Istakhr
Encyclopedia
Estakhr was an ancient city located in southern Iran
, in Fars province, five kilometers north of Persepolis
. It was a prosperous city during the time of Achaemenid Persia.
. It gained its importance not only from its close association with Persepolis, but commanded the western end of an ancient caravan route that ran from the Indus Valley via Kandahar
and Seistan to Persia/Parthia.
It temporarily became the capital of Sassanian Persia during the reign of Ardashir I
before the capital moved to Ctesiphon
. During the Sasanid period the royal treasury of the empire known as ganj ī šāhīgān is said to have been in Eṣṭaḵr. In 915-16, Masʿūdī
himself saw in a house at Estakhr owned by a Persian noble, "the large and very fine manuscript" of a work copied in 731 from original documents in the royal treasury.
In 659 CE, Caliph Ali
sent Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan
to suppress a Persian rebellion in Estakhr. Ziyad succeeded at this and stayed on as governor. For a while, Abdallah ibn Muawiya (the designated leader of a Kaysanites Shia
sub-sect) established himself at Estakhr from where he ruled for a few years over Fārs and other parts of Persia, including Ahvaz, Jibal, Isfahan and Kerman from 744 to 748 until fleeing to Khurasan from the advancing Umayyad forces. After being rebuilt, the city lost its importance to Shiraz
. Today only an archaeological site remains.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, in Fars province, five kilometers north of Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
. It was a prosperous city during the time of Achaemenid Persia.
History
At first, Estakhr was an Achaemenid city in present-day Fârs Province, IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It gained its importance not only from its close association with Persepolis, but commanded the western end of an ancient caravan route that ran from the Indus Valley via Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
and Seistan to Persia/Parthia.
It temporarily became the capital of Sassanian Persia during the reign of Ardashir I
Ardashir I
Ardashir I was the founder of the Sassanid Empire, was ruler of Istakhr , subsequently Fars Province , and finally "King of Kings of Sassanid Empire " with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire...
before the capital moved to Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
. During the Sasanid period the royal treasury of the empire known as ganj ī šāhīgān is said to have been in Eṣṭaḵr. In 915-16, Masʿūdī
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
himself saw in a house at Estakhr owned by a Persian noble, "the large and very fine manuscript" of a work copied in 731 from original documents in the royal treasury.
In 659 CE, Caliph Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
sent Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan
Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan
Ziyad ibn Abeeh where 'Abeeh' means 'his father' since his ancestry is disputed. was a Muslim general and administrator and a member of the clan of the Umayyads.-Biography:...
to suppress a Persian rebellion in Estakhr. Ziyad succeeded at this and stayed on as governor. For a while, Abdallah ibn Muawiya (the designated leader of a Kaysanites Shia
Kaysanites Shia
The Kaysanites were a once dominant Shi'a Ghulat sect that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They believed in the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah. Following the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah the sect split up into numerous sub-sects, each with their own Imam and unique beliefs...
sub-sect) established himself at Estakhr from where he ruled for a few years over Fārs and other parts of Persia, including Ahvaz, Jibal, Isfahan and Kerman from 744 to 748 until fleeing to Khurasan from the advancing Umayyad forces. After being rebuilt, the city lost its importance to Shiraz
Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province, the city's 2009 population was 1,455,073. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river...
. Today only an archaeological site remains.