Birjand

Birjand
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Coordinates: 32°52′N 59°12′E / 32.867, 59.2
Birjand بيرجند
Nickname: Storm city
Birjand
Government
- Mayor
Elevation	1,491 m (4,892 ft)
Population (official census in 2006)
- Total	157,848 (County:240,894),(Province:600,568)
- Density	3,697/km² (9,575.2/sq mi)
Prefix code: +98 Iran - (0)561 Birjand
Website: www.birjandcity.com/

Birjand (Persian: بیرجند) is the capital of South Khorasan province in the east Iran and the centre of the county Birjand resp. Quhestan, known for its saffron, barberry, rug and handmade carpet exports. [1] The city of Birjand had a population of 157848 people at the time of the last official census in 2006 ^[1].

The city has a dry climate with significant difference between day and night temperatures. It is a fast growing city, thus becoming a major centre in the East of Iran after Mashad and Zahedan.

1 History
2 Education
3 Transport
4 Notables from Birjand
5 See also
6 Other
7 References
8 External links

History

Cossacks in Birjand, circa 1909.

Birjand is the biggest and the most important city in the east,Iran. Birjand has emerged as the centre of Quhestan, following the decline of historical city of Qaen in the Safavid period likely due to a major earthquake^{citation needed}. Since then the AlamAlam clan had ruled the region till the end of Qajar dynasty. During the semi-autonomous ruling of Alam clan, Great Britain and Russia established consular branches in Birjand, because of the important geographical location of the region in the vicinity of the Indian subcontinent. The father of the prime minister Alam was the Amir of Quhestan's subprovince Qhaenat(Center city: Qaen) still into the Pahlavi era. And concurrent with the governor ruling, last prince of Birjand was related with the Alam clan and the Reza Shah Pahlavi. The power of the prince based from the district Moud, where it's said all people were related with him. Nevertheless, he had little political power and functioned as a speaking tube of the people generally. However Birjand lost its geopolitical importance following the emergence of Reza Shah Pahlavi and his policy of central government. The entire Quhestan region then became a part of the modern Khorasan province. The local people, however, started a movement to become an independent province at the middle of the second Pahlavi period. The move resulted after about forty years and Quhestan and particularly Birjand regained its historical importance in 2004 after official division of Khorasan to three smaller provinces by the government of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Education

It is said that the Shokatiyeh School in Birjand together with Darolfonoon in Tehran were the first public schools in Iran in the mid 1800s. Ever since then, Birjand has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education and become an important location for research and development.

The city contains such higher educational institutions as: