Tabriz (in Persian تبریز) is a city in Iran, with a population of over 1.5 million people. Tabriz is pleasingly situated north of the volcanic cone of Sahand 4000 m high, and south of a mountain called Eynali about 1700 m high. It is the center of the province of East Azarbaijan. Many industries are located in and around Tabriz.

Tabriz is the main cultural center of the Iranian Azerbaijan and Iranian Azaris. Historically, the founding of the city is doubted. Some sources mention the Sassanid era, while others claim that it had been built by one of the wives of Harun al-Rashid. The name Tabriz conserves the ancient Tauris, made capital of Armenian Tiridates III in 297 AD. It has been the capital of the Ilkhanate empire of Iran from about 1270 to about 1305. It has also been the capital of the Aq Quyunlu from about 1469 to about 1502. Violent earthquakes have wiped out most of the historic monuments of Tabriz. The chief survivor is the Tabriz Citadel or Ark-e Tabriz also called Ark-e Alishah, a ruin of vertical book-shaped elements. The Blue Mosque of Tabriz (Masjed-e Kabud), is another important monument in this city.

Tabrizi people show a public sympathy to their language Azerbaijani language and their homeland.

Source

North, S.J.R., Guide to Biblical Iran, Rome 1956, p. 50

External links

• Tabriz from Encyclopaedia of the Orient http://lexicorient.com/e.o/tabriz.htm