Tabriz

Overview

Ark-e Tabriz (Citadel of Tabriz) is the capital of one of the most famous provinces of Iran, The Azarbaijan or Aturpatgan. It is the land of Azargoshnasp temple; The fire temple of the Kings and the Nobles of Iran. It is perhaps the birth place of Zaratushtra.

Tabriz, Being the provincial capital of East Azarbaijan ( Aturpatgan ), has slightly more than 1,700,000 population and was the second largest city in Iran until the early 1970's. Tabriz has been the capital city of Iran on numerous times throughout the old history of this country. Tabriz is located in a valley to the north of the beautiful Mount Sahand. The valley opens out into a plain that slopes down gently to the northern end of Lake Orumieh, about 60 km to the west. Tabriz is 310 km southeast of Bazargan (Iranian-Turkish frontier); 159 km south of Jolfa on Iran- Aran (Azarbaijan Republic) border, and can be reached by very good roads, rail (742km from Tehran , with connections to the Europe and Moscow), and air from Tehran and other major cities. The city has a long and turbulent history although the early history of Tabriz is shrouded in legend and mystery, the town's origin is believed to date back to distant antiquity, perhaps even before the Sassanian era (224 - 651 A.D.). The oldest stone tablet with a reference to Tabriz is that of Sargon the second, the Assyrian King. The tablet refers to a place...more

History

The present-day city has been built and rebuilt on the site of the ancient settlement of Tauris, formerly a prosperous trading centre and the capital of Armenia in the 3rd century AD. Tabrìz has been severely damaged over the centuries by earthquakes (notably in 858, 1041, and 1721) and by invaders such as the Seljuk Turks, Mongols, Ottoman Turks, and Russians. The city was occupied by Russian troops during 1827-1828, and in 1946 it was the scene of a short-lived leftist revolution

Some say the Valley of Tabriz may be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden