Kazerun
Kazerun is a city in the northwest of Fars Province in Iran and the center of Kazerun County. This city has an ancient history, numerous ancient and historical monuments, and numerous tourist attractions. Kazerun is the largest and most populous city in the west of Fars Province.
The population of Kazerun city without suburbs in the 2016 general population and housing census was 96,683 people, and the population of Kazerun county was 211,341 people.
Before Islam, the city of Bishapur was one of the capitals of the Sasanian Empire and the center of the current region of Kazerun. When it was destroyed by the invading Arab Muslims, its Persian residents migrated to the city of Kazerun.
Persian mythology attributes the foundation of the city of Kazerun to the Pishdadian dynasty and Tahmuras, more than 7,500 years ago.
Historical accounts also tell of the expansion of this city by Shapur I and Kavad I, two Sasanian kings.
The people of the Kazerun and Shapur regions once rebelled and declared their independence from the Rashidun Caliphate after the Arab conquest of the region. The rebellion, led by a Sassanid nobleman, was severely suppressed.
The ancient city of Bishapur, Tang-e Chowgan, and Shapur cave are among Iran's UNESCO World Heritage sites near Kazerun. In addition, the Arzhan and Parishan Protected Area near Kazerun has been registered as one of Iran's natural heritage sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The people of Kazerun remained followers of the Zoroastrianism religion until the 10th century. However, after the founding of the Kazeruniyeh sufism by Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, the majority of the people of the city converted to Islam.
The Kazeruniyeh sufism, centered in the city of Kazerun, spread to countries such as India, China, and the Ottoman Empire in the following centuries, bringing fame to the city and economic prosperity.
This city was the birthplace of many Persian scientists, poets, Sufis, merchants, and other great Persian figures, and it is remembered as one of the centers of Persian civilization, culture, and knowledge.
The language of the people of Kazerun is Persian with Kazeruni dialect.
The economy of Kazerun is based on trade, transportation, service occupations, agriculture, and industry.
History
The history of the origin of Kazerun, like other ancient cities of Iran, is in obscure and sometimes it is mixed with myths. However, sources such as Fars-Nama attribute the foundation of Kazerun to the Pishdadian dynasty.Prehistory
The first signs of habitation in the city known today as Kazerun were found in the caves known as Tikab in the northern mountain of Kazerun. These caves were inhabited by the Human evolution around 20,000 years ago.Pishdadian dynasty
are the first rulers of Iran land in myths. In Fars-Nama, Ibn Balkhi considers Tahmuras, the Pishdadi king, to be the founder of the city of Kazerun.Historical period before Islam
Achaemenid Empire
Although there is not much information about the status of Kazerun during the Achaemenid Empire, but according to some writings, Kazerun was a small and sparsely populated area of the ancient city of Dindella, which was destroyed in the attack of Alexander the Great on Iran. In the following centuries, a city named Bishapur was built on the site of this ancient city.Sasanian Empire
The period of the Sasanian Empire is the peak period of prosperity of the Kazerun region. At this time, Shapur I, the Sassanid king, after defeating the Roman Empire in the Battle of Edessa, ordered the construction of a city called Bishapur in 266 AD. and for this reason, the city of Bishapur was built according to the Roman city-building method and by Roman prisoners.At that time, two cities named Kazerun and Old City were also located near Bishapur, which were merged with each other under the name of Kazerun in later centuries.
At the same time as the foundation of the city of Bishapur, Shapur I also began to develop the city of Kazerun. The city of Bishapur was one of the capitals of the Sasanian Empire and the center of the Shapur-Khwarrah, and Kazerun and the Old City were also considered its subsidiaries. At that time, the city of Kazerun included three districts: Nowred, Raheban and Derist, and the Old City was located in an area between today's Kazerun and Lake Parishan.
Bishapur was also the birthplace of Hormizd I and Bahram I, two Sassanid kings. Valerian, the captured emperor of Rome, lived in the palace he built for him in the city of Bishapur on the orders of Shapur I.
According to some accounts, he also died in this city. Shapur I, the Sassanid king also died in 270 AD in the city of Bishapur.
In the 5th and 6th centuries AD, Kavad I tried to settle the city of Kazerun and expanded it.
Until the Arab conquest of Persia, Bishapur was a prosperous city with a population between 50,000 and 80,000 people.
