Mashhad

{{Short description|City in Razavi Khorasan province, Iran}} {{redirect|Mashhadi}} {{for-multi|the county|Mashhad County|the type of mausoleum|Mashhad (architecture)|other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox settlement | name = | official_name = Mashhad | native_name = {{native name|fa|مشهد}} | settlement_type = City | nickname = | other_name = Mashad, Meshhed, Meshed, Sanabad | motto = Mashhad: Smart City, City of Hope and Life | image_skyline = {{multiple image |perrow = 1/2/2/1 |border = infobox |total_width = 300 |image1 = Aerial View of Koohsangi street, Mashhad, Iran.png |caption1 = Kuhsangi Street |image2 = Tomb-of-Ferdowsi آرامگاه-فردوسی Davoud-Davoudi 1.jpg |caption2 = Tomb of Ferdowsi |image3 = Tomb_of_Nader_Shah.JPG |caption3 = Tomb of Nader Shah |image4 = گنبد هارونیه - توس.jpg |caption4 = Haruniyeh Dome |image5 = Goharshad_Mosque_Maqsura_Iwan.jpg |caption5 = Goharshad Mosque |image6 = Imam Reza shrine.jpg |caption6 = Imam Reza Shrine }} | image_flag = | image_seal = Mashhad government logo.svg | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = Mašhad-e moqaddas | coordinates = {{coord|36|19|35|N|59|32|36|E|dim:10km|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite OpenStreetMap |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=36.326389&mlon=59.543333&zoom=12#map=12/36.3264/59.5433 |title=District 11, Mashhad, بخش مرکزی شهرستان مشهد [Central District of Mashhad County], Mashhad County, Razavi Khorasan, Iran |access-date=4 May 2023 |lang=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Google Maps |title=8GGV+H84 Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/36°19'35.0%22N+59°32'36.0%22E/@36.326389,59.543333,36200m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d36.326389!4d59.543333?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D |access-date=15 March 2026}}</ref> | pushpin_map = Iran |pushpin_relief=y | pushpin_label_position = bottom  | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Iran | pushpin_mapsize = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 9 | mapframe-marker = city | mapframe-shape = yes | mapframe-caption = Map of Mashhad | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Iran}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Razavi Khorasan | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Mashhad | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = Central | leader_title1 = Mayor | leader_name1 = Mohammad Reza Ghalandar Sharif<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metropolis.org/member/mashhad | title=Mashhad | date=6 October 2022 | access-date=1 September 2023 | archive-date=30 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030001609/https://www.metropolis.org/member/mashhad | url-status=dead }}</ref> | leader_title2 = Chairperson of City Council | leader_name2 = Hassan Movahedian | established_title = Mashhad-Sanabad-Tus | established_date = 818 AD | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 351 | area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|title=Local Government Profile|url=http://www.unisdr.org/campaign/resilientcities/cities/view/1062|publisher=United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction|access-date=4 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222003048/http://www.unisdr.org/campaign/resilientcities/cities/view/1062|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | population_total = 3001184<ref>[http://citypopulation.de/en/iran/khorasanerazavi/]</ref> | population_as_of = 2016 | population_rank = 2nd in Iran | population_note = Over 2.5 million pilgrims and tourists per year<ref name="Imam Reza"/> | population_metro = 4543000 [https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/21508/mashhad/population]</ref> | population_metro_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |website=citypopulation.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913144137/http://citypopulation.de/world/Agglomerations.html |url=http://citypopulation.de/world/Agglomerations.html |archive-date=13 September 2018 |title=Major Agglomerations of the World – Population Statistics and Maps |date=13 September 2018}}</ref> | population_urban = 3317381<ref>[https://populationstat.com/iran/mashhad]</ref> | population_urban_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.amar.org.ir/english |title = Statistical Center of Iran > Home}}</ref> | population_est = | population_est_as_of = | population_density_km2 = 6500 | population_demonym = Mashhadi, Mashadi, Mashdi (informal) | demographics_type1 = GDP {{Nobold|(Nominal, 2024)}} | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="TelluBase">{{cite web|url=https://tellusant.github.io/docs/fact-sheets/tellubase-factsheet-irn.pdf|publisher=Tellusant|title=TELLUBASE—IRAN FACT SHEET|website=tellusant.github.io}}</ref> | demographics1_title1 = City | demographics1_info1 = US$24.9 billion | demographics1_title2 = Per capita | demographics1_info2 = US$7,300 | timezone = IRST | utc_offset = +03:30 | elevation_m = 995 | elevation_ft = | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = BSk | website = [http://www.mashhad.ir/ www.mashhad.ir] | footnotes = | blank_name_sec2 = Largest district by area | blank_info_sec2 = District 9 (64 km<sup>2</sup>, land area) | blank1_name_sec2 = Largest district by population | blank1_info_sec2 = District 2 (480,000) }}

'''Mashhad''' ({{langx|fa|مشهد}} {{IPA|fa|mæʃˈhæd||Fa-ir-mashhad_(1).ogg}}), historically also known as '''Mashad''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|ʃ|æ|d}} {{respell|mə|SHAD}}),<ref>{{Cite The Britannica Dictionary|Mashhad|accessdate=2025-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Mashhad|access-date=2025-03-29}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mashhad |title=Mashhad |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-economy-protests/hundreds-protest-against-high-prices-in-iran-idUKKBN1EM19T |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228162927/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-economy-protests/hundreds-protest-against-high-prices-in-iran-idUKKBN1EM19T |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 December 2017 |title=Hundreds protest against high prices in Iran|first=Bozorgmehr |last=Sharafedin |work=Reuters |date=29 December 2017 |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/iran-protests-arab-states-between-trepidation-and-glee/a-42005330|title=Iran protests: Arab states between trepidation and glee |date=3 January 2018|first=Wesley |last=Dockery |website=DW |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> '''Meshhed''', or '''Meshed''',<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cosmopolitan|year=1889|volume=6|page=378|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJfNAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the north-east of the country<ref name="Simigh">{{Cite web |last=Simigh |first=Agnes |date=2022-08-29 |title=THE BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN MASHHAD, THE HOLIEST CITY IN IRAN |url=https://voiceofguides.com/best-places-to-visit-in-mashhad/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Voice of Guides |language=en-US}}</ref> about {{convert|740|km|mi|abbr=off}} east of Tehran.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distance from Tehran to Mashhad |url=https://www.distance.to/Tehran/Mashhad |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=www.distance.to |language=en}}</ref> In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district.<ref name="Khorasan Province Structure"> {{cite web |first=Hassan |last=Habibi |author-link=Hassan Habibi |orig-date={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|تاریخ تصویب}} (Approval date) 1369.6.21 (Iranian Jalali calendar) |date=12 September 1990  |script-title=fa: ‌تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوی استان خراسان به مرکزیت شهر مشهد |trans-title=‌Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the divisions of Khorasan province, centered in Mashhad |url=https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/113047 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024415/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/113047 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |access-date=31 January 2026 |website={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران}} [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran] |publisher={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|‌وزارت کشور}} [Ministry of the Interior] |agency={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت}} [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board] |language=fa |id={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|84902ت125ک}} [84902T125K].}}</ref> It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/php/iran-khorasanerazavi.php|title=Razavi Khorasan (Iran): Counties & Cities – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts|website=citypopulation.de}}</ref>

Mashhad has been governed by different ethnic groups. A small village, by the 9th century it was known as Sanabad and was located—along with Tus and other villages—on the ancient Silk Road connecting them with Merv to the east. It outgrew surrounding villages and became known by 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. The shrine is the most pilgrimaged site in Shia Islam,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Andrew |title=Inside Iran's Holy Money Machine - WSJ |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118072271215621679 |access-date=2024-05-17 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-08 |title=Mashhad: A Hub of Tourism and Pilgrimage {{!}} FinancialTribune |url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/travel/171/mashhad-a-hub-of-tourism-and-pilgrimage |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=financialtribune.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=soltani |first=mis |title=Islamic Republic of Iran: Over 30 million pilgrims visit Mashhad annually |url=http://www.wocoshiac.org/en/news-events/all-news-en/all-news-b-en/islamic-republic-of-iran-over-30-million-pilgrims-visit-mashhad-annually |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.wocoshiac.org |language=en-gb}}</ref> visited by nearly 30 million each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mashhad, Iran |url=http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127181619/http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |archive-date=2010-11-27 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=sacredsites.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran Daily |url=http://www.iran-daily.com/1383/2211/html/panorama.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612164512/http://www.iran-daily.com/1383/2211/html/panorama.htm |archive-date=2008-06-12 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.iran-daily.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Imam Reza (PBUH) shrine is visited by nearly 30 million people annually |url=http://en.imam-khomeini.ir/en/n37305/Imam-Reza-PBUH-shrine-is-visited-by-nearly-30-million-people-annually |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=Imam Khomeini}}</ref>

Mashhad later also became associated with Ferdowsi, the Persian poet and author of the ''Shahnameh'', who was born in Tus (with many institutions in Mashhad named after him). Mashhad enjoyed relative prosperity in the Mongol period, and continued to grow. Between 1736 and 1796, Mashhad became the capital of Afsharid Iran which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty founded by Nader Shah, whose tomb is located in the city. In the modern era, Mashhad continued to expand and became the hometown of some of the most significant literary figures and artists of modern Iran, such as the poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, and the traditional Iranian singer and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. On 30 October 2009 (the anniversary of Imam Reza's martyrdom), Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Mashhad to be "The spiritual capital of Iran."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.khorasannews.com/News.aspx?type=1&year=1388&month=8&day=9&id=281168 |script-title=fa: مشهد، پایتخت معنوی ایران اعلام شد | trans-title = Mashhad, Iran's spiritual capital | publisher = Khorasan newspaper | language = fa | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150707030446/http://www.khorasannews.com/News.aspx?type=1&year=1388&month=8&day=9&id=281168 | archive-date = 7 July 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |script-title=fa:نام‌گذاري مشهد به عنوان پايتخت معنوي "Nombramiento de Mashhad como capital espiritual de Irán"|url=http://shahr.ir/fa/news/3841/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%E2%80%8C%DA%AF%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A|publisher=Shahr.ir|date=1 November 2009|access-date=26 October 2013|language=fa|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131026085822/http://shahr.ir/fa/news/3841/%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%E2%80%8C%DA%AF%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%D9%8A|archive-date=26 October 2013}}</ref> The city was also named the Capital of Islamic Culture by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=muslim world cultural city |url=https://english.alahednews.com.lb/search.php |access-date=2026-05-26 |website=english.alahednews.com.lb}}</ref>

==History== {{see also|Timeline of Mashhad|Greater Khorasan}}

===Etymology and early history=== Ancient Greek sources mention the passage and residence of Alexander the Great in this land, which was called "Susia" ({{langx|grc|Σούσια}}), in 330 BC.<ref>Diodorus (17.77.5)</ref><ref>Curtius (6.6.4-5)</ref><ref>Justin (12.3.8 )</ref><ref>Arrian (4.9.9)</ref> The map of Tabula Peutingeriana, which dates back to the early Roman era, names this city on the west of Merv, Alexandria, instead of Susia.<ref>[https://www.tabula-peutingeriana.de/tabula.html?segm=b Tabvla Pevtingeriana, Segmentvm XII - M. Weber]</ref> Pliny the Elder, says there is a city in the middle of Parthia, near Arsace and Nisiaea, called "Alexandropolis" after its founder.<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D29 Pliny, Nat. 6.29]</ref> Many Muslim historians, from the 10th to the 16th century AD, attribute the founding of "Sanabad" (the old name of the city) to Alexander.<ref>[http://lib.eshia.ir/71860/48/321 muhammad-bagher al-majlisi, bahaar-ol-anvaar]</ref><ref>[http://lib.eshia.ir/71660/2/299 feiz al-kashaani, al-vaafi]</ref>

Also in the Shia hadith sources, which the narrators connect to the 7th to 9th centuries AD, there are quotations that Imam Ridha and Harun al-Rashid are buried in a city founded by Dhu al-Qarnayn. <ref>[https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/22/2/4/5 Kitāb al-Ghayba]</ref><ref>[https://www.noorlib.ir/View/Fa/Book/BookView/Text/10958/2/527 al-kaafi]</ref><ref>[https://www.noorlib.ir/View/Fa/Book/BookView/Text/11355/2/62 al-ghoybah]</ref><ref>[https://www.noorlib.ir/View/Fa/Book/BookView/Text/11296/1/18 jaami-ol-akhbaar]</ref><ref>[https://www.noorlib.ir/View/Fa/Book/BookView/Text/2336/1/296 al-vaafi]</ref>

