- Also spelled:
- Khurasan
- Major Events:
- Battle of Dandanqan
- Key People:
- al-Biruni
- Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
- Behzad
- Ghaznavid dynasty
- Abu Muslim
- Related Places:
- Afghanistan
- Iran
- Turkmenistan
Khorāsān
-
What is Khorāsān?
Khorāsān is a historical region encompassing a large area that today includes northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan. It stretched from the Amu Darya (Oxus River) westward to the Caspian Sea, and southward from the edges of the central Iranian deserts to the mountains of central Afghanistan.
The region's history dates back to ancient times, forming parts of the Achaemenian and Parthian empires. The name Khorāsān, meaning "Land of the Sun," was first given by the Sasanians. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century, the area saw a blend of Islamic and eastern Iranian cultures.
Khorāsān was home to diverse ethnic groups, including Turkmen, Kurds, Tīmūrīs, Jamshīdīs, and Baloch. The region's physical geography features mountains, salt deserts, and oases. Modern Iranian Khorāsān is largely agricultural, producing fruits, cereals, and other crops.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where was Khorāsān located in Asia?
Khorāsān was a historical region that included a large area in what is now northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan. It stretched from the Amu Darya (Oxus River) westward to the Caspian Sea in the north, and from the edges of the central Iranian deserts eastward to the mountains of central Afghanistan in the south. Arab geographers even mentioned it extending to India.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Which modern countries have land that was once part of Khorāsān?
Khorāsān was a historical region that encompassed a large area of land in what is now northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan. Some Arab geographers spoke of it extending to the boundaries of India.
The Iranian province of Khorāsān was divided into three smaller provinces in 2004, and its current Iranian frontiers were defined in 1881 and 1893.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What was daily life like for people living in Khorāsān?
Daily life in the historical region of Khorāsān was influenced by its diverse ethnic groups and geography. The population included Turkmen, Kurds, Tīmūrīs, Jamshīdīs, Ḥeydarīs, Baloch, and Iranian peoples, along with smaller groups of Berberis, Arabs, Roma, and Jews.
Agriculture was a major part of the economy, with the region producing fruits, cereals, cotton, tobacco, and saffron. Livestock were also plentiful, and products like wool and lambskins were exported. The region's climate varied, with cool summers and cold winters, and its landscape ranged from mountains to salt deserts, shaping settlement and cultivation patterns.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why was Khorāsān important in history?
Khorāsān, a historical region encompassing parts of northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan, holds significance due to its long and varied history.
The region was part of the Achaemenian and Parthian empires. The Sasanians named it Khorāsān, meaning "Land of the Sun". After the Arab conquest in the 7th century, it became a melting pot of Islamic and eastern Iranian cultures. Khorāsān later gained independence under dynasties like the Tahirids and Samanids. It was traversed by the Silk Road, linking China and the West and facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas.
Figures like Ferdowsī, author of the Shāh-nāmeh, and Omar Khayyam were born in the region, further adding to its historical importance.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the cultures and religions of Khorāsān influence the wider region?
Khorāsān, a historical region encompassing parts of northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan, served as a melting pot of cultures and religions, significantly influencing the wider region. After the Arab conquest in 651–652 CE, a fusion of Islamic and eastern Iranian cultures emerged, especially around Merv.
Persian poetry and literature flourished, with major contributions from poets and writers in the region. Sufism, Islamic mysticism, also saw a golden age in Khorāsān, with the rise of fraternal orders and the spread of mystical ideas. The syncretistic tendencies of Sufism even led to interactions with Hindu mysticism in India.
The arts in Khorāsān were also influenced by various cultures, including Greek, Roman, Indian, and Central Asian traditions. This blend of artistic conventions resulted in a distinctive style seen in sculpture, mural paintings, and decorative arts.
7 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Khorāsān, historical region and realm comprising a vast territory now lying in northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan. The historical region extended, along the north, from the Amu Darya (Oxus River) westward to the Caspian Sea and, along the south, from the fringes of the central Iranian deserts eastward to the mountains of central Afghanistan. Arab geographers even spoke of its extending to the boundaries of India.