Islamic era
Seventh to Ninth century AD
During the Arab conquest of Persia in 638 AD, Umar assigned one of his commanders named Mojashe bin Masoud to conquer Shapur-Khwarrah. Despite the great resistance of the people of Shapur-Khwarrah, the Arabs conquered Bishapur.In the year 639 AD, Uthman bin Abi al-As was commissioned by Mojashe bin Masoud to conquer Kazerun and captured this city. After that, the people of Kazerun and Bishapur continuously rebelled against the Arabs. Among in the year 643 AD and after the caliphate of Uthman, the people of Shapur-Khwarrah, under the command of Shahrag's brother, one of the Sassanid nobles declared independence.
But in the end, after the Great battle of Bishapur and the siege of this city, Uthman bin Abi al-As finally conquered Bishapur, Now Bandegan and Jereh again with peace and receiving the wealth and tribute.
The people of Shapur broke their agreement again in 646 AD and Uthman conquered the city again with Abu Musa al-Ash'ari.
The resistance of the people of Shapur-Khwarrah against the Arabs was so great that Abida, the Arab general, was seriously injured and when he was dying, he requested the Arab troops to massacre the people of this region for the sake of killing him, and the same thing happened.
In 687 AD, the people of Shapur-Khwarrah revolted against the Arabs once again, and this time they were suppressed by Umar bin Ubaidullah bin Muammar.
In the year 702 AD and during the rule of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the displaced people in Shapur-Khwarrah, who were waiting for revenge, rushed with the help of Ibn al-Ash'ath in a rebellion against Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and defeated the Hajjaj army and captured the city of Kufa. However, with the arrival of reinforcements, the rebels were defeated and Shapur-Khwarrah was again under the control of the Army Umayyads.
Bishapur gradually lost its prosperity in the 8th and 9th centuries of AD, and with the migration of its residents to Kazerun and its surroundings, it transferred its prosperity to this city.
Tenth century AD
In 933 AD, Imad al-Dawla, the founder of the Buyid dynasty, sent his brother Rukn al-Dawla to this region to capture Kazerun and Bishapur. Rukn al-Dawla defeated Yaqut, the governor of Kazerun, and captured this region. Buyid dynasty's rule in the 10th century AD was associated with religious tolerance. In the second half of the 10th century AD, the majority of the people of Kazerun remained in Zoroastrianism religion due to the payment of Jizya, and Kazerun was considered one of the largest Zoroastrian cities in Iran.The ruler of the city was also a Zoroastrian named Khorshīd Marzbān. After 'Adud al-Dawla came to power, this king paid special attention to Kazerun, the main reason for which was the location of this city on the commercial highway of the back shore of the Persian Gulf and Siraf Port.
Buyid dynasty rulers tried to revive the ancient city of Bishapur at the same time as the prosperity of Kazerun, and they were able to restore prosperity to this city to some extent after several centuries. The coins minted in Bishapur in this period also confirm this.
Kazerun was considered one of the important centers of Textile production during the time of Buyid dynasty, and for this reason, it was known as Damietta of Ajam.
During this period, Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, a famous Sufi, founded the Kazeruniyeh Sufism in this city and started spreading Islam and fighting against Zoroastrians. His actions caused the Zoroastrian majority of the people of Kazarun to convert to Islam.
At the end of the 10th Century AD, the migration of people from the old city, which was called Balad al-Atigh in Arabic, intensified to the city of Kazerun. With the migration of the people of Bishapur, Old City and other areas, the city of Kazerun prospered and became the area of population concentration.
Eleventh and Twelfth centuries AD
After the establishment of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism by Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, the city of Kazerun found a different situation. The religious attraction of this Sufism established the position of Kazerun as the center of Shapur region.After the Seljuk Empire came to power, Alp Arslan, a person named Fadluya, who was the head of the Shabankara clan and had killed Abu Mansur Fulad Sutun, the Amir of Buyid dynasty, became the ruler of the Fars region, and from that time for many years, the rule of the Shabankara family was established over these regions. In 1078 AD, Mahmud I came to power and made his cousin, Turan Shah I the governor of Fars.
File:Bishapur by Eugène Flandin.jpg|thumb|left|170px|A sketch of the remains of the city of Bishapur during the time of Mohammad Shah Qajar, by Eugène Flandin in the Iran Travel literature
Turan Shah also entrusted Kazerun and Shapur to the elders of Shabankara clan. But people of the Shabankara tribe were constantly killing and looting in Fars, especially in Kazerun and Shapur. Among in one of the cases, Abu Saeed Shabankara set fire to the city of Bishapur in 1101 AD and razed it to the ground and shot the last arrow to the city.
After Muhammad I Tapar came to power, in 1108 AD, he chose a person named Jalaluddin Chawoli as Atabeg of Fars and thus ended the rule of Shabankara clan in Fars. Chawoli arrested and killed Abu Saeed Shabankara. He also revitalized the city of Kazerun.