Shiraz

Shiraz ( listen (help·info) Persian: شیراز Persian pronunciation: [ʃiːˈrɒːz]) is the sixth most populous city in Iran^[5] and is 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 one thousand years.

The earliest reference to the city, as Tiraziš, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC.^[6] 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 was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1781, as well as briefly during the Saffarid period.

Shiraz is known as the city of poets, wine and flowers.^[7] The word "shir" in Persian means "lion", but it could also mean "milk". 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.^[8] In Shiraz industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizers, textile products, wood products, metalwork and rugs dominate.^[9] Shirāz also has a major oil refinery and is also a major center for Iran's electronic industries: 53% of Iran's electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz.^[10] Shiraz is home to Iran's first solar power plant.^[11]

tehran

Tehran (Persian: تهران Tehrān pronounced [tehˈɾɒːn]), in languages with Latin characters often Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of 8,429,807;^[3] it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the 21st largest city in the world.

Tehran is the centre of most Iranian industries including automotive, electrical, military, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical. Tehran is also a leading centre for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is an oil refinery located south of the city.^[4]

In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to mass-migration of people from all around Iran.The main and original inhabitants of the city are Persians and the principal language of the city is Persian with Tehranese accent spoken natively by over 98% of the city's population [7].The rest 2% are immigrant minority languages including Gilaki, Mazandarani, Armenian, Arabic, Azerbaijani Turkic, Kurdish and Luri and the lingua franca between these ethnic groups is Persian[8]. The city is home to many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples. Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many tall structures, of which the Azadi (Freedom) Tower and the Milad Tower have come to be symbols of Tehran itself. Internationally Tehran was in 2008, the least expensive capital in the world and only the second least expensive city globally based on Cost-of-living index, in addition to presenting the best value for money in the world.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Furthermore globally it stands 19th by city population,^[10] 56th by the size of its GDP and 29th by the population of its metropolitan area.^[11] Due to long history of Iran, there have been many instances of capital city relocations over the ages and Tehran, currently is the 32nd national capital of Iran

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tabriz

History

Tabriz has been settled since ancient times.

4th century BCE: It is the capital of Atropatene, named after one of Alexander the Great's generals.
3rd century CE: Is the capital of Armenia, under the name Tauris.
791: Tabriz is rebuilt after being destroyed by an earthquake.
858: An earthquake destroys large parts of Tabriz.
1041: An earthquake destroys large parts of Tabriz.
1295: The Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Ghazan makes Tabriz his capital.
1548: At the sacrifice of Tabriz, Qazvin becomes new capital of the Safavid kingdom. Tabriz was considered to exposed to a potential Ottoman invasion.
1721: An earthquake destroys large parts of Tabriz.
1780: Another earthquake destroys large parts of Tabriz.
1826: Tabriz is occupied by the Russians.
1828: Persian troops take back control over Tabriz.
1850: The Bab, founder of the Babi Islamic sect and forerunner of the Baha'i religion, is executed together with 40,000 of his followers in Tabriz.

1908: Tabriz becomes the centre of the Iranian Nationalist movement.
1927: An earthquake destroys large parts of Tabriz.

1941: Is occupied by the Soviets.

1945 December: Becomes the capital of the Autonomous Government of Azerbaijan.

1946: Tabriz University is opened.

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