Shiraz - City of Iran

Shiraz is the fifth most populated city in Iran and the capital of Fars Province. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Rudkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river. Shiraz has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than a thousand years.

The earliest reference to the city, as Tiraziš, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC.In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists.

Shiraz is known as the city of poets, wine and flowers.It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities. The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design; silver-ware; pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes.

Shiraz is most likely more than 4000 years old. Cuneiform records from the great ceremonial capital of Persepolis show that Shiraz was a significant township in Achaemenid times.The oldest sample of wine in the world, dating to approximately 7000 years ago, was also discovered on clay jars recovered outside of Shiraz.

The city was spared destruction by the invading Mongols when its local ruler offered tributes and submission to Genghis Khan. Shiraz was again spared by Tamerlane when in 1382 the local monarch, Shah Shoja agreed to submit to the invader.In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists. For this reason the city was named by classical geographers Dar al-Elm, the House of Knowledge.Among the important Iranian poets, mystics and philosophers born in Shiraz were the poets Sa'di and Hafez the mystic Roozbehan and the philosopher Mulla Sadra.

The city's role in trade greatly diminished with the opening of the trans-Iranian railway in the 1930s, as trade routes shifted to the ports in Khuzestan. Much of the architectural inheritance of Shiraz, and especially the royal district of the Zands, was either neglected or destroyed as a result of irresponsible town planning under the Pahlavi dynasty. Lacking any great industrial, religious or strategic importance, Shiraz became an administrative centre, although its population has grown considerably since the 1979 revolution.

Shiraz has a moderate climate with regular seasons.

Shiraz contains a considerable number of gardens. Fortunately or unfortunately many of these gardens are going to be lost for building apartments due to population growth in the city. The rainfall in recent years, during which atmospheric conditions have changed perceptibly, has been comparatively sufficient, and has reached 23 inches in a year, but the average rainfall is between 14 and 18 inches.

Shiraz is known as the city of poets, gardens, wine, nightingales and flowers.The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design; silver-ware; carpet-weaving, and the making of the rugs called gilim and "jajim" in the villages and among the tribes.The garden is an important part of Iranian culture. There are many old gardens in Shiraz such as the Eram garden and the Afif abad garden. According to some people, Shiraz "disputes with Xeresin Spain the honour of being the birthplace of sherry."

Shiraz is home to a vibrant academic community. The Shiraz University of Medical Sciences was the first University in Shiraz and was founded in 1946. Much older is the august Madrasa-e-Khan, or Khan Theological School, with about 600 students; its tile-covered buildings date from 1627.

Today Shiraz University is the largest university in the province, and one of Iran's best academic centers. Other major universities in or nearby Shiraz are the Islamic Azad University of Shiraz, Shiraz University of Technology, and Shiraz University of Applied Science and Technology.

The Shiraz Regional Library of Science and Technology is the largest provincial library serving the public.