Birjand

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For the administrative subdivision, see Birjand County.
Birjand
Nickname: 
Storm city
Country Iran
ProvinceSouth Khorasan
CountyBirjand
BakhshCentral
Elevation
1,491 m (4,892 ft)
Population
 (official census in 2006)
 • Total157,848
(County:240,894)(Province:600,568)
 • Density3,697/km2 (9,580/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+4:30 (IDST)
Websitewww.birjand.ir/
Prefix code: +98 Iran - (0)561 Birjand

Birjand (Persian: بیرجند, also Romanized as Bīrjand and Birdjand)[1] is the east Iranian provincial capital of South Khorasan and the centre of the county Birjand resp. Quhestan, known for its saffron, barberry, rug and handmade carpet exports. [1] The city of Birjand had a population of 157,848 people at the time of the last official census in 2006.[2]

Being close to the Afghanistan border, Birjand is located on the "Silk Road"[citation needed] of opium smuggled from Afghanistan on the way to Europe (also dubbed the "opium crescent").

The city has a dry climate with significant difference between day and night temperatures. It is a fast growing city, thus becoming one of the major centres in the East of Iran.[citation needed]

History

The first citation of the city in the historical literature returns to the famous book Mojem Alboldan, by the Yaqut Homavi (13th century) which introduces the Birjand as the most beautiful town in the Quhestan. Before this Birjand had been probably not as big and important as a municipality but a rural community. However, the Birjand geographical area has had its historical and political importance long before emergence of the city of Birjand. Many citations of the region are available in the original literature like Ehya -ol- Molook of the once important localities in the area. Apart from literature, the oldest evidence on the history of the region is the ancient Lakh-Mazar inscription in the Kooch village some 25 km south east of Birjand. Numerous fine drawings and inscriptions are carved on an igneous rock surface. The inscriptions include pictograms as well as Arsacid Pahlavi, Sasanian Pahlavi, Arabic and Persian scripts.[3] The former tribe famous for the region of Birjand is called Sagarthian - historically in union with the Parthian.

Cossacks in Birjand, circa 1909.

Birjand has emerged as the centre of Quhestan, following the decline of historical city of Qaen in the Safavid period. Since then the Alam clan had ruled the region till the end of Qajar dynasty. During the semi-autonomous ruling of Alam clan, Great Britain and Russia established consular branches in Birjand, because of the important geographical location of the region in the vicinity of the Indian subcontinent. Amir Shokat Ul-Molk Alam, the father of the Asadollah Alam(once prime minister of Iran) was still ruling the Quhestan's subprovince Qhaenat into the Pahlavi era. And the last tribal leader of Birjand Shah Seyyed Ali Kazemi was related with the Alam clan and the emperor Reza Shah Pahlavi. However Birjand lost its geopolitical importance following the emergence of Reza Shah Pahlavi and his policy of central government. The entire Quhestan region then became a part of the modern Khorasan province. The local people, however, started a movement to become an independent province at the middle of the second Pahlavi period. The move resulted after about forty years and Quhestan and particularly Birjand regained its historical importance in 2004 after official division of Khorasan to three smaller provinces by the government of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Education

It is said that the Shokatiyeh School in Birjand together with Darolfonoon in Tehran were the first public schools in Iran in the mid-19th century. Ever since then, Birjand has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education and become an important location for research and development.

The city contains such universities and academic institutions as:

Aerial view of Birjand, Left to right: Pasdaran St., Adl St., Moallem St. and Ghafari St., 2006

Birjand Airport

Birjand Airport (IATA: XBJ, ICAO: OIMB) is placed in suburban region of Birjand. Due to the geopolitical eminence of Birjand in the eastern parts of Iran, Birjand airport started operation in 1933 as the 3rd operational airport in Iran. Birjand airport offers non-stop daily flights to Tehran and Mashhad. It became an international airport after the first international flight to Medina, KSA in June 2008. In October 2009, runway 10/28 was closed for fundamental repair. The runway was strengthened, re-carpeted and extended to 4000 meters to accommodate wide-body aircraft. During the construction phase all flights were suspended while Aseman Airline utilized the older runway (08/26) and started daily flights to Tehran.

Notables from Birjand

Band Darreh, 5km South of Birjand

See also

References

  1. ^ Birjand can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3056455" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  2. ^ http://www.sci.org.ir/content/userfiles/_census85/census85/natayej/
  3. ^ Research articles collection (archaeology, ancient inscriptions): Lakh-Mazar, Birjand. Rajab Ali Labbaf Khaniki, Rassul Bashash Kanzaq. 25. Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization. Summer 1994.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birjand&oldid=494191582"