The older name of Mashhad is Sanabad ({{lang|fa|سناباد}} {{Transliteration|fa|Sanâbâd}}). It was eventually renamed to Mashhad during the Safavid Empire. The name Mashhad comes from Arabic, meaning a Mazar (mausoleum).<ref>E.J. Brill's ''First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936'' p. 127</ref><ref>''The Shias: A Short History'', Heinz Halm, p. 26</ref> It is also known as the place where Ali ar-Ridha (Persian, Imam Reza), the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims, died (according to the Shias, was martyred). Reza's shrine was placed there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://persiatours.com/tips.htm|title=Iran travel Information|website=persiatours.com}}</ref>

The ancient Parthian city of Patigrabanâ, mentioned in the Behistun inscription (520 BC) of the Achaemenid Emperor Darius the Great, may have been located at the Mashhad.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/articles/person/hystaspes-2/|title=Hystaspes (2) – Livius|website=livius.org|access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 9th century (3rd century AH), Mashhad was a small city called Sanabad, which was situated {{convert|24|km|abbr=off}} away from Tus. There was a summer palace of Humayd ibn Qahtaba, the governor of Khurasan. In 808, when Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph, was passing through to quell the insurrection of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Transoxania, he became ill and died. He was buried under the palace of Humayd ibn Qahtaba. Thus the Dar al-Imarah was known as the Mausoleum of Haruniyyeh. In 818, Ali al-Ridha was martyred by al-Ma'mun and was buried beside the grave of Harun.<ref>Zabeth (1999) pp. 12–13.</ref> Although Mashhad owns the cultural heritage of Tus (including its figures like Nizam al-Mulk, Al-Ghazali, Ahmad Ghazali, Ferdowsi, Asadi Tusi, and Shaykh Tusi), earlier Arab geographers have correctly identified Mashhad and Tus as two separate cities that are now located about {{convert|19|km|abbr=off}} from each other.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/place/Mashhad</ref>

===Mongolian invasion: Ilkhanids=== Although some believe that after this event, the city was called Mashhad al-Ridha (the place of martyrdom of al-Ridha), it seems that Mashhad, as a place-name, first appears in al-Maqdisi, i.e., in the last third of the 10th century. About the middle of the 14th century, the traveller Ibn Battuta uses the expression "town of Mashhad al-Rida". Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the name Nuqan, which is still found on coins in the first half of the 14th century under the Il-Khanids, seems to have been gradually replaced by al-Mashhad or Mashhad.<ref>https://en.irna.ir/news/83533068/Mashhad-Iran-s-most-popular-religious-tourist-destination</ref> [[File:Terken Khatun-1.1.jpg|left|Terken Khatun, Empress of the Khwarazmian Empire, known as "the Queen of the Turks", held captive by Mongol army|thumb]] Shias began to make pilgrimages to his grave. By the end of the 9th century, a dome was built above the grave, and many other buildings and bazaars sprang up around it. Over the course of more than a millennium, it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.<ref>Zabeth (1999) pp. 13–16.</ref> In 1161, however, the Seljuks seized the city, but they spared the sacred area their pillaging. Mashad al-Ridha was not considered a "great" city until Mongol raids in 1220, which caused the destruction of many large cities in Khurasan but leaving Mashhad relatively intact in the hands of Mongolian commanders because of the cemetery of Ali Al-Rezza and Harun al-Rashid (the latter was stolen).<ref>موسوي 1370, p. 40</ref> Thus the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad.<ref name="Zabeth 1999 pp. 14-15">Zabeth (1999) pp. 14–15.</ref> When the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta visited the town in 1333, he reported that it was a large town with abundant fruit trees, streams and mills. A great dome of elegant construction surmounts the noble mausoleum, the walls being decorated with colored tiles.<ref name="Imam Reza">{{cite web |title=Sacred Sites: Mashhad, Iran |url=http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127181619/http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/iran/mashad.htm |archive-date=27 November 2010 |access-date=13 March 2006 |publisher=sacredsites.com}}</ref> The most well-known dish cooked in Mashhad, "sholeh Mashhadi" (شله مشهدی) or "Sholeh", dates back to the era of the Mongolian invasion when it is thought to be cooked with any food available (the main ingredients are meat, grains and abundant spices) and be a Mongolian word.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greentravelpioneers.com/tabid/261/Default.aspx |title=Traditional foods of Mashhad City |access-date=22 December 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511182451/http://www.greentravelpioneers.com/tabid/261/Default.aspx |archive-date=11 May 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://salariyan.blogfa.com/post-95.aspx|title=زبان و ادبیات ترکان خراسان – غذاهای سنتی گریوان|website=salariyan.blogfa.com}}</ref>

===Timurid Empire=== thumb|The map of the Persian Empire in 1747 at the time of Afsharid Dynasty. The name of Mashhad is seen belong Tous. It seems that the importance of Sanabad-Mashhad continually increased with the growing fame of its sanctuary and the decline of Tus, which received its death-blow in 1389 from Miran Shah, a son of Timur. When the Kartid noble who governed the place rebelled and attempted to make himself independent, Miran Shah was sent against him by his father. Tus was stormed after a siege of several months, sacked and left a heap of ruins; 10,000 inhabitants were massacred. Those who escaped the holocaust settled in the shelter of the 'Alid sanctuary. Tus was henceforth abandoned and Mashhad took its place as the capital of the district.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Later on, during the reign of the Timurid Shahrukh Mirza, Mashhad became one of the main cities of the realm. In 1418, his wife Goharshad funded the construction of an outstanding mosque beside the shrine, which is known as the Goharshad Mosque.<ref name="Zabeth 1999 pp. 14-15"/> The mosque remains relatively intact to this date, its great size an indicator to the status the city held in the 15th century.

===Safavid Empire=== Ismail I, founder of the Safavid Empire, conquered Mashhad after the death of Husayn Bayqarah and the decline of the Timurid dynasty. He was later captured by the Uzbeks during the reign of Shah Abbas I. In the 16th century the town suffered considerably from the repeated raids of the Özbegs (Uzbeks). In 1507, it was taken by the troops of the Shaybani or Shabani Khan. After two decades, Shah Tahmasp I succeeded in repelling the enemy from the town again in 1528. But in 1544, the Özbegs again succeeded in entering the town and plundering and murdering there. The year 1589 was a disastrous one for Mashhad. The Shaybanid 'Abd al-Mu'min after a four months' siege forced the town to surrender. Shah Abbas I, who lived in Mashhad from 1585 until his official ascent of the throne in Qazwin in 1587, was not able to retake Mashhad from the Özbegs until 1598. Mashhad was retaken by the Shah Abbas after a long and hard struggle, defeating the Uzbeks in a great battle near Herat as well as managing to drive them beyond the Oxus River. Abbas the Great wanted to encourage Iranians to go to Mashhad for pilgrimage. He is said to have walked from Isfahan to Mashhad. During the Safavid era, Mashhad gained even more religious recognition, becoming the most important city of Greater Khorasan, as several madrasah and other structures were built beside the Imam Reza shrine. Besides its religious significance, Mashhad has played an important political role as well. The Safavid dynasty has been criticized in a book (Red Shi'sm vs. Black Shi'ism) on the perceived dual aspects of the Shi'a religion throughout history) as a period in which although the dynasty didn't form the idea of Black Shi'ism, but this idea was formed after the defeat of Shah Ismail against the Ottoman leader Sultan Yavuz Selim. Black Shi'ism is a product of the post-Safavid period.

===Qajar Empire=== thumb|Mashhad in 1858 Some believe that Mashhad was ruled by Shahrukh Afshar and remained the capital of the Afsharid dynasty during Zand dynasty<ref>نوایی، عبدالحسین. کریم خان زند</ref> until Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar conquered the then larger region of Khorasan in 1796.<ref name="Ghani2001">{{cite book|last=Ghani|first=Cyrus|title=Iran and the Rise of the Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VGZItY9kL0AC&pg=PR9|access-date=4 November 2012|date=6 January 2001|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-629-4|page=9}}</ref>

====1912 Imam Reza shrine bombardment==== In 1911 Yusuf Khan of Herat was declared independent in Mashhad as Muhammad Ali Shah and brought together a large group of reactionaries opposed to the revolution, and keep stirring for some time. This gave Russia the excuse to intervene and 29 March 1912 bombed the city; this bombing killed several people and pilgrims; action against a Muslim shrine caused a great shock to all Islamic countries. On 29 March 1912, the sanctuary of Imam Reza was bombed by the Russian artillery fire, causing some damage, including to the golden dome, resulting in a widespread and persisting resentment in the Shiite Muslim world as well as British India. This bombing was orchestrated by Prince Aristid Mikhailovich Dabizha (a Moldovan who was the Russian Consul in Mashhad) and General Radko (a Bulgarian who was commander of the Russian Cossacks in the city).<ref name="Kazemzadeh2013">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWEBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA663|title=Russia and Britain in Persia: Imperial Ambitions in Qajar Iran|last=Kazemzadeh|first=Firuz|date=10 April 2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85772-173-0|page=663}}</ref> Yusuf Khan ended up captured by the Persians and was executed.

===Pahlavi dynasty=== ====Modernization under Reza Shah==== thumb|Aerial view of imam Reza shrine, 1976 The modern development of the city accelerated under Reza Shah (1925-1941). Shah Reza Hospital (currently Imam Reza Hospital, affiliated with the Basij organization) was founded in 1934; the sugar factory of Abkuh in 1935; and the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 1939. The city's first power station was installed in 1936, and in 1939, the first urban transport service began with two buses. In this year the first population census was performed, with a result of 76,471 inhabitants.<ref name=mums>{{cite web |script-title = fa: تاریخجه شهر مشهد, "Historia de la ciudad de Mashhad" |url = http://www.mums.ac.ir/students/fa/mashhad |access-date = 27 October 2013 |work = Portal de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Mashhad |language = fa|url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195049/http://www.mums.ac.ir/students/fa/mashhad |archive-date = 29 October 2013 }}</ref>

====1935 Goharshad Mosque rebellion==== {{main|Imam Reza shrine rebellion}}

In 1935, a backlash against the modernizing, anti-religious policies of Reza Pahlavi erupted in the Mashhad shrine. Responding to a cleric who denounced the Shah's heretical innovations, corruption, and heavy consumer taxes, many bazaars and villagers took refuge in the shrine, chanted slogans such as "The Shah is a new Yazid." For four days local police and army refused to violate the shrine and the standoff was ended when troops from Azerbaijan arrived and broke into the shrine,<ref>Ervand, ''History of Modern Iran'', (2008), p.94</ref> killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking a final rupture between Shi'ite clergy and the Shah.<ref>Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution'' by Shaul, Bakhash, Basic Books, 1984, p. 22.</ref> According to some Mashhadi historians, the Goharshad Mosque uprising, which took place in 1935, is an uprising against Reza Shah's decree banning all veils (headscarf and chador) on 8 January 1936.<ref>https://snl.no/Mashhad</ref>

====1941–1979 reforms==== [[File:Mashhadplan.jpg|thumb|Comprehensive planning of Mashhad in 1974]] Mashhad experienced population growth after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941 because of relative insecurity in rural areas, the 1948 drought, and the establishment of Mashhad University in 1949. At the same time, public transport vehicles increased to 77 buses and 200 taxis and the railway link with the capital, Tehran, was established in 1957. The 1956 census reflected a population of 241,989 people. The increase in population continued in the following years thanks to the increase in Iranian oil revenues, the decline of the feudal social model, the agrarian reform of 1963, the founding of the city's airport, the creation of new factories and the development of the health system. In 1966, the population reached 409,616 inhabitants, and 667,770 in 1976. The extension of the city was expanded from {{convert|16|to|33|km2|sqft|abbr=off}}.

