ShirĿz is a city in southwest Iran
Its elevation is 1486 metres (or about 5000 feet) above sea level amidst the Zagros Mountains, and it is the capital of FĿrs Province. The city had an estimated population of 1,255,955 in 2005
Shiraz is an ancient city and throughout its history it has been the capital of Iran on several occasions. Most recently, it was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1781 and capital of southern Iran from 1781 until 1794, as well as briefly during the Safavid period
It is known as the city of Poetry, Wine and Roses. It has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than a thousand years
Shiraz is most likely more than 4000 years old. The earliest reference to the city is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC, found in June of 1970, while digging to make a kiln for a brick making factory in SW corner of the city. The tablets written in ancient Elamite, name a city called Tiraziš. Phonetically, this is interpreted as /tiraĿis/ or /ćiraĿis/. This name became Old Persian /širĿjiš/; through regular sound change comes the modern Persian name ShirĿz. The name Shiraz also appears on clay sealings found at Qasr-i Abu Nasr, a Sassanid ruin, east of the city, (2nd century A.D.) . As early as the 11th century several hundred thousand people inhabited Shiraz. It's size has decreased through the ages. Incidentally the oldest sample of wine in the world dating to approximately 7000 years ago was also discovered on clay jars recovered outside of Shiraz |
