City of Birjand

History

Birjand is the capital of South Khorasan Province. It is the first city in Iran which was equipped with a water supply network to distribute potable water among citizens. This city is the second city in Iran to have water pipe system, even before the capital of Iran, Tehran, launched this system.

Shokatieh School of Birjand was the third modern school opened in Iran after Dar ul-Funun in Tehran and Roshdieh in Tabriz. Because of the political and strategic situation of Birjand, the third airport of Iran was established in Birjand. Up until the start of World War II, English and Russian consuls used to hold office in Birjand.

Historical places of Birjand include cisterns, Band-e Darreh (Darreh Dam), Hakim Nizari Monument, Kolah Farangi (Foreign Hat Citadel), Akbarieh Mansion and Garden, Shokatieh School, and Masoumieh School.

South Khorasan is known as the “cradle of science, culture and art” in the country, and a myriad of celebrities and distinguished scholars have grown up in this area, including Allameh Abdolali Birjandi (mathematician, astronomer, and scientist), Ibn-Hisam Khusfi (epic poet), Nizari Quhistani (poet), Hakim Bouzarjmehr Qayeni (scholar, politician, poet), Abolmafakher Qayeni, professor Mohammad Hassan Ganji (Father of Modern Geography in Iran), Professor Kazem Mo’tamednezhad (Father of Communication Science in Iran), Professor Gholam-Hossein Shokoohi (Father of Education Science in Iran), Professor Mahdi Balali Mood (Father of Toxicology in Iran), Professor Badiozzaman Forouzanfar (eminent scholar of Persian literature), Professor Mohammad Esmaeil Rezvani (Father of Contemporary History of Iran), and Allameh Seyyed Gholamreza Saeedi (Islamic Scholar, Thinker and Philosopher).

The distance from Tehran to Birjand is1100 km, and the distance from Mashhad to Birjand is 490 km. It is possible to travel to Birjand by plane, bus, train, and private car.