The history of the area stretches back to very ancient times. It was part of the Achaemenian Empire of the 6th to 4th century bce and the Parthian empire, which spanned from the 3rd century bce to the 3rd century ce. (Khorāsān is sometimes loosely identified synonymously with Parthia.) Khorāsān was first named, however, by the Sasanians (beginning in the 3rd century ce), who organized their empire into four quarters (named from the cardinal points), Khorāsān being literally the “Land of the Sun.” After the Arab conquest in 651–652 ce, the name was retained both as the designation of a definite province and in a looser sense. At first the Arabs used the area as a march, or garrisoned frontier, but soon large colonies of Arabs moved in, especially around Merv, and a meld of Islamic and eastern Iranian cultures ensued. Later Khorāsān regained virtual independence under the Tahirid, Saffarid, and Samanid dynasties (821–999). Successively it formed part of the Ghaznavid, Seljuq, and Khwārezm-Shāh kingdoms but was overrun by Genghis Khan in 1220 and again by Timur (Tamerlane) about 1383. The Iranian Safavid kings (1502–1736) fought over it against Uzbek invasions. It was occupied by the Afghans from 1722 to 1730. Nāder Shāh, born in Khorāsān, broke the Afghan supremacy and made Mashhad the capital of his Iranian empire. Ferdowsī, author of the Shāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”), and Omar Khayyam, the celebrated poet and sage, were born in the region. Khorāsān’s current Iranian frontiers were defined in 1881 and in a convention of July 8, 1893. This gave form to the modern Iranian province of Khorāsān, which was split into three smaller provinces in 2004.
Khorāsān, as a result of its troubled history, is peopled by a great variety of ethnic groups: Turkmen in the northwest; Kurds around Bojnūrd and Qūchān; Tīmūrīs and Jamshīdīs (Chahar Aimak) in the east, some of whom are still nomadic; farther southwest, Ḥeydarīs; and southeast, Baloch. The highlands in the south are home to a settled population of Iranian ethnicity. Here and there are found Berberis of Mongol origin, Arabs, Roma, and a few Jews in the towns. The largest cluster of settlements and cultivation stretches around the city of Mashhad northwestward, containing the important towns of Qūchān, Shīrvān, and Bojnūrd. The languages spoken in Khorāsān include a number of Turkic and Indo-Iranian languages.
In its physical geography, the northern part of Iranian Khorāsān contains two parallel ranges: an eastern prolongation of the Elburz Mountains and an independent ridge, the Kopet-Dag. Limestones and igneous and metamorphic rocks prevail; peaks include Kūh-e Hazār Masjed (10,321 feet [3,146 metres]) and Kūh-e Bīnālūd (10,536 feet [3,211 metres]). A great salt desert, Dasht-e Kavīr, with quicksandlike marshes, enters Khorāsān from the west. Sand dunes are widespread. There are many oases, large and crowded in the north but small and isolated in the south. The southern highlands, which are known as Kohistan, have peaks reaching 7,000–9,000 feet (2,100–2,700 metres). The climate is cool in the summer and cold in the winter. The north and northwest have sufficient rainfall for grasslands and scrub forests of alder, oak, juniper, and hornbeam; the south has little vegetation. Khorāsān’s only permanent rivers are the Atrak, the Kal-e Mūreh, the Rūd-e Shūr, and the Kashaf Rūd, all more or less salty in their lower courses.
Modern Iranian Khorāsān is largely agricultural, producing fruits, cereals, cotton, tobacco, oil plants, saffron, and some silk. Livestock are plentiful; wool, lambskins, and goat hair are exported, and poultry is also raised. The mineral products include turquoise, salt, iron, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, magnesite, and coal. Cement, processed foods, ginned cotton, carded wool, sugar, pharmaceuticals, animal fodder, and textiles are the manufactured products. Handicrafts include jewelry, rugs and carpets, furs, dolls, glassware, and handloomed cloth. A railway and roads link Mashhad, a thriving city, with Iran’s capital, Tehrān.