During World War II, Polish refugee children were admitted in Mashhad in March 1942 (see also ''Iran–Poland relations'').<ref name=jw>{{cite book|last=Wróbel|first=Janusz|title=Uchodźcy polscy ze Związku Sowieckiego 1942–1950|year=2003|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Pamięci Narodowej|location=Łódź|page=16|isbn=978-83-7629-522-0}}</ref> After receiving food and medical care at a local hospital, the children were further evacuated to India.<ref name=jw/> thumb|Mashhad Statue Sq. 1960s In 1965 an important urban renewal development project for the surroundings of the shrine of Imam Reza was proposed by the Iranian architect and urban designer Dariush Borbor to replace the dilapidated slum conditions which surrounded the historic monuments. The project was officially approved in 1968. In 1977 the surrounding areas were demolished to make way for the implementation of this project. To relocate the demolished businesses, a new bazaar was designed and constructed in Meydan-e Ab square (in Persian, "میدان آب")<ref name="mums"/> by Dariush Borbor. After the revolution, the urban renewal project was abandoned.

====1994 Imam Reza shrine bombing==== On 20 June 1994, a bomb exploded in a prayer hall of the shrine of the Imam Reza.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=154427 |title=Iran / Mashhad Bombing #154427 |publisher=Vanderbilt Television News Archive |date=20 June 1994 |access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref> The bomb that killed at least 25 people on 20 June in Mashhad exploded on Ashura.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16070232.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016192534/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16070232.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2012 |title=Explosive circles: Iran. (Mashhad bombing) |date=25 June 1994 |publisher=The Economist |via=HighBeam Research |access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref> The Pakistani terrorist Ramzi Yousef, a Sunni Muslim turned Wahhabi, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was found to be behind the plot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=amid94yousefradio |title=Context of 'Mid-1994: Ramzi Yousef Works Closely with Al-Qaeda Leaders |publisher=History Commons |access-date=25 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720133843/http://historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=amid94yousefradio |archive-date=20 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====2026 Iran massacres==== On 22 January 2026, during the 2026 Iran massacres, 33-year-old Ali Rahbar was reportedly executed in Mashhad, becoming one of the first protesters to be executed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.gooya.com/2026/01/post-105762.php|title=علی رهبر، معترض بازداشت شده در مشهد اعدام شد|website=news.gooya.com}}</ref> Iran's judiciary denied his execution having taken place, stating that such a person had not even been detained.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfi.fr/fa/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86/20260123-%D9%82%D9%88%D9%87-%D9%82%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A6%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%B0%DB%8C%D8%A8-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF|title=قوه قضائیه اعدام علی رهبر را تکذیب کرد|date=23 January 2026|website=ار.اف.ای - RFI}}</ref>

==Geography== The city is located at 36.20º North latitude and 59.35º East longitude, in the valley of the Kashafrud River near Turkmenistan, between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezar Masjed Mountains. The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having cool winters, pleasant springs, and mild summers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} It is only about {{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The city is the administrative center of Mashhad County (or the ''shahrestan'' of Mashhad) as well as the somewhat smaller Central District (''Bakhsh-e Markazi'') of Mashhad. The city itself, excluding parts of the surrounding ''Bakhsh'' and ''Shahrestan'', is divided into 13 smaller administrative units, with a total population of more than 3 million.<ref name="amar.org.ir">{{cite web|url=http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/2/pdf/jamiat_shahrestan_keshvar3.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703101259/http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/2/pdf/jamiat_shahrestan_keshvar3.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2014 }}</ref>

===Climate=== Mashhad features a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSk''; Trewartha: ''BShk'') with very hot summers, cold winters and Mediterranean-like dry summer precipitation pattern{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}. The city only sees about {{convert|250|mm|abbr=off}} of precipitation per year, some of which occasionally falls in the form of snow. Mashhad has wetter and drier periods with the bulk of the annual precipitation falling between the months of December and May. Summers are typically hot and dry, with average high temperatures exceeding {{convert|33|°C|1|disp=or}} for three months. Winters are typically cool to cold and somewhat damper, with overnight lows routinely dropping below freezing. Mashhad enjoys on average just above 2900 hours of sunshine per year.

Snow cover had been observed in 21.1 days annually, with only 3.8 days in which the snow depth exceeds {{Convert|0.10|m|inches|0|disp=or}}.<ref name=ncei/>

The highest recorded temperature was {{convert|43.8|°C|1|disp=or}} on 6 July 1998 and the lowest recorded temperature was {{convert|-28|°C|1|disp=or}} on 3 February 1972. {{Weather box |width=auto |location = Mashhad (1991–2020, extremes 1951–2020; elevation: {{convert|999.2|m|ft|0|disp=or}}{{efn-lr| Rainy days calculated using Parameter codes 47 and 71 from the source}}) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |temperature colour = |precipitation colour =green |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |precip days colour = | Jan precipitation mm =27.5 | Feb precipitation mm =35.7 | Mar precipitation mm =56.3 | Apr precipitation mm =39.4 | May precipitation mm =30.6 | Jun precipitation mm =5.9 | Jul precipitation mm =1.7 | Aug precipitation mm =0.8 | Sep precipitation mm =2.7 | Oct precipitation mm =7.9 | Nov precipitation mm =17.2 | Dec precipitation mm =20.1 | year precipitation mm = | Jan snow cm = | Feb snow cm = | Mar snow cm = | Apr snow cm = | May snow cm = | Jun snow cm = | Jul snow cm = | Aug snow cm = | Sep snow cm = | Oct snow cm = | Nov snow cm = | Dec snow cm = | year snow cm = | Jan precipitation days =4.8 | Feb precipitation days =5.7 | Mar precipitation days =7.4 | Apr precipitation days =5.5 | May precipitation days =5 | Jun precipitation days =1.4 | Jul precipitation days =0.4 | Aug precipitation days =0.2 | Sep precipitation days =0.4 | Oct precipitation days =1.5 | Nov precipitation days =3.2 | Dec precipitation days =3.3 | year precipitation days = | Jan rain days =4.5 | Feb rain days =7.2 | Mar rain days =10.3 | Apr rain days =9.9 | May rain days =6.9 | Jun rain days =2 | Jul rain days =0.6 | Aug rain days =0.5 | Sep rain days =0.7 | Oct rain days =2.9 | Nov rain days =5.4 | Dec rain days =5.5 | year rain days = | Jan snow days =5.8 | Feb snow days =2.6 | Mar snow days =0.5 | Apr snow days =0.1 | May snow days =0 | Jun snow days =0 | Jul snow days =0 | Aug snow days =0 | Sep snow days =0 | Oct snow days =0.2 | Nov snow days =1.7 | Dec snow days =4.3 | year snow days =

|source 1 = NOAA NCEI<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Iran/CSV/Mashhad_40745.csv |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Mashhad-40745 |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |publisher=NOAA |no-pp=y |type=Excel |format=CSV }}</ref>(Days with Snowfall 1981-2010)<ref name=ncei>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-II/Iran/WMO_Normals_Excel_IRAN_060719.xls |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981-2010: Mashhad(WMO number: 40745) |publisher=NOAA |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |page=5 |type=Excel |format=XLS |quote=Parameter Code: 47 Number of Days with Snowfall |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120051914/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-II/Iran/WMO_Normals_Excel_IRAN_060719.xls |url-status=dead }}</ref> |source 2 = Iran Meteorological Organization(Records)<ref name= records/> }} {{Weather box |collapsed = yes |width=auto |location = Mashhad (1951–2010) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 24.0 |Feb record high C = 26.0 |Mar record high C = 32.0 |Apr record high C = 35.4 |May record high C = 40.6 |Jun record high C = 42.1 |Jul record high C = 43.8 |Aug record high C = 42.4 |Sep record high C = 42.0 |Oct record high C = 35.8 |Nov record high C = 29.4 |Dec record high C = 28.2 |year record high C = |Jan high C = 7.1 |Feb high C = 9.3 |Mar high C = 14.2 |Apr high C = 20.9 |May high C = 26.8 |Jun high C = 32.3 |Jul high C = 34.4 |Aug high C = 33.1 |Sep high C = 28.9 |Oct high C = 22.5 |Nov high C = 15.5 |Dec high C = 9.8 |year high C = |Jan mean C = 1.7 |Feb mean C = 3.7 |Mar mean C = 8.5 |Apr mean C = 14.7 |May mean C = 19.6 |Jun mean C = 24.4 |Jul mean C = 26.6 |Aug mean C = 24.8 |Sep mean C = 20.3 |Oct mean C = 14.5 |Nov mean C = 8.7 |Dec mean C = 4.0 |year mean C = |Jan low C = -3.8 |Feb low C = -1.8 |Mar low C = 2.9 |Apr low C = 8.4 |May low C = 12.4 |Jun low C = 16.4 |Jul low C = 18.7 |Aug low C = 16.5 |Sep low C = 11.7 |Oct low C = 6.4 |Nov low C = 1.9 |Dec low C = -1.7 |year low C = |Jan record low C = -27.0 |Feb record low C = -28.0 |Mar record low C = -13.0 |Apr record low C = -7.0 |May record low C = -1.0 |Jun record low C = 4.0 |Jul record low C = 10.0 |Aug record low C = 5.0 |Sep record low C = -1.0 |Oct record low C = -8.0 |Nov record low C = -16.0 |Dec record low C = -25.0 |year record low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 32.6 |Feb precipitation mm = 34.5 |Mar precipitation mm = 55.5 |Apr precipitation mm = 45.4 |May precipitation mm = 27.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 4.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 1.1 |Aug precipitation mm = 0.7 |Sep precipitation mm = 2.1 |Oct precipitation mm = 8.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 16.1 |Dec precipitation mm = 24.3 |year precipitation mm = 251.5 |Jan humidity = 75 |Feb humidity = 73 |Mar humidity = 69 |Apr humidity = 62 |May humidity = 50 |Jun humidity = 37 |Jul humidity = 34 |Aug humidity = 33 |Sep humidity = 37 |Oct humidity = 49 |Nov humidity = 63 |Dec humidity = 73 |year humidity = 54 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 8.6 |Feb precipitation days = 10.4 |Mar precipitation days = 13.8 |Apr precipitation days = 12.1 |May precipitation days = 8.7 |Jun precipitation days = 2.5 |Jul precipitation days = 0.9 |Aug precipitation days = 0.5 |Sep precipitation days = 0.9 |Oct precipitation days = 3.9 |Nov precipitation days = 5.3 |Dec precipitation days = 8.1 |year precipitation days = |Jan snow days = 5.6 |Feb snow days = 5.8 |Mar snow days = 4.0 |Apr snow days = 0.4 |May snow days = 0.0 |Jun snow days = 0.0 |Jul snow days = 0.0 |Aug snow days = 0.0 |Sep snow days = 0.0 |Oct snow days = 0.1 |Nov snow days = 1.2 |Dec snow days = 3.8 |year snow days = |Jan sun = 148.3 |Feb sun = 147.5 |Mar sun = 163.3 |Apr sun = 200.4 |May sun = 280.4 |Jun sun = 343.2 |Jul sun = 366.9 |Aug sun = 359.7 |Sep sun = 305.2 |Oct sun = 249.5 |Nov sun = 188.3 |Dec sun = 151.6 |year sun = |source 1 = Iran Meteorological Organization (records),<ref name= records>*{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/7.asp |title= Highest record temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |archive-date= 4 February 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190204061131/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/7.asp |url-status= dead }} *{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/6.asp |title= Lowest record temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |archive-date= 4 February 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190204061125/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/6.asp |url-status= dead }}</ref> (temperatures),<ref name=temperatures>*{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/3.asp |title= Average Maximum temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308111615/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/3.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }} *{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/5.asp |title= Average Mean Daily temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |archive-date= 18 October 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181018094426/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/5.asp |url-status= dead }} *{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/2.asp |title= Average Minimum temperature in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308103639/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/2.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }}</ref> (precipitation),<ref name= precipitation>{{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/25.asp |title= Monthly Total Precipitation in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |archive-date= 15 September 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180915001031/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/25.asp |url-status= dead }}</ref> (humidity),<ref name=humidity> {{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/14.asp |title= Average relative humidity in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308112812/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/14.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }}</ref> (days with precipitation),<ref name=precipdays> {{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/29.asp |title= No. Of days with precipitation equal to or greater than 1 mm in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308105151/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/29.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }}</ref> <ref name=snowdays> {{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/32.asp |title= No. Of days with snow in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308120439/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/32.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }}</ref> (sunshine)<ref name=sunshine> {{cite web |url= http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/42.asp |title= Monthly total sunshine hours in Mashhad by Month 1951–2010 |publisher= Iran Meteorological Organization |access-date= 8 April 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160308105145/http://www.chbmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/khr/MASHHAD/42.asp |archive-date= 8 March 2016 }}</ref> |date=March 2016 }} {{notelist-lr}}

==Demography== ===Population=== {{Historical populations|percentages = pagr |1986|1,463,508|1991|1,559,155|1996|1,887,405|2006|2,427,316|2011|2,766,258|align=right|footnote=source:<ref>[http://www.citypopulation.de/en/iran/cities/ Iran: Provinces and Cities population statistics]</ref>|2016|3,001,184|2022|3,619,000}}

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 2,410,800 in 621,697 households.<ref name="2006 Razavi Khorasan Province"> {{cite web |script-title=fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان خراسان رضوی |trans-title=General Population and Housing Census 2006: Razavi Khorasan Province |language=fa |website={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران}} [Statistical Centre of Iran] |url=http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/09.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920095433/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/09.xls |archive-date=20 September 2011 |format=Excel |access-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 2,766,258 people in 804,391 households.<ref name="2011 Razavi Khorasan Province"> {{cite web |script-title=fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان خراسان رضوی |trans-title=General Population and Housing Census 2011: Razavi Khorasan Province |language=fa |website=Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University |url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Razavi-Khorasan.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120012029/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Razavi-Khorasan.xls |archive-date=20 January 2023 |agency={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران}} [Statistical Centre of Iran] |format=Excel |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 3,001,184 people in 914,146 households.<ref name="2016 Razavi Khorasan Province"> {{cite web |script-title=fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان خراسان رضوی |trans-title=General Population and Housing Census 2016: Razavi Khorasan Province |language=fa |website={{lang|fa|rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران}} [Statistical Centre of Iran] |url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_09.xlsx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402213121/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_09.xlsx |archive-date=2 April 2022 |format=Excel |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref>

===Ethnic groups=== The vast majority of Mashhadi people are ethnic Persians, who form the majority of the city's population. Other ethnic groups include Kurdish and Turkmen people who have emigrated recently to the city from the North Khorasan province. There is also a significant community of non-Arabic speakers of Arabian descent who have retained a distinct Arabian culture, cuisine and religious practices.

There are also over 20 million pilgrims who visit the city every year.<ref name="Imam Reza" />

{{bar box |float = right |title =Ethnic Groups |bars = {{bar percent|Persians|green|92.5}} {{bar percent|Kurds|brown|3}} {{bar percent|Turkmens|yellow|2}} {{bar percent|Arabs|blue|0.1}} {{bar percent|Others|red|0.4}} }}

===Religion=== {{See also|Imam Reza shrine}} Today, the holy shrine and its museum hold extensive cultural and artistic treasuries of Iran, in particular manuscript books and paintings. Several theological schools are associated with the shrine of the Eighth Imam.

The second-largest holy city in the world, Mashhad attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to the Imam Reza shrine (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been a magnet for travellers since medieval times.<ref name="Imam Reza"/> Thus, even as those who complete the pilgrimage to Mecca receive the title of ''Haji'', those who make the pilgrimage to Mashhad—and especially to the Imam Reza shrine—are known as ''Mashtee'', a term employed also of its inhabitants. As an important problem, the duration when new passengers stay in Mashhad has been considerably reduced to 2 days and they prefer to finish their trip immediately after doing pilgrimage and shopping in the markets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.mashhad.ir/news/47876-%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%DA%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B4-%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA.html|title=-نصف-اقامت-مسافران-یزد-کاشان-کاهش-یافت|work=Masshad News|language=fa|access-date=22 December 2016|archive-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204015252/http://news.mashhad.ir/news/47876-%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%DA%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B4-%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are about 3000–5000 unauthorized residential units in Mashhad,<ref>[https://www.farsnews.ir/news/13910923000693/%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%E2%80%8C5-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%BA%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%E2%80%8C%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%E2%80%8C-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AD%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%87 Unallowable places] farsnews.ir</ref> which, as a unique statistic worldwide, has caused various problems in the city.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

Although mainly inhabited by Muslims, there were in the past some religious minorities in Mashhad. They were mainly Jews, who were forcibly converted to Islam in 1839 after the Allahdad pogrom took place for Mashhadi Jews in 1839.<ref>''The double lives of Mashhadi Jews'', ''The Jerusalem Post'', 12 August 2007.</ref> They became known as Jadid al-Islam ("Newcomers in Islam"). On the outside, they adapted to the Islamic way of life, but often secretly kept their faith and traditions.<ref>''Iran Foreign Policy & Government Guide (World Business Law Handbook Library)'', Usa Ibp, Intl Business Pubn., 2006, p. 149</ref><ref name="Glazebrook 2007 189">{{harvnb|Glazebrook|Abbasi-Shavazi|2007|p=189}}</ref><ref>Abbas Hajimohammadi and Shaminder Dulai, eds. (6 November 2014). "Photos: The Life of refugees in Tehran". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 November 2014.</ref><ref>Koepke, Bruce (4 February 2011), "The Situation of refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran", Middle East Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mehrnews.com/news/2330993/%D9%85%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D8%AE%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9|title=مهاجرت افغان‌ها برای همسایه دردسرساز شد/ سرنوشت خاکستری اتباع خارجی در مشهد|date=1 January 2017|work=خبرگزاری مهر – اخبار ایران و جهان – Mehr News Agency|access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref>

==Economy== [[File:Firoozeh.jpg|thumb|Turquoise, one of the products of Mashhad{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}]]

Mashhad is Iran's second largest automobile production hub.{{cn|date=December 2025}} The city's economy is based mainly on dry fruits, salted nuts, saffron, Iranian sweets like gaz and sohaan, and precious stones.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} According to old writings and documents, the oldest existing carpet attributed to the city belongs to the reign of Shah Abbas (Abbas I of Persia). Also, there is a type of carpet, classified as Mashhad Turkbâf, which, as its name suggests, is woven by hand with Turkish knots by craftsmen who emigrated from Tabriz to Mashhad in the nineteenth century. Among other major industries in the city are the nutrition, clothing, leather, textiles, chemical, steel, metallic, and non-metallic mineral industries, construction materials factories, & the handicraft industry.

With more than 55% of all the hotels in Iran, Mashhad is the hub of tourism in the country. Religious shrines are the most powerful attractions for foreign travelers; 20 to 30 million pilgrims from Iran and more than 2 million pilgrims and tourists from elsewhere around the world came to Mashhad every year as of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/may/07/prayer-food-sex-and-water-parks-in-irans-holy-city-of-mashhad|title=Prayer, food, sex and water parks in Iran's holy city of Mashhad|work=Tehran Bureau|publisher=The Guardian|date=7 May 2015|access-date=16 June 2025}}</ref>

Unemployment, poverty, drug addiction, and theft are the most important social problems of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irandehkadeh.com/tour.cfm?id=122|title=تور مشهد – نقد و اقساط (شروع از 200,000 تومان)|website=irandehkadeh.com}}</ref>

The divorce rate in Mashhad had increased by 35 percent by 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghasednews.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%DB%8C-33/4374-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF|title=افزایش 35درصدی طلاق در مشهد|work=پایگاه خبری تحلیلی قاصد نیوز|access-date=31 December 2016|archive-date=28 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128191144/http://www.ghasednews.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%88%DB%8C-33/4374-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salamatnews.com/news/85673/-sexual%20problems-a-60-percent-divorce-of-the-Mashhad-the-way-of-increase-quality-relationship%20-Jnsy|title=مسائل جنسی عامل 60 درصد طلاق ها در مشهد است/راه های افزایش کیفیت رابطه جنسی|work=سلامت نیوز|date=30 October 2013 |access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref> Khorasan and Mashhad ranked second in violence across the country in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghasednews.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%DB%8C-5/358-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%DB%8C-%DA%86%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1|title=بعد از اعتیاد و طلاق، خشونت، سومین آسیب عمده‌ اجتماعی در مشهد|work=پایگاه خبری تحلیلی قاصد نیوز|access-date=31 December 2016|archive-date=14 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714180701/http://www.ghasednews.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%DB%8C-5/358-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%DB%8C-%DA%86%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Astan Quds Razavi=== At the same time, the city has kept its character as a goal of pilgrimage, dominated by the strength of the economic and political authority of the Astan Quds Razavi, the administration of the Shrine waqf, probably the most important in the Muslim world{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} and the largest active bonyad in Iran.<ref name="Andrew Higgins">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118072271215621679|title=Inside Iran's Holy Money Machine|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|date=2 June 2007|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> The Astan Quds Razavi is a major player in the economy of the city of Mashhad.<ref name="Bellaiguep.15">Christopher de Bellaigue, ''The Struggle for Iran'', New York Review of Books, 2007, p.15</ref> The land occupied by the shrine has grown fourfold since 1979 according to the head of the foundation's international relations department. The Shrine of Imam Reza is vaster than Vatican City.<ref name="Andrew Higgins"/> The foundation owns most of the real estate in Mashhad and rents out shop space to bazaaris and hoteliers.<ref name="Bellaiguep.15"/> The main resource of the institution is endowments, estimated to have annual revenue of $210 billion.<ref name="Hoover">[http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3020596.html Iran: Order Out of Chaos] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083553/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3020596.html |date=29 September 2007 }}</ref> Ahmad Marvi is the current Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi.

===Padideh Shandiz=== thumb|upright|Mashhad Carpet Padideh Shandiz International Tourism Development Company, an Iranian private joint-stock holding company, behaves like a public company by selling stocks despite being a joint-stock in the field of restaurants, tourism and construction,{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} with a football club (Padideh F.C.; formerly named Azadegan League club Mes Sarcheshmeh). In January 2015, the company was accused of "fraud" worth $34.3 billion, which is one eighth of the Iranian budget.<ref>{{cite web|first=Nazanin|last=Kamdar|url=http://www.roozonline.com/persian/news/newsitem/article/-b8b9b8ea45.html|title=پدیده شاندیز؛ |publisher=Rooz Online|date=6 January 2015|access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref>

===Credit institutions=== Several credit institutions have been established in Mashhad, including Samenolhojaj ({{lang|fa|مؤسسه مالی و اعتباری ثامن الحجج}}), Samenola'emmeh ({{lang|fa|مؤسسه اعتباری ثامن}}) and Melal (formerly Askariye, {{lang|fa|مؤسسه اعتباری عسکریه}}). The depositors of the first institution have faced problems in receiving cash from the institution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/455688/Economy/macroeconomics|title=پیشرفت های جدید در ساماندهی مؤسسات اعتباری/ ثامن الحجج در کدام مرحله دریافت مجوز است؟|access-date=31 December 2016|date=9 September 2015}}</ref><ref>"مجوز تغییر نام موسسه اعتباری عسکریه به موسسه ملل صادر شد". کانون بانک ها و موسسات خصوصی. بازبینی‌شده در ۱۳۹۵/۰۴/۱۰.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamejamonline.ir/online/2153846172467825587/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%85-%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%86%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%AC%D8%AC-%D9%88-%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF|title=مردم گول نخورند / موسسات ثامن‌الحجج و ثامن مجوز ندارند|work=Jamejam Online|access-date=31 December 2016|date=2 November 2015}}</ref>

===Others=== The city's International Exhibition Center is the second most active exhibition center after Tehran, which due to proximity to Central Asian countries hosts dozens of international exhibitions each year.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} Companies such as Smart-innovators in Mashhad are pioneers in electrical and computer technology.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

==Language== The language mainly spoken in Mashhad is Persian with a variating Mashhadi accent, which can at times, prove itself as a sort of dialect.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khorasan-1-ethnic-groups | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref> The Mashhadi Persian dialect is somewhat different from the standard Persian dialect in some of its tones and stresses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/29523/Overlooking-dialect-associated-with-forgetting-identity-academic|title=Overlooking dialect associated with forgetting identity: academic|date=23 August 2008}}</ref><ref>Area Handbook for Central Asia, page 77, Harvey Henry Smith, American University (Washington, D.C.) Foreign Area Studies</ref>

==Culture== [[File:Ferdowsi phoenixferdowsi.jpg|thumb|left|Relief in Tous depicting popular stories of Persian mythology, from the book of Shahnameh of Ferdowsi]]

===Religious seminaries=== [[File:Tomb-of-Ferdowsi آرامگاه-فردوسی Davoud-Davoudi 1.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Ferdowsi in Tous]] Long a center of secular and religious learning, Mashhad has been a center for the Islamic arts and sciences, as well as piety and pilgrimage. Mashhad was an educational centre, with a considerable number of Islamic schools (madrasas, the majority of them, however, dating from the later Safavid period.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} Mashhad Hawza (Persian: حوزه علمیه مشهد) is one of the largest seminaries of traditional Islamic school of higher learning in Mashhad, which was headed by Abbas Vaez-Tabasi (who was Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi board from 1979) after the revolution, and in which Iranian politician and clerics such as Ali Khamenei, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Abolghasem Khazali, Mohammad Reyshahri, Morteza Motahhari, Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, and Madmoud Halabi (the founder of Hojjatieh and Mohammad Hadi Abd-e Khodaee learned Islamic studies). The number of seminary schools in Mashhad is now thirty nine and there are an estimated 2,300 seminarians in the city.<ref>مرکز مدیریت حوزهٔ علمیهٔ خراسان، کارنمای عملکرد سال ۱۳۸۶ مرکز مدیریت حوزهٔ علمیهٔ خراسان، ج ۱، ص ۹–۱۱</ref>

The Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, named after the Iranian poet, is located here. The Madrassa of Ayatollah Al-Khoei, originally built in the seventeenth century, is the city's traditional centre for religious learning. The Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, founded in 1984, stands at the centre of town, within the shrine complex. [[File:Tomb of Nader Shah.JPG|left|thumb|Tomb of Nader Shah]] Mashhad is also home to one of the oldest libraries of the Middle-East called the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi with a history of over six centuries. There are some six million historical documents in the foundation's central library. A museum is also home to over 70,000 manuscripts from various historical eras. [[File:Khorasan great, mashhad.jpg|thumb|Central Museum of great Khorasan, Mashhad, next to Koohsangi]] The Astan Quds Razavi Central Museum, which is part of the Astan-e Quds Razavi Complex, contains Islamic art and historical artifacts. In 1976, a new edifice was designed and constructed by the Iranian architect Dariush Borbor to house the museum and the manuscripts.

In 1569 (977 H), 'Imad al-Din Mas'ud Shirazi, a physician at the Mashhad hospital, wrote the earliest Islamic treatise on syphilis, one influenced by European medical thought. Kashmar rug is a type of Persian rug indigenous to this region.

During recent years, Mashhad has been a clerical base to monitor the affairs and decisions of state. In 2015, Mashhad's clerics publicly criticized the performance of concert in Mashhad, which led to the order of cancellation of concerts in the city by Ali Jannati, the minister of culture, and then his resignation on 19 October 2016.

===Newspapers=== There are three influential newspapers in Mashhad, Khorasan (خراسان), Qods (قدس) and Shahrara (شهرآرا), which have been considered "conservative newspapers". They are three Mashhad-based daily published by and representing the views of their current and old owners: Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, Astan Quds Razavi and Mashhad Municipality, respectively.<ref name=bbcm>{{cite web|title=Guide to Iranian Media and Broadcast|url=http://www.sssup.it/UploadDocs/4528_8_Guide_to_Iranian_Media_and_Broadcast_BBC_Monitoring_resaerch_02.pdf|publisher=BBC Monitoring|access-date=12 September 2014|date=March 2007}}</ref>

===Capital of Islamic culture=== The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named Mashhad 2017's "cultural capital of the Muslim world" in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raza |first=Adeel |date=2016-10-23 |title=Tourism: ‘Pilgrimage diplomacy’ in Mashhad |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1291332 |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref> Several international events, especially entrepreneurs networking event entitled Entrepreneurs Show 2017, was organized by CODE International in collaboration with Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Khorasan Science and Technology Park, and city district government of Mashhad.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/09/16/1594475 | title=Entrepreneurs Show 2017 | publisher=Tasnim News Agency | date=7 December 2017 | access-date=7 December 2017}}</ref>

==Main sites== thumb|Khayam Street thumb|Main lake of Koohsangi Park Apart from Imam Reza shrine, there are a number of parks, the tombs of historical celebrities in nearby Tus and Nishapur, the tomb of Nader Shah and Koohsangi park. The Koohestan Park-e-Shadi Complex includes a zoo, where wild animals are kept. It is also home to the Mashhad Airbase (formerly Imam Reza airbase), jointly a military installation housing Mirage aircraft, and a civilian international airport. Khurshid castle, Vakil Abad Park, Miniature Park, Professor Bazima Science Park, Astan Quds Razavi Museum, Keshti Dome, Harunieh Dome, Bird Garden, Anthropology Museum or Mehdi Qolibek Bath, Mellat Park, Naderi Museum and Bread Museum They are other sightseeing centers of Mashhad. thumb|left|Mashhad Mellat Zana Park Some points of interest lie outside the city: the tomb of Khajeh Morad, along the road to Tehran; the tomb of Khajeh Rabi' located {{convert|6|km|abbr=off}} north of the city where there are some inscriptions by the Safavid calligrapher Reza Abbasi; and the tomb of Khajeh Abasalt, a distance of {{convert|20|km|abbr=off}} from Mashhad along the road to Neishabur (the three were all disciples of Imam Reza).

Among other sights are the tomb of the poet Ferdowsi in Tus, {{convert|24|km|abbr=off}} distance, and the summer resorts at Torghabeh, Torogh, Akhlamad, Zoshk, and Shandiz. The Shah Public Bath, built during the Safavid era in 1648, is an example of the architecture of that period.

==Transportation==

===Airport=== thumb|Domestic Flights Terminal of Mashhad International Airport Mashhad is served by the Mashhad International Airport, which handles domestic flights to Iranian cities and international flights, mostly to neighbouring Arab countries. The airbase serves jointly as a civilian airport and a military airbase.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mashhad Airbase / 14th Tactical Air Base|publisher=Global Security|date=|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/mashhad-afb.htm}}</ref> During the June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran, it was reported on 15 June that the Israeli Air Force bombed an aerial refueling plane at the airport.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=In 'most distant strike,' Israeli Air Force bombs Iranian plane at Mashhad Airport in northeast Iran |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-air-force-bombed-iranian-refueling-plane-at-mashhad-airport-idf-confirms/ |access-date=2025-06-15 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US}}</ref>

The airport is the country's second-busiest after Tehran Mehrabad Airport and above Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jul/1200.html|title=Photos: Airplane Overhaul Facility in Mashhad, Eastern Iran|website=payvand.com|access-date=8 November 2012|archive-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415025355/http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jul/1200.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As of 2015 it was connected to 57 destinations and had frequent flights to 30 cities within Iran and 27 destinations in the Central Asia, the Middle East, East Asia and Europe.<ref>[http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jul/1200.html Photos: Airplane Overhaul Facility in Mashhad, Eastern Iran] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415025355/http://www.payvand.com/news/12/jul/1200.html |date=15 April 2015 }}. Payvand.com.</ref>

===Rail=== thumb|Mashhad railway station

thumb|Locating for Mashhad railway station construction in 1954

Mashhad railway station has Local, Regional, InterRegio, and InterRegio-Express services. The station is owned by IRI Railways and has daily services from most parts of the country, plus two suburban services. The building was designed by Heydar Ghiai. Mashhad is connected to three major rail lines: Tehran-Mashhad, Mashhad-Bafq (running south), and Mashhad-Sarakhs at the border with Turkmenistan. Some freight trains continue from Sarakhs towards Uzbekistan and to Kazakhstan, but have to change bogies because of the difference in Rail gauge. Cargo and passenger rail services are provided or operated by RAJA Rail Transportation Co.,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://raja.ir/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030205084022/http://raja.ir/|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 February 2003|title=Islamic Republic of Iran Railways|website=raja.ir}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://rai.ir/|title=Rah-Ahan (Railway) of Iran (R.A.I) or national railway company|website=rai.ir|access-date=26 November 2021|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010144739/https://www.rai.ir/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Joopar Co.,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.joopar.com/|title=Joopar Rail Co|website=www.joopar.com}}</ref> and Fadak Trains Co.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fadaktrains.com/|title=Fadak Trains Co|website=www.fadaktrains.com|access-date=26 November 2021|archive-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203030759/https://www.fadaktrains.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A new service from Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, to Mashhad, Iran, was launched in December 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hakimiyyet.az/eng/index.php/2017/01/06/nakhchivan-mashhad-train-schedule-to-be-optimized-azerbaijan/ |title=Nakhchivan-Mashhad train schedule to be optimized: Azerbaijan | Hakimiyyet |access-date=14 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116162325/http://hakimiyyet.az/eng/index.php/2017/01/06/nakhchivan-mashhad-train-schedule-to-be-optimized-azerbaijan/ |archive-date=16 January 2017 }}</ref>

In April of 2025, Iran and Turkmenistan agreed to start a cross-border passenger train linking Mashhard and Merv, Turkmenistan's capital, with the goal of strengthening economic ties.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-17 |title=Israel Strikes Mashhad, an Iranian City Near Turkmenistan and a Hub for Central Asia Trade - The Times Of Central Asia |url=https://timesca.com/israel-strikes-mashhad-an-iranian-city-near-turkmenistan-and-a-hub-for-central-asia-trade/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Railway & Subway=== {{main|Mashhad Light Rail}}

Mashhad Urban Railway Corporation (MURCO) is constructing metro and light rail system for the city of Mashhad which includes four lines with {{convert|84.5|km|abbr=off}} length. Mashhad Urban Railway Operation Company (MUROC)<ref name="metro.mashhad.ir">{{cite web |url=https://metro.mashhad.ir/ |title=شرکت بهره برداری قطارشهری مشهد :: |publisher=Metro.mashhad.ir |date= |access-date=2022-03-16 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916150202/http://www.metro.mashhad.ir/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> is responsible for the operation of the lines. The LRT line has been operational since 21 February 2011 with {{convert|19.5|km|abbr=off}} length and 22 stations<ref name="metro1"> {{cite news |url=http://www.farsnews.ir/newstext.php?nn=8912020113 |script-title=fa:قطار شهري مشهد به صورت آزمايشي به بهره‌برداري رسيد |agency=Fars News Agency |date=21 February 2011 |access-date=29 July 2011 |language=fa}}</ref> and is connected to Mashhad International Airport from early 2016. The total length of line 1 is 24 kilometers and has 24 stations. the current headway in peak hours is 4.5 minutes. thumb|Panoramic perspective of Vakilabad LRTs [[File:Mashhad Metro 1399082709555414321625154.jpg|thumb|Mashhad Light Rail]] The second line which is a metro line with 14.5  km length and 13 stations. line 2 construction was planned to finish in early 2020. The first phase of line 2 with 8 kilometers and 7 stations is started on 21 February 2017. On 20 March two stations were added to the network in test operational mode and the first interchange station was added to the network. On 7 May 2018, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took part in the inauguration ceremony of the first Mashhad Urban Railway interchange station, "Shariati", which connects line 1 and 2.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://metro.mashhad.ir/news/5596671-.html/ |title= اتصال خط یک و دو قطارشهری مشهد با حضور رییس جمهور |publisher= MUROC |access-date= 8 May 2018 |archive-date= 1 December 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181201152200/https://metro.mashhad.ir/news/5596671-.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> in 27 July shahid Kaveh station operation began and the length of the operational part of line 2 reached to 13.5 kilometers. On 18 November 2019 Alandasht station Began operative. Currently, line 2 operates every day with 13.5 km and 11 stations from 6 am to 10 pm, and the current headway is 10 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://metro.mashhad.ir/news/5596717-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA-%D8%AE%D8%B7-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AC%D8%A7-%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%AF.html/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210926193521/https://metro.mashhad.ir/news/5596717-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA-%D8%AE%D8%B7-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AC%D8%A7-%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%AF.html/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 26 September 2021 |title= ساعت کاری خط دو قطار شهری مشهد افزایش یافت/خط دو می تواند ۷۰ هزار مسافر جابجا کند |publisher= MUROC |access-date= 8 May 2018 }}</ref> Currently Mashhad Urban Railway Operation Company (MUROC)<ref name="metro.mashhad.ir"/> operates 2 lines with 37.5 kilometers length and 35 stations. Tunnel excavation of line 3 has begun and more than 14 kilometers of tunnel excavation is done using two Tunnel Boring Machines<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.mashhad.ir/index.php?module=cdk&func=loadmodule&system=cdk&sismodule=user/content_view.php&sisOp=view&ctp_id=2&cnt_id=7030375&id=180249|title=شرکت بهره برداری قطارشهری مشهداخباراخبار شرکت بهره برداری قطارشهری مشهد|access-date=6 August 2019|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926193322/https://metro.mashhad.ir/index.php?module=cdk&func=loadmodule&system=cdk&sismodule=user/content_view.php&sisOp=view&ctp_id=2&cnt_id=7030375&id=180249|url-status=dead}}</ref> and operation of the first phase of line 3 was expected to start in 2021. Tunnel Excavation of line 4 was going to start in summer 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://murco.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=36&ctl=Details&mid=1567&ItemID=663|title=قطار شهری مشهد > صفحه نخست|access-date=28 July 2019|archive-date=27 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827183007/http://murco.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=36|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Road=== Road 95 links Mashhad south to Torbat-e Heydarieh and Birjand. Road 44 goes west towards Shahrud and Tehran. Road 22 travels northwest towards Bojnurd. Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is 220 km away and is accessible via Road 22 (AH78). thumb|right|Cable Intersection at Imam Hossein square

===Bus=== Mashhad operates a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system designed to improve traffic flow and mobility within the city. These lines provide direct transport to the Imam Reza Shrine.thumb|BRT line [[File:Imam Reza Bus Station (1).jpg|thumb|Imam Reza bus terminus]]

==Government and politics== ===Astan Quds=== Astan Quds which controls the shrine- the tourism driver- is a wealthy tax exempt religious/political organization. It is recommended to reduce poverty in city a Bazaar be opened by poor people in a courtyard.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5856269/%DA%86%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A2%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3-%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%88%DB%8C | title=چند پیشنهاد به آستان قدس رضوی | date=7 August 2023 }}</ref>

===Members of Parliament=== Mashhad's current members of parliament are described as politicians with fundamentalist conservative tendencies, who are mostly the members of Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, an Iranian principlist political group. They were elected to the Parliament on 26 February 2016.

===Members of Assembly of Experts=== Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi and Ahmad Alamolhoda are two members of the Iranian Assembly of Experts from Mashhad. Hashemi Shahroudi is currently First Vice-chairman of the Iranian Assembly of Experts.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.khobregan.ir/en/MajlesMemberView.html?ItemID=3353| title = Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (First vice chairman)| publisher = Official website of the Assembly of Experts – Management Committee of [the] Assembly of Experts| access-date = 9 June 2016 }}</ref> He was the Head of Iran's Judiciary from 1999 until 2009 who upon accepting his position, appointed Saeed Mortazavi, a well known fundamentalist and controversial figure during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's reelection, prosecutor general of Iran.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=41147|title=.:Middle East Online::Feared Iranian prosecutor falls from grace:.|website=middle-east-online.com|access-date=28 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708083934/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=41147|archive-date=8 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was supported by Mashhad's reformists as the candidate of the Fifth Assembly on 26 February 2016.

===City Council and mayor=== {{main|Islamic City Council of Mashhad}}

In 2013, an Iranian principlist political group, Front of Islamic Revolution Stability (which is partly made up of former ministers of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2735fedc-5e09-11e1-8c87-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2735fedc-5e09-11e1-8c87-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=Hardline group emerges as Iran poll threat|last1=Bozorgmehr |first1=Najmeh |date=23 February 2012 |work=Financial Times|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> gained a landslide victory in Mashhad City Council,<ref name="Khabar Online2">{{cite web|url=http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/299598/society/5184|title=سهم گروه‌های سیاسی از چهارمین انتخابات شورای شهر در تهران و ۸ شهر بزرگ |date=July 2013|publisher=Khabar Online|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> which on 23 September 2013, elected Seyed Sowlat Mortazavi as mayor, who was former governor of the province of South Khorasan and the city of Birjand.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=fa:سید صولت مرتضوی شهردار مشهد شد "Seyed Soulat Mortazaví, alcalde de Mashhad"|url=http://khabaronline.ir/detail/314341/society/urban|publisher=Khabar Online|date=23 September 2013|access-date=11 November 2013|agency=Fars News|language=fa}}</ref> The municipality's budget amounted to 9600 billion Toman in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mashhadnews.org/Pages/News-652.aspx|title=رسانه‌ها هر جا تخلف دیدند، فریاد بزنند|website=mashhadnews.org|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220161506/http://www.mashhadnews.org/Pages/News-652.aspx|archive-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>

==Universities and colleges== '''Universities''' * [http://en.um.ac.ir/ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad] * [http://ic.um.ac.ir/index.php?lang=fa Ferdowsi University of Mashhad – International Campus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322101901/http://ic.um.ac.ir/index.php?lang=fa |date=22 March 2017 }} * [http://www.golbaharusnt.ac.ir/ Golbahar University of Science and New Technology] * [http://www.imamreza.ac.ir/ Imam Reza International University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305185852/http://www.imamreza.ac.ir/ |date=5 March 2018 }} * [http://golbahar.mshdiau.ac.ir/index.php/fa/home Islamic Azad University of Khorasan – Golbahar International Campus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312122904/http://golbahar.mshdiau.ac.ir/index.php/fa/home |date=12 March 2017 }} * [http://en.mshdiau.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Mashhad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411055043/http://en.mshdiau.ac.ir/ |date=11 April 2017 }} * [http://www.khayyam.ac.ir/ Khayyam University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305205033/http://www.khayyam.ac.ir/ |date=5 March 2007 }} * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324122434/http://www.mums.ac.ir/newmums/ |title=Mashhad University of Medical Sciences |date=24 March 2017}} * [http://www.pnum.ac.ir/ Payame Noor University of Mashhad] * [http://www.razavi.ac.ir/ Razavi University of Islamic Sciences] * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507190216/http://www.sadjad.ac.ir/Default.aspx |title=Sadjad University of Technology |date=7 May 2010}} * Sama College of Mashhad (Islamic Azad University of Mashhad) * Sport Sciences Research Institute of Iran

'''Colleges''' * [http://mashhad.miu.ac.ir/ Al Mustafa International University] * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607223422/http://alzahramit.edu.tvu.ac.ir/ |title=Alzahra Girls Technical and Vocational College of Mashhad (Technical and Vocational University) |date=7 June 2013}} * [http://www.armanrazavi-ihe.ac.ir/ Arman Razavi Girls Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.asrar.ac.ir/ Asrar Institute of Higher Education] * [http://attar.ac.ir/ Attar Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.baharihe.ac.ir/ Bahar Institute of Higher Education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011085320/http://www.baharihe.ac.ir/ |date=11 October 2017 }} * [http://binaloud.ac.ir/ Binalood Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.miras-uast.ir/khorasan/default Cultural Heritage, Hand Crafts, and Tourism Higher Education Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://eqbal.ac.ir/ Eqbal Lahoori Institute of Higher Education] * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506205743/http://ferdowsmashhad.ac.ir/fa/ |title=Ferdows Institute of Higher Education |date=6 May 2015}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130806231542/http://hakimtoos.ac.ir/ Hakim Toos Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.hri.ac.ir/ Hekmat Razavi Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.jdm.ac.ir/ Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, Mashhad Branch (Jahad Daneshgahi of Mashhad)] * [http://razavi.itvhe.ac.ir/HomePage.aspx?TabID=8877&Site=razavi.itvhe.ac&Lang=fa-IR Jahad Keshavarzi Higher Education Center of Khorasan Razavi (Shahid Hashemi Nejad)] * [http://www.kavian.ac.ir/ Kavian Institute of Higher Education] * [http://kharazmi-azad.ir/ Kharazmi Azad Institute of Higher Education of Khorasan] * [http://www.khi.ac.ir/ Khavaran Institute of Higher Education] * [http://motahar.ac.ir/ Kheradgarayan Motahar Institute of higher education] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190524142408/http://khorasan.ac.ir/ Khorasan Institute of Higher Education] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170323054855/http://www.unlaw.ir/ Khorasan Razavi Judiciary Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://kmtc.ir/ Khorasan Razavi Municipalities' Institute of Research, Education, and Consultation of (University of Science and Technology)] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170320233344/http://aitc-uast.ac.ir/ Mashhad Aviation Industry Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://matc.ir/ Mashhad Aviation Training Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://farhangohonar1.ir/ Mashhad Culture and Art Center 1 (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://j-q-quran.ir/ Mashhad Koran Reciters Society] * [http://danesh1251.blog.ir/ Mashhad Prisons Organization Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://www.uastmt.ir/ Mashhad Tax center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://h-navvab.ir/fa/ Navvab Higher Clerical School] * [http://www.pluast.com/ Part Tyre Center (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://rcs-khr.ir/sub/ac/ac.aspx Red Crescent Society of Khorasan Razavi (University of Science and Technology)] * [http://www.salman.ac.ir/ Salman Institute of Higher Education] * [http://samen.cfu.ac.ir/ Samen Teacher Training Center of Mashhad (Farhangian University)] * [http://www.samenmashhadtc.ac.ir/ Samen Training Center of Mashhad (Technical and Vocational University)] * [http://sanabad.ac.ir/ Sanabad Golbahar Institute of Higher Education] * [http://pbm.cfu.ac.ir/ Shahid Beheshti Teacher Training College (Farhangian University)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426135106/http://pbm.cfu.ac.ir/ |date=26 April 2017 }} * [http://phd.cfu.ac.ir/ Shahid Hashemi Nejad Teacher Training College (Farhangian University)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226191626/http://phd.cfu.ac.ir/ |date=26 February 2016 }} * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815182728/http://kamyab.razaviedu.ir/ |title=Shahid Kamyab Teacher Training Center |date=15 August 2012}} * {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20151017100903/http://montazeri.tvu.ac.ir/ |title=Shahid Montazari Technical Faculty (Technical and Vocational University) |date=17 October 2015}} * [http://www.shandiz.ac.ir/ Shandiz Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.mias.ir/members/show/fa/121 Khorasan Razavi Taavon Center (University of Science and Technology)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323052646/http://www.mias.ir/members/show/fa/121 |date=23 March 2017 }} * [http://www.tabaran.ac.ir/ Tabaran Institute of Higher Education] * [http://toos.ac.ir/ Toos Institute of Higher Education] * [http://www.toosporcelain.com/News/default.aspx Toos Porcelain Center (University of Science and Technology)] * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323053415/http://varastegan.ac.ir/index.php/fa/ |title=Varastegan Medical Sciences Institute of Higher Education |date=23 March 2017}} * [http://www.ieht.ac.ir/index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid=1&pageid=159 Khorasan Water and Electricity Industry Center (University of Science and Technology)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323055107/http://www.ieht.ac.ir/index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid=1&pageid=159 |date=23 March 2017 }} * [http://mashhadkargar.ir/website/ Workers' House; Mashhad Branch (University of Science and Technology)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323053502/http://mashhadkargar.ir/website/ |date=23 March 2017 }}

==Sports== [[File:Imam Reza Stadium 2.jpg|thumb|Imam Reza Stadium]] thumb|Iran's Offroad Racing Championship - Mashhad thumb|Padideh Khorasan FC

===Major sport teams=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+  |- ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" | Established |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | F.C. Aboomoslem | {{center|Iran Pro League}} | Football | Takhti Stadium | {{center|1907}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Shahr Khodro F.C. | {{center|Iran Pro League}} | Football | Imam Reza Stadium | {{center|2007}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Siah Jamegan F.C. | {{center|Iran Pro League}} | Football | Takhti Stadium | {{center|1970}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Samen Mashhad BC | {{center|Iranian Basketball Super League}} | Basketball | Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex | {{center|2011}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Mizan Khorasan VC | {{center|Iranian Volleyball Super League}} | Volleyball | Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex | {{center|2010}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Farsh Ara Mashhad FSC | {{center|Iranian Futsal Super League}} | Futsal | Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex | {{center|1994}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Ferdosi Mashhad FSC | {{center|Iranian Futsal Super League}} | Futsal | Shahid Beheshti Sport Complex | {{center|2011}} |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal;" | Rahahan Khorasan W.C. | {{center|Iranian Premier Wrestling League}} | Freestyle wrestling | Mohammad Ali Sahraei Hall<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.razavisport.ir/news/show_detail.asp?id=668|title=هیات کشتی استان خراسان رضوی|publisher=Razavisport.ir|access-date=12 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722015512/http://www.razavisport.ir/news/show_detail.asp?id=668|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> | {{center|1995}} |}

===Other sports=== thumb|Grand Prix Cycling of Mashhad City was host to 2009 Junior World Championships in sitting volleyball where Iran's junior team won gold.

Wrestling is a sport in this city. Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals have a special place in Mashhad and is one of the most important zoorkhaneh in Iran in Mashhad.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-05 |title=هیات باستانی |url=http://sport.aqr.ir/Portal/home/?3468/%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=ISNA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305054607/http://sport.aqr.ir/Portal/home/?3468/%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>

Mashhad cycling track was introduced in 2011 as the most equipped cycling track in Iran; Car racing track, motorcycle track and motocross track, three skating rinks, ski track and equestrian track in Mashhad are other sports tracks in Mashhad. The first golf course in Iran is located in the Samen complex of Mashhad.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-14 |title=داوري:پيست مشهد تاثير بسزايي در رشد دوچرخه سواري خواهد داشت |url=http://www.cfi.ir/d.asp?id=26629 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=CFI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814162900/http://www.cfi.ir/d.asp?id=26629 |archive-date=14 August 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=احداث اولین زمین گلف کشور |url=https://www.asriran.com/fa/news/42530 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=AsrIran |language=fa}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" caption="Some photos of Mashhad (The City of Paradise)"> File:Vakilabad Highway.jpg|Mashhad at night File:RezaShrine.jpg|Imam Reza shrine File:Ferdowsi tomb4.jpg|Ferdowsi Tomb File:Tomb of Nader Shah - Mashhad 3.jpg|Tomb of Nader Shah Afshar File:Koohsagi1.jpg|Koohsangi File:OLOOM1.JPG|Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad File:Prodows Building 1.jpg|Ferdowsi Museum File:الماس شرق - panoramio.jpg|Almas Shargh (East Diamond) Shopping Center File:Ferdowsi's self-narration at the end of his life.jpg|Ferdowsi's self-narration at the end of his life File:Homa Watch of Mashhad.jpg|Homa Watch File:Statue Sq. of Mashhad (3).jpg|Former Statue Sq. element File:Mashhad Arman Mal (10).jpg|Mashhad Arman Mall File:(((پدیده شاندیز))) - panoramio.jpg|Padideh Shandiz Tourism Center File:Mashhad Arman Mal (14).jpg|Mashhad Arman Mall File:Mellat park.jpg|Mellat Park File:Kang, Razavi Khorasan Iran (1).jpg|Kang countryside File:Shashlik.jpg|Sheshlik, part of Iranian cuisine in Mashhad File:SaffMHD.jpg|Mashhad is the major trade center of saffron in Iran. File:Stone carving art of Mashhad.jpg|Stone carving art File:Mashhad Metro (7).jpg|A Masterpiece in Mashhad metro station File:Negare (Statues)(7).jpg|Fereydoon Seddiqi's prominent stone motifs File:Zal & Simorgh (1).jpg|Zaal & Simorgh Story File:(Shah - Emam) Reza 1.jpg|Emam Reza Historic Hospital File:Stmesropchurch.jpg|St. Mesrop Armenian church in Mashhad File:Haruniyeh.JPG|Haruniyeh Dome in Tous File:Malekshouse.jpg|Malek's House in Mashhad File:خا��ه ی تاریخی داروغه.JPG|Daroogheh Historical House File:Mashhad Firefighter's Parade 02.jpg|Mashhad Firefighter's Parade File:Mashhad Firefighter's Parade 05.jpg|Mashhad Firefighter's Parade File:00 Traffic playground in Mashhad Iran 3.jpg|Bike lane of Mashhad File:Mashhad Airport by Tasnimnews 05.jpg|Mashhad Airport Terminal File:Mashhad Airport by Tasnimnews 13.jpg|Mashhad Intl. Airport File:کوهسنگی مشهد.jpg|TV Square File:Mashhad entrance at the end of Nouroz holidays 07.jpg|Imam Hossein Square and Kalaat Road File:UrbanRailwayMSHD.jpg|Mashhad Urban Railway File:Mashhad Metro 2020-05-26 16.jpg|Mashhad Metro File:AltonTower-14.jpg|Alton Tower File:TousMuseum2.jpg|Tous Museum near Mashhad File:Shandiz2.jpg|Shandiz, a tourist town near Mashhad File:IranianHandicrafts.JPG|Some Iranian Handicrafts (metalwork) in Torghabeh File:Mashhadcountryside.jpg|Mashhad's countryside File:Pistols - Afsharid Empire.JPG|Pistols from Afsharid Empire era at Naderi Museum File:Mashhad Metro Shariati Station 2.jpg|Mashhad Metro (LRT) Station File:Mashhad Metro (Basij Station).jpg|Mashhad Metro entrance and urban design File:آرامگاه خواجه ربیع (3).jpg|Al-Rabi ibn Khuthaym (Khajeh Rabie Tomb) File:Mashad masjed khiyaboon.jpg|A mosque in Mashhad File:Goharshad2.jpg|Goharshad Mosque, Abbasid Ivan in Atiq yard File:Goharshad-mosque-mashhad-IRAN.jpg|Goharshad Mosque File:Kang, Razavi Khorasan Iran (7).jpg|Kang countryside File:Mashhad entrance at the end of Nouroz holidays 08.jpg File:Mashhad entrance at the end of Nouroz holidays 03.jpg File:Mashhad entrance at the end of Nouroz holidays 05.jpg File:Mashhad entrance at the end of Nouroz holidays 01.jpg File:Koore-Rastegar (3).jpg|Oven of Rastgar Moqaddam File:Mashhad Solar Power Plant (3).jpg|Mashhad Solar Power Plant File:Mashhad Farabi Hospital.jpg|Mashhad Farabi Hospital File:Tulips in Mellat park of Mashhad 2020-04-10 04.jpg|Tulips in Mellat Park File:پارک ملت(به یاد عکس گذشته)دNation Park - panoramio.jpg|Mellat Park File:Night shot of MellatPark.jpg|Night shot of Mellat Park File:Mashhad Metro 2020-05-26 11.jpg|Metro boarding card charging area File:Mashhad botanic garden 20190520 05.jpg|Mashhad Botanic Garden File:Mashhad botanic garden 20190520 02.jpg File:Mashhad DSC00409.JPG|Almas Shargh Shopping Center File:Shetab1400.jpg|Mashhad Electric bus named Shetab File:00 Traffic playground in Mashhad Iran.jpg|Traffic playground to learn kids traffic rules File:Snow in Mashhad - 17 December 2012 11.jpg|Snow in Mashhad, December 2012 </gallery>

{{wide image|Mashhad City in the morning.jpg|600px| A view of Mashhad from Koohsangi}}

==Mashhad as capital of Iran and independent Khorasan== The following Shahanshahs had Mashhad as their capital:

{{div col|colwidth=12em}} * Kianid Dynasty * Malek Mahmoud Sistani 1722–1726 * Afsharid dynasty * Nader Shah * Adil Shah * Ebrahim Afshar * Shahrukh Afshar * Nadir Mirza of Khorasan * Safavid dynasty * Soleyman II * Autonomous Government of Khorasan

==Notable people from Mashhad and Toos== {{see also|Category:People from Mashhad}}

===Artists===

<gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran 3 (cropped).jpg|Abolghasem Ferdowsi Pazh, author of one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the greatest epic of Persian speaking countries </gallery>

=== Music === <gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:Mohamdreza Shajarian.jpg|Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Siyavash Bidgani), singer-songwriter. He received the Picasso Award, UNESCO Mozart Medal, and National Order of Merit (France). File:Darya Dadvar.jpg|Darya Dadvar, soprano soloist and composer File:25BAND_by_Pouria_Afkhami_aka_pixoos_ADEL_and_TAMIN.png|Tamin and A-del in 25 (Toos) band </gallery>

=== Cinema === <gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:Ovanes Ohanian.jpg|Ovanes Ohanian, Director File:Young Amir Ghavidel.jpg|Amir Ghavidel, Art Director File:Mehdi Sabbaghzadeh.jpg|Mehdi Sabbagh zade, Director, screenwriter and producer File:Kourosh Ahari.jpg|Kourosh Ahari, Director, screenwriter and producer File:Mohammad Motie 20100924 06.jpg|Mohammad Motie, actor File:Reza Kianian 2019.jpg|Reza Kianian, actor File:Anoushirvan Arjmand.jpg|Anoushirvan Arjmand, actor File:Reza Attaran 13970619000020636721371289673248 15159 (cropped).jpg|Reza Attaran, actor File:Borzou Arjmand at his father funeral ceremony.jpg|Borzoo Arjmand, actor File:Mitra-Hajjar.jpg|Mitra Hajjar, actress File:Sareh Bayat 1 (cropped).jpg|Sare Bayaat, actress File:Hamed Behdad 2020.jpg|Hamed Behdad, actor File:Hamid Reza Sadr.jpg|Hamid Reza Sadr, film and football critic and journalist File:Pori 5.jpg|Homayun, actor File:Mohammad.shiri.jpg|Mohammad Shiri, actor File:Dariush Arjmand 1399040210415056720639584.jpg|Dariyush Arjmand, actor </gallery>

<gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:ایران درودی- Iran Darroudi.jpg|Iran Darroodi, Surreal painter File:رضا رفیع.jpg|Reza Rafi', poet </gallery> * 25band, both singers born in Mashhad; Pop Group formed in 2010 * Abdi Behravanfar, born June 1975 in Mashhad; singer, guitar player and singer-songwriter * Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia, born 19 April 1971; musician/dj (co-founder of Deep Dish) * Amir Ghavidel, March 1947 – November 2009; director and script writer * Anoushirvan Arjmand, actor * Dariush Arjmand, actor * Hamed Behdad, born 17 November 1973 in Mashhad; actor * Hamid Motebassem, born 1958 in Mashhad; musician and tar and setar player * Homayoun Shajarian, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian's son, born 21 May 1975; renowned Persian classical music vocalist, as well as a Tombak and Kamancheh player * Iran Darroudi, born 2 September 1936 in Mashhad; artist * Javad Jalali, born 30 May 1977 in Mashhad; photographer and cinematographer * Mahdi Bemani Naeini, born 3 November 1968; film director, cinematographer, TV cameraman and photographer * Marshall Manesh, born 16 August 1950 in Mashhad; Iranian-American actor * Mitra Hajjar, born 4 February 1977; actress * Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, born 23 September 1940 in Mashhad; Persian traditional singer, composer and Master (Ostad) of Persian music * Mohsen Namjoo, born 1976 in Torbat-e-Jaam; singer-songwriter, author, musician and setar player * Navid Negahban, born 2 June 1968 in Mashhad; Iranian-American actor * Noureddin Zarrinkelk, born 1937 in Mashhad; animator, concept artist, editor, graphic designer, illustrator, layout artist, photographer, script writer and sculptor * Ovanes Ohanian, ?–1961 Tehran; Armenian-Iranian filmmaker who established the first film school in Iran * Pouran Jinchi, born 1959 in Mashhad; Iranian-American artist * Rafi Pitts, born 1967 in Mashhad; film director * Reza Attaran, born 31 March 1968 in Mashhad; actor and director * Reza Kianian, born 17 July 1951 in Mashhad; actor * Shahin Ebrahimzadeh-Pezeshki, born 1958 in Mashhad; Persian textile and costume art historian, historian of tribal costumes, textile artist, author, researcher and curator * Hamed Soltani born Mashhad, Iran is an producer, television presenter, and director.

===Entrepreneurs=== <gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:AnoushehAnsari.jpg|Anousheh Ansari Iranian-American engineer, co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI), sponsor of the Ansari X Prize </gallery> * Anousheh Ansari, born 12 September 1966; the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc., and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program * Hossein Sabet, businessman and Persian carpet dealer who owns Sabet International Trading Co. * Mahmoud Khayami, born 1930 in Mashhad, Iran; Iranian born industrialist and philanthropist, of French nationality

===Sports=== <gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:Heshmat Mohajerani.jpg|Heshmat Mohajerani, footballer and former football manager File:Maryam Sedarati 1974.jpg|Maryam Sedaarati, athlete File:Rasoul Khadem 2016 Summer Olympics.jpg|Rasoul Khadem, wrestling coach File:Javad Mahjoub.jpg|Javad Mahjoob File:Khodadad Azizi 03.jpg|Khodadad Azizi File:Reza Ghoochannejhad in 2014.jpg|Reza Ghoochannejhad Frahad Zarif-2014.jpg|Farhad Zarif, volleyball player </gallery> * Abbas Chamanyan, born 10 May 1963 in Mashhad, football coach, manager and former player * Ali Baghbanbashi, athlete * Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht, born 30 June 1980 in Mashhad professional football player * Amir Ghaseminejad, born 11 September 1985 in Mashhad, judoka * Amir Reza Khadem, born 10 February 1970 in Mashhad, wrestler * Farhad Zarif, born 3 March 1983, volleyballer * Ghodrat Bahadori, born 4 February 1990, futsaler/indoor soccer player * Hamed Afagh, born 1 February 1983, basketballer * Hamid Reza Mobarez, born 18 February 1981, swimmer * Heshmat Mohajerani, born January 1936 in Mashhad, Iran; football coach, manager and former player * Hossein Badamaki, born 13 September 1981, professional football player * Hossein Tayyebi, futsaler/indoor soccer player * Javad Mahjoub, judoka * Khodadad Azizi, born 22 June 1971 in Mashhad, Iran; retired professional football striker * Kia Zolgharnain, born 10 November 1965, Iranian-American former futsaler/indoor soccer player Kourosh Khani, racing driver * Mahdi Javid, born 3 May 1987, futsaler/indoor soccer player * Majid Khodaei, born 26 August 1978, wrestler * Maryam Sedarati, born 1 June 1950, athlete. Iran record holder in women high jump for three decades. * Masoud Haji Akhondzadeh, born 29 April 1978, judoka * Mohammad Khadem, 7 September 1935 – 24 November 2020, wrestler * Mohammad Mansouri, professional football player * Mohsen Torki, football referee * Rasoul Khadem, born 17 February 1972 in Mashhad; wrestler * Reza Enayati, born 23 September 1976, professional football player * Reza Ghoochannejhad, born 20 September 1987, Iranian-Dutch professional football player * Rouzbeh Arghavan, born 18 May 1988, basketballer

===Religious and political figures=== <gallery> File:Ali Khamenei crop.jpg|Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran File:Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei, 10 April 2026 (cropped).jpg|Mojtaba Khamenei, the current supreme leader of Iran File:Seyed Ebrahim Raisi.jpg|Ebrahim Raisi, the former president of Iran File:Mohammmad Bagher Ghalibaf 2025.jpg|Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current speaker of the Parliament of Iran File:Abdolhossein Teymourtash.jpg|Abdolhossein Teymourtash, the first minister of the royal court of the Pahlavi era </gallery> * Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, 25 June 1935 – 4 March 2016; Grand Imam and Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi board * Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, born 1959 in Shirvan; Interior Minister of President Hassan Rouhani * Abu Muslim Khorasani, {{circa|700}}–755; Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khorasani, Abbasid general of Persian origin * Al-Ghazali, 1058–1111; Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher, cosmologist, psychologist and mystic of Persian origin * Al-Hurr al-Aamili, Shia scholar and muhaddith * Ali al-Sistani, born approximately August 4, 1930; Twelver Shi'a marja residing in Iraq since 1951 * Ebrahim Raisi, (1960-2024), 8th President of Iran * Goharshad Begum, Persian noble and wife of Shāh Rukh, the emperor of the Timurid dynasty of Herāt * Hadi Khamenei, b. 1947; mid-ranking cleric who is a member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics * Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, born 21 March 1959 in Fariman; Minister of Health and Medical Education of President Hassan Rouhani * Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, Conservative political strategist and television personality in the Islamic Republic of Iran * Hossein Vahid Khorasani, born in 1921; Twelver Shi'a Marja * Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, born in 1947 ; wife of Ali Khamenei * Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, born January 27, 1958; former Vice President of Iran and a close associate of former reformist President Khatami * Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, born 23 August 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad; the former Mayor of Tehran and current Speaker of Parliament * Mohammad-Kazem Khorasani, 1839–1911; Twelver Shi'a Marja, Persian (Iranian) politician, philosopher and reformer * Morteza Motahhari, 31 January 1919 in Fariman – 1 May 1979; cleric, philosopher, lecturer and politician * Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, born February 1201 in Tūs, Khorasan – 26 June 1274 in al-Kāżimiyyah, near Baghdad; Persian of the Ismaili and subsequently Twelver Shī'ah Islamic belief * Nizam al-Mulk, 1018 – 14 October 1092; celebrated Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire * Saeed Jalili, born 1965 in Mashhad; Iranian politician and the former present secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council * Seyed Hassan Firuzabadi, current major general, Islamic Republic of Iran * Seyyed Ali Khamenei, 19 April 1939 – February 28, 2026; former president and supreme leader of Iran * Shahrukh (Timurid dynasty), August 20, 1377 – March 12, 1447; ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by the Central Asian warlord Timur (Tamerlane) * Shaykh Tusi, 385–460 A.H.; Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief * Sheikh Ali Tehrani, brother-in-law of Seyyed Ali Khamenei, currently living in Iran. He is one of the oppositions of current Iranian government.

* Abdolhossein Teymourtash, Iraninan statesman and first minister of justice under the Pahlavis * Amirteymour Kalali,Iraninan statesman * Manouchehr Eghbal, 14 October 1909 – 25 November 1977; a Prime Minister of Iran

===Scientists=== <gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2001-593 (cropped).jpg|Nasiroddin (Mohammad) Toosi Liebig Company Trading Card Ad 01.12.002 front.tif|Jaber Toosi </gallery> * Abū al-Wafā' Būzjānī, 10 June 940 – 1 July 998; Persian mathematician and astronomer * Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin, 900–971; Persian astronomer and mathematician from Khorasan * Jābir ibn Hayyān, {{circa|721|lk=no}} in Tus – {{circa|815|lk=no}} in Kufa; [polymath]], a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geographer, philosopher, physicist and pharmacist and physician * Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, born February 1201 in Tūs, Khorasan – 26 June 1274 in al-Kāżimiyyah near Baghdad; Persian of the Ismaili and subsequently Twelver Shī'ah Islamic belief * Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, 1135–1213; Persian mathematician and astronomer of the Islamic Golden Age (during the Middle Ages)

===Academics===

* Fatemeh Shams (born 1983), teaching Persian literature at the University of Pennsylvania and at Oxford University, lives in the United States

===Writers=== * Abolfazl Beyhaqi, 995–1077; a Persian historian and author * Ali Akbar Fayyaz, a renowned historian of early Islam and literary critic, founder of the School of Letters and Humanities at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad * Abu-Mansur Daqiqi, 935/942–976/980 * Abusa'id Abolkhayr, 7 December 967 – 12 January 1049 / Muharram ul Haram 1, 357 – Sha'aban 4, 440 AH; a Persian Sufi who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi tradition * Anvari, 1126–1189; Persian poet * Asadi Tusi, born in Tus, Iranian province of Khorasan, died in 1072 in Tabriz, Iran; Persian poet of Iranian national epics * Ferdowsi, 935–1020 in Tus; Persian poet * Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, 1928, Mashhad, Iran – 1990, Tehran, Iran; Persian poet * Mohammad Mokhtari (writer), writer who was murdered on the outskirts of Tehran in the course of the Chain Murders of Iran * Mohammad-Taghi Bahar, 6 November 1884, Mashhad, Iran – 22 April 1951, Tehran, Iran

<gallery class="left" widths="110" heights="140"> File:Imanian-A.jpg|Asghar Imanian, fighter pilot File:پری امید.jpg|Pari Mohammadzade Omid, Heavy vehicle driver </gallery>

==Twin towns – sister cities== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Iran}} Mashhad is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Town Twinning|url=https://en.mashhad.ir/portal_content/782528-Town-Twinning.html|website=mashhad.ir|publisher=Mashhad|access-date=2020-06-18|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027212121/http://en.mashhad.ir/portal_content/782528-Town-Twinning.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=15em}} *{{flagicon|PAK}} Karachi, Pakistan *{{flagicon|IRQ}} Karbala, Iraq *{{flagicon|MYS}} Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *{{flagicon|PAK}} Lahore, Pakistan *{{flagicon|IRQ}} Najaf, Iraq *{{flagicon|CHN}} Ürümqi, China  {{div col end}}

==Consulates==

===Active=== * {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}} (1996–) * {{flag|Pakistan}} (1975–)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Consulates/Mashhad/contents.aspx?type=statements&id=2 |title=Consulate of Pakistan in Mashhad, Iran |access-date=27 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318053039/http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Consulates/Mashhad/contents.aspx?type=statements&id=2 |archive-date=18 March 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tajik-em-mashhad.ir/|title=دفتر سفارت جمهوری تاجیکستان در مشهد|website=tajik-em-mashhad.ir|access-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523085730/http://www.tajik-em-mashhad.ir/|archive-date=23 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tajembiran.tj/en/contacts.html|title=CONTACTS – Tajik Embassy in Iran|website=tajembiran.tj}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Tajikistan_Rejects_Iranian_Offer_For_VisaFree_Regime/2035762.html|title=Tajikistan Rejects Iran Visa Offer|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=7 May 2010 }}</ref> * {{flag|Turkey}} (1919–?,1930–?, 2014–)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iran-daily.com/News/1633.html|title=Turkey opens new consulate in Iran|website=iran-daily.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy13763/|title=Consulate General of Turkey in Mashhad, Iran|website=embassypages.com}}</ref> * {{flag|Turkmenistan}} (1995–)

===Former===

{{div col|colwidth=10em}} * {{flagu|United Kingdom}} (1889–1975)<ref>Onley, James. ''The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj: Merchants, Rulers, and the British in the Nineteenth-Century Gulf''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-qjpAG9NDBoC&pg=PT51&lpg=PT51&dq=consulate%2Bmashhad p. 15]. {{ISBN|0-19-922810-8}}.</ref> * {{flag|Russian Empire|name=Russia}} (1889–1917) * {{flag|USSR}} (1917–1937, 1941–1979) * {{flag|Republic of China (1912–1949)|name=China}} (1941–?)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zamane.info/1390/05/%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%84%DA%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AC%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86/|title=کنسولگریهای خارجی در خراسان – نشریه زمانه|website=zamane.info|access-date=26 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616072326/http://zamane.info/1390/05/%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%84%DA%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AC%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86/|archive-date=16 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> * {{flagu|United States}} (1949–1979)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarikhsazan.blogfa.com/post-71.aspx|title=مرکز تحقیقاتی _ tarikhsazan|website=tarikhsazan.blogfa.com}}</ref> * {{flagicon|Poland}} Poland<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mashhadenc.ir/%da%a9%d9%86%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%84%da%af%d8%b1%db%8c-%d9%87%d8%a7-%d8%9b-%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%af%d9%85%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%88-%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%ac/|title=کنسولگری ها ؛ مستخدمان و مستشاران خارجی در مشهد|website=mashhadenc.ir}}</ref> * {{flagu|India}} * {{flagu|Japan}} * {{flagu|Jordan}} * {{flagu|Lebanon}} * {{flag|West Germany}} ({{circa|1984|lk=no}}) * {{flagu|Kazakhstan}} (1995–2009)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vazeh.com/n-3594868.html|title=واضح – سركنسولگري جمهوري قزاقستان در گرگان گلستان گشايش يافت}}</ref> * {{flagu|Saudi Arabia}} (2004–2016)<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-21961679_ITM | work=Asia Africa Intelligence Wire | title=Saudi consulate opens in Iranian city of Mashhad | date=12 July 2004}}</ref>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== {{See also|Timeline of Mashhad#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Mashhad}} * {{Citation|last1=Glazebrook|first1=Diana|last2=Abbasi-Shavazi|first2=Mohammad Jalal|year=2007|title=Being Neighbors to Imam Reza: Pilgrimage Practices and Return, Iran|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=40|issue=2|pages=187–201|doi=10.1080/00210860701269535|s2cid=162335732}} * {{Cite book | last=Zabeth | first=Hyder Reza | title=Landmarks of Mashhad | publisher=Islamic Research Foundation | location=Mashhad, Iran | year=1999 | isbn=964-444-221-0}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070609235645/http://www.mashhad.ir/ Municipality of Mashhad] Official website (in Persian) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140424000548/http://www.aqr.ir/ Astan Quds Razavi] * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050819134624/http://www.e-mashhad.ir/ |title=e-Mashhad |date=19 August 2005}} Mashhad Portal Official website (in Persian)

{{Succession box|title=Capital of Iran (Persia)| before=Isfahan|after=Shiraz|years=1736–1747}}

{{Succession box|title=Capital of Afsharid dynasty| before=-|after=-|years=1736–1796}}

Category:Mashhad Mashhad Category:Populated places in Mashhad County Category:Cities in Razavi Khorasan province Category:Iranian provincial capitals Category:Former capitals of Iran Category:Populated places along the Silk Road Category:Shia holy cities Category:Cities founded by Alexander the Great