The most important Nishapur souvenirs include turquoise and rhubarb.
Neyshabur Turquoise has been used for more than 2000 years and for this turquoise it is sometimes called "the turquoise land". Neyshabur turquoise and jewellery made from it are sold as souvenirs in Neyshabur and Mashhad resorts.
Rhubarb (Persian rivaas or rivand), a sour vegetable, grows at the foot of the eponymous Rivand Mountains (more recently, Turkified as Mount Binalud). Soft drinks made from the stems of the plant, such as "Sharbate rivaas" (in Persian:شربت ریواس) and "Khoshaabe rivaas" (in Persian:خوشاب ریواس), are sold at some Nishapur resorts as souvenirs.
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