Sabzevar

About Sabzevar

Sabzevar is a city in northeastern Iran. It is located in the Central District of Sabzevar County, Razavi Khorasan province, serving as the capital of both the county and the district.

The history of Sabzevar goes back to the 1st millennium BC. Ancient remains include fire-temple Azarbarzin which is still visible.

After the Mongol invasion of Iran, the city was the first part of Iran that moved towards its freedom, under the lead of the Sarbedaran movement.

In 14th century Timur invaded Iran and destroyed the city completely. Contemporary sources mention 90,000 people having been murdered by Timur. After killing all men in the town, he cut their heads and made 3 pyramids of the heads, in what is now the modern Sarberiz (meaning "Place of heads") square.

Sabzevar Province had been lost by the Safavids to the Uzbeks of Transoxiana, but was regained following a Safavid counter-offensive around 1600, along with Herat and Farah.

The city suffered a flash flood in April 2020.

In 1937 when Iran was ruled by Reza Shah, Sabzevar was the second most populated city in the 9th county. According to the census of 2017, Sabzevar...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.