Nishapur
Nishapur or Neyshabur is a city in the Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Nishapur is the second most populous city of the province in the northeast of Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of Binalud Mountain Range. It has been the historic capital of the Western Quarter of Greater Khorasan, the historic capital of the 9th-century Tahirid dynasty, the initial capital of the 11th-century Seljuk Empire, and is currently the capital city of Nishapur County and a historic Silk Road city of cultural and economic importance in Iran and the Greater Khorasan region.
Nearby are turquoise mines that have supplied the world with turquoise of the finest and the highest quality for at least two millennia.
The city was founded in the 3rd century by Shapur I as a capital city of Sasanian satrapy known as Abarshahr or Nishapur. The city later became the capital of Tahirid dynasty and was reformed by Abdullah Tahir in 830, and later selected as the capital of Seljuk dynasty by Tughril in 1037. Nishapur had a territory of 17.6 hectares and 25,000 people in the 6th century, while by the year 1000, the population of the city was about 336,000 people with the territory of 1,680 hectares. From the Abbasid era to the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center within the Islamic world. Nishapur, along with Merv, Herat and Balkh, was one of the four great cities of Greater Khorasan and one of the greatest cities of the Old World in the Islamic Golden Age with strategic importance, a seat of governmental power in the eastern section of caliphates, a dwelling place for diverse ethnic and religious groups and a trading stop on commercial routes from Transoxiana, China, Iraq and Egypt.
Nishapur reached the height of its prosperity under the Samanids in the 10th century but was destroyed and most of its population was slaughtered by the Mongols in 1221. This massacre, combined with subsequent earthquakes and other invasions, is believed to have destroyed the city several times. Unlike its near neighbor Merv, Nishapur managed to recover from these cataclysmic events, and survive until the present day as an active modern city and county in tourism, agriculture, healthcare, industrial production and commerce in Razavi Khorasan Province of Iran; however, many of its older and historical archeological remains are left to be uncovered.
The modern city of Nishapur is composed of three main administrative areas/districts and is surrounded by many villages which are joining in to the urban area and structure of the city. The Area/district 1 of the city comprises the newer urban developments made to the north of the Road 44 and is home to most of the main higher educational institutions of Nishapur such as the University of Neyshabur and the IAUN. The Area/district 2 of the city comprises the downtown of the city and the older and more historic urban structures situated on the south of the Road 44. It is home to some of the main tourist attractions of the city, such as the National Garden of Nishapur and the Khanate Mansion of Amin Islami. The Area/district 3 of the city is home to the ruins and the remains of the ancient city of Nishapur, destroyed by the Mongols in the Middle Ages, and is located in the south and the southeast of the city. The third district of the city is a national and registered protected archeological area by law and any unauthorized archeological excavation is considered illegal. This district is also home to the burial and historical monuments of most of the renowned persons of the city throughout history such as the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám and the Mausoleum of Attar of Nishapur. The third district is also used as one of the main tourist hotspots of the city.
Many of this city's archeological discoveries are held and shown to the public in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the British Museum in London, the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, other international museums and the museums of the city of Nishapur. The city of Nishapur is also a member of international organizations such as the LHC and the ICCN UNESCO.
Etymology
History
Abarshahr of Sassanid Empire
Abarshahr was a satrapy of the Sassanid Empire. Cities in the region were Candac, Artacauan, Apameia, and Pushang. Nishapur was the capital. Abarshar was the name used for Nishapur during the Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate. The capital was a vital center of administration and of communications between Bactria, India, and Sagistan. The region was involved in the Indian and Chinese trade. Its governor bore the title of kanarang.Names of Nishapur throughout history
- Abarshahr or Aparshahr was a satrapy of the Sassanid Empire now located in Nishapur. Cities in the region were Candac, Artacauan, Apameia, and Pushang, and the capital was Nishapur. Abarshar was the name of Nishapur during the Sassanid Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate. The capital was a vital point of administration and of communications between Bactria, India, and Sagistan. The region was involved in the Indian and Chinese trade. Its governor bore the unique title of kanarang.
- Neysabur or Naysabur was named Abarshahr during the Muslim occupation of Khorasan and Nishapur, and was the city's official name during the Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate, and Abbasid Caliphate.
Middle Ages
Muslim Conquest
Nishapur was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, without struggle, during the caliphate of Umar. The Caliph appointed Ahnaf ibn Qais as the chief commander of the Rashidun army out of Esfahan. From Esfahan, two routes led to Khorasan: the main route via Rey and the other via Nishapur. The people of Nishapur chose not to fight and surrendered on the condition of paying a tribute.Having conquered the region around Nishapur, the Muslim force advanced to Nishapur itself. The city was divided into four sectors, with each sector under a Persian chief. These chiefs shut themselves in the city and closed the gates. The Muslims laid siege to the city for some days. In the meantime, the Persian chiefs quarreled among themselves. One of the chiefs entered into negotiations with the Muslims. He offered to open one of the gates for the Muslim army to enter, provided he was granted immunity. The Muslims accepted the offer. The Persians were taken by surprise, and the Muslims became the new rulers of Nishapur. After consolidating their position at Nishapur, the Muslims conquered other cities around Nishapur, including Pusht, Ashband, Rukh, Zar, Khaf, Osparain, and Arghian.
Nishapur capital of Abu Muslim
became the governor of Khorasan, and chose Nishapur as his capital. He seems to have initiated a huge building program in which he stimulated the growth of the city. Nishapur increased in importance, and two of the ‘Abbasids were governors of this city before becoming caliphs. It was the governor of Khurasan who presented the large gift of Chinese imperial porcelains to Harun al-Rashid, demonstrating the strategic importance of the province on trade routes.Tahirid dynasty in Nishapur
The Tahirid dynasty was a dynasty of Persian dehqan origin that ruled from 820 to 872 in Khorasan, northeastern Greater Iran, a region now split between Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Tahirid capital was originally Merv, but Nishapur became their capital from 828 to 845. Although nominally subject to the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, the Tahirid rulers were effectively independent. The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun. Tahir's military victories were rewarded with the gift of lands in the east of Persia, which were subsequently extended by his successors as far as the borders of India. Tahirid influence extended to Baghdad when the Abbasids granted them the military affairs in Mesopotamia.Saffarids/Samanids/Seljuks
In 873, the Tahirids were replaced by the Saffarids. Saffarids expanded their sphere of influence through the north of Khurasan and also in south towards Sistan. In late 875, the Saffarid amir Ya'qub returned to Sistan, a former Tahirid soldier, Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Khujistani removed the Saffarid governor and had the khutba recited, recognizing Tahirid authority. According to the Tarikh-i Bayhaq, written by Ibn Funduq, many of Nishapur's ulama were killed by al-Khujistani. The Saffarids also made Nishapur their capital and rebuilt the Tahirid palace. In 900, Ismail Samani defeated the Saffarids and was made governor of Nishapur. The Samanids had been placed in power in Transoxiana by Caliph Al-Ma'mun, and ruled first from Samarqand and then moved to Bukhara. After defeating the Saffarids, their "empire", with nominal sanction from the Abbasids, extended from India to Iraq, making Nishapur a provincial capital. Khurasan was thus an international entrepôt, with merchants coming not only from Iraq, India and Egypt, but also from Russia; additionally, Vikings came from Scandinavia to trade with the Bulghars and Khazars on the Caspian Sea.File:Old Nishapur.jpg|thumb|215x215px|A modern reconstruction of Nishapur in the Middle Ages shown in the edited version of the book History of Nishapur held in the National Library of Iran.Nishapur occupies an important strategic position astride the old Silk Road that linked Anatolia and the Mediterranean Sea 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 third 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 Greater Khorasan region but subsequently declined in significance until a revival in its fortunes in the 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 1038 and proclaimed himself sultan there, but it declined thereafter, as Seljuk fortunes were concentrated in the west. Nishapur was sacked by the Oghuz Turks in 1154, killing 30,000 people. Nishapur suffered several earthquakes in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.