Dargaz
Encyclopedia
Dargaz is a city in and the capital of Dargaz County
, in Razavi Khorasan Province
, Iran
. At the 2006 census, its population was 34,305, in 9,196 families.
The town of Daregaz is situated 1150 kilometres (714.6 mi) from Tehran and 255 kilometres (158.5 mi) from the center of Khorasan province. It is bound by Turkmenistan from the north, Mashhad from the east and southeast, Chanaran from the south, and Qoochan from the west. Daregaz, which was previously known as Mohammadabad, an area which can doubtless be placed among the most ancient centers of Iranian culture. Excavations in this mountainous site have revealed artifacts dating back as far as the Parthian and Sasanian periods, and pre-historic times. Numerous mounds and other ancient sites have also yielded much evidence of the site's rich historical and cultural inheritance. Throughout its history, the site has been known by a variety of names: Dara, Daragyard, Pavart in pre-Islamic Persia, and Bavard, Abivard after the Islamic expansion. With its rich bazaar and access to fertile lands, the city was considerably more prosperous than neighboring Nesa and was widely known as one of the largest and most affluent cities of the Great Khorasan area.
For the period before the advent of the Safavids (r. 1501-1722), the historic city of Abivard was one of the educational centers of Islamic and Arabic scholarship in eastern Iran. Under the Saljuqids, Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Abivardi (d. 1114), was one of the renowned poets and litterateurs who, later in his life, settled awhile in Baghdad, but on the account of his Shi'ite proclivities was persecuted by the Abbasids. He then attended the court of the Saljuq Sultan Muhammad and was appointed to the position of Chief Accountant of the court. Another contemporary famous name from Abivard is Ali b. Muhammad Anvari-Abivardi (d. circa 1191), one of the great classical poets of Iran. After the Mongol invasion of Iran and Iraq, Husam al-Din Abivardi (d. after 1324) is mentioned as one of the theologians attending the court of the Abbasid caliphs of Egypt.
Dargaz County
Dargaz County is a county in Razavi Khorasan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Dargaz. Its previous name was "Abivard". At the 2006 census, the county's population was 73,439, in 19,435 families. The county has four districts: Central District, Chapeshlu District, Lotfabad District,...
, in Razavi Khorasan Province
Razavi Khorasan Province
Razavi Khorasan Province is a province located in northeastern Iran. Mashhad is the centre and capital of the province.Other cities and townships are Ghouchan, Dargaz, Chenaran, Sarakhs, Fariman, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Torbat-e Jam, Taybad, Khaf, Roshtkhar, Kashmar, Bardaskan, Nishapur, Sabzevar,...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 34,305, in 9,196 families.
The town of Daregaz is situated 1150 kilometres (714.6 mi) from Tehran and 255 kilometres (158.5 mi) from the center of Khorasan province. It is bound by Turkmenistan from the north, Mashhad from the east and southeast, Chanaran from the south, and Qoochan from the west. Daregaz, which was previously known as Mohammadabad, an area which can doubtless be placed among the most ancient centers of Iranian culture. Excavations in this mountainous site have revealed artifacts dating back as far as the Parthian and Sasanian periods, and pre-historic times. Numerous mounds and other ancient sites have also yielded much evidence of the site's rich historical and cultural inheritance. Throughout its history, the site has been known by a variety of names: Dara, Daragyard, Pavart in pre-Islamic Persia, and Bavard, Abivard after the Islamic expansion. With its rich bazaar and access to fertile lands, the city was considerably more prosperous than neighboring Nesa and was widely known as one of the largest and most affluent cities of the Great Khorasan area.
For the period before the advent of the Safavids (r. 1501-1722), the historic city of Abivard was one of the educational centers of Islamic and Arabic scholarship in eastern Iran. Under the Saljuqids, Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Abivardi (d. 1114), was one of the renowned poets and litterateurs who, later in his life, settled awhile in Baghdad, but on the account of his Shi'ite proclivities was persecuted by the Abbasids. He then attended the court of the Saljuq Sultan Muhammad and was appointed to the position of Chief Accountant of the court. Another contemporary famous name from Abivard is Ali b. Muhammad Anvari-Abivardi (d. circa 1191), one of the great classical poets of Iran. After the Mongol invasion of Iran and Iraq, Husam al-Din Abivardi (d. after 1324) is mentioned as one of the theologians attending the court of the Abbasid caliphs of Egypt.