Mashhad

Mashhad[a] (Persian: مشهد, romanized: Mašhad [mæʃˈhæd] ⓘ) is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country[11] about 900 kilometres (560 miles) from Tehran.[12] In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province, the county, and the district.[13] It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh.[14] The city was governed by different ethnic groups over the course of its history. Mashhad was previously a small village, which by the 9th century had been known as Sanabad, and which was located—along with Tus and other villages—on the ancient Silk Road connecting them with Merv to the east. Mashhad would eventually outgrow all its surrounding villages. It gained its current name meaning "place of martyrdom" in reference to the Imam Reza shrine, where the eighth Shia Imam, Ali al-Rida, is buried. The Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid is also buried within the same shrine. This shrine would become an important place of pilgrimage, nowadays visited by millions each year in what is often described as "the holiest city in Iran".[11]