Editing Shiraz (section)

===Early Islamic era===
Shiraz was founded or restored in 693 by [[Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi]], the brother of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] viceroy of the eastern half of the [[caliphate]], [[al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf]], or the latter's kinsman [[Muhammad ibn Qasim]].<ref>Lambton, p. 472.</ref><ref name="Limbert4">Limbert, p. 4.</ref> The Arab Muslim army had conquered the wider region of [[Fars province|Fars]], where the site of Shiraz is located, in several expeditions launched from their garrison town of [[Basra]] between 640 and 653, and specifically captured the immediate area around Shiraz early on, in 641. This area did not possess any cities, though there were a number of forts which were forced to pay tribute to the Arabs.<ref name="Limbert6">Limbert, p. 6.</ref> The Sasanians held firm in [[Istakhr]], their capital in Fars, until the Arabs captured it in a heavy battle in 653, during which the plain of Shiraz had been utilized as an Arab campground.<ref name="Limbert6" /> Because of [[Istakhr]]'s deep association with the Sasanian Empire and the [[Zoroastrian]] religion, the [[Arabs]] sought to establish in nearby Shiraz a rival cultural and administrative center.<ref name="Limbert6" /> Thus, during its initial founding in 693, the city was planned to be much larger than [[Isfahan]].<ref name="Limbert6" /> However, the initial ambitions were not realized and Shiraz remained a "provincial backwater" in the shadow of Istakhr until at least the late 9th century, according to Limbert.<ref name="Limbert6" /> This is partly attributed to the reticence of the largely Zoroastrian population of Fars to inhabit the Islamic Arab city.<ref name="Limbert6" /> As the population gradually shifted to Islam from Zoroastrianism and Istakhr concurrently declined, Shiraz grew into the practical center of Fars.<ref name="Limbert6" />

According to Muslim traditional sources, Shiraz was used as a hideout by three of the brothers of the [[Shia Muslim]] imam [[Ali al-Ridha]] following the latter's death in 817/18 and later by one of the brothers' sons, Ali ibn Hamza ibn Musa, until he was found and executed by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] authorities in {{Circa|835}}.<ref>Limbert, pp. 6–7.</ref> As Abbasid authority waned during this period, regional dynasties emerged with considerable autonomy.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> In the late 9th century, the Iranian Muslim [[Saffarid dynasty]] under [[Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar|Ya'qub ibn al-Layth]] made Shiraz the capital of their autonomous state, which encompassed most of modern-day Iran.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /><ref name="Limbert6" /><ref name="Lambton473">Lambton, p. 473.</ref> In 894, Ya'qub's brother and successor, [[Amr ibn al-Layth|Amr]], founded the city's first [[congregational mosque]], today known as the [[Atigh Jame' Mosque]].<ref>Limbert, pp. 6–8.</ref><ref name="Lambton473" />

The Iranian [[Buyid dynasty]] under [[Imad al-Dawla|Imad al-Dawla Ali ibn Buya]] ousted the Saffarids in 933 and his nephew and successor, [['Adud al-Dawla|'Adud al-Dawla Fana Khusraw]], took over and ruled Fars between 949 and 983, and added Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, to his Shiraz-based domains in 977;<ref name="Lambton473" /> the Abbasids thenceforth became a puppet state of the Shiraz-based dynasty.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> Shiraz developed into the largest and most prosperous city of Fars and an important economic and cultural center of the [[caliphate]].<ref name="Lambton473" /><ref name="Limbert9">Limbert, p. 9.</ref> Adud al-Dawla had a large library, a hospital and several mosques, [[bazaar]]s, [[caravanserai]]s, palaces and gardens built in the city, while south of it he erected a fortified camp for his troops, known as Kard Fana Khusraw, in 974.<ref name="Lambton473" /><ref name="Limbert9" /> One of the congregational mosques built by Adud al-Dawla has survived until the present day.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> Two Zoroastrian [[fire temple]]s also existed in Shiraz,<ref name="Lambton473" /> catering to the Persians who had not converted to Islam.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> One of Adud al-Dawla's palaces stretched out for nearly three miles and consisted of 360 rooms.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" />

Under the Buyids, Shiraz was divided into twelve quarters and had eight gates.<ref name="Limbert9" /> It owed its economic prosperity to the booming agricultural trade of Fars.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> The city largely consumed the agricultural products of the province, including [[grape]]s, [[linen]], [[wool]], cotton, [[collyrium]], rose, violet and palm-blossom water.<ref name="Limbert9" /> It was also a market for rug weavers and painters to sell their pricey products, a testament to the residents' wealth.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> At the time, wine, grains, gold and silver were exported from the Farsi port cities of [[Siraf]] and Najairam.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" /> Adud al-Dawla patronized scientific, medical and Islamic religious research in Shiraz.<ref name="BerneyandRing644" />

The city was spared destruction by the invading [[Mongolian Empire|Mongols]], when its local ruler offered tributes and submission to [[Genghis Khan]]. Shiraz was again spared by [[Tamerlane]], when in 1382 the local monarch, Shah Shoja agreed to submit to the invader.<ref name="Shiraz history">{{cite web|url=http://www.shirazcity.org/shiraz/Shiraz%20Information/shiraz_history/History%20e.htm|title=History of Shiraz|access-date=31 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206151708/http://www.shirazcity.org/shiraz/Shiraz%20Information/shiraz_history/History%20e.htm|archive-date=6 February 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists. For this reason the city was named by classical geographers ''Dar al-'Elm'', [[House of Knowledge|the House of Knowledge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isocarp.net/Data/case_studies/730.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926123319/http://www.isocarp.net/Data/case_studies/730.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-26 |url-status=live|title=(pdf file)|access-date=5 May 2011}}</ref> Among the Iranian poets, mystics and philosophers born in Shiraz were the poets [[Saadi (poet)|Sa'di]]<ref name="saadi-iranchamber">[http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/saadi/saadi.php Persian Language & Literature: Saadi Shirazi, Sheikh Mosleh al-Din]. Iran Chamber Society.</ref> and [[Hafiz Shirazi|Hafiz]],<ref name="hafez-iranica">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Khorramshahi|first=Bahaʾ-al-Din|year=2002|title=Hafez II: Life and Times|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-ii|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=25 July 2010}}</ref> the mystic [[Ruzbihan Baqli|Ruzbehan]], and the philosopher [[Mulla Sadra]].<ref name="mullasadra">Rizvi, Sajjad (2002), ''Reconsidering the life of Mulla Sadra Shirazi'', Pembroke College, pp. 181</ref> Thus Shiraz has been nicknamed "The Athens of Iran".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/nov/03/features11.g22|location=London|work=The Guardian|title=List of the day|date=3 November 2005}}</ref>
As early as the 11th century, several hundred thousand people inhabited Shiraz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biochemiran.com/congress9/page.php?slct_pg_id=93&sid=1&slc_lang=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226201639/http://www.biochemiran.com/congress9/page.php?slct_pg_id=93&sid=1&slc_lang=en|url-status=dead|title="Shiraz, Iran"|archive-date=26 December 2007}}</ref> In the 14th century Shiraz had sixty thousand inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5-voc6nzmkC&q=shiraz+economy&pg=PA74|title=Shiraz in the age of Hafez: the glory of a medieval Persian city|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2004|author=John W. Limbert|isbn=978-0-295-98391-2|access-date=5 May 2011}}</ref> During the 16th century it had a population of 200,000 people, which by the mid-18th century had decreased to only 55,000.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:HG7 5639.jpg|The shrine of [[Shah Cheragh]] houses the remains of [[Sayyid]] Ahmad, son of [[Imamate in Twelver doctrine|Imam]] [[Musa al-Kazim]]
File:Masjed (20975400379).jpg|[[Tomb of Seyed Alaeddin Husayn]], brother of Sayyid Ahmad nearby
File:Imamzadeh-ye Ali Ebn-e Hamze (Shiraz) 001.jpg|''[[Imamzadeh]]'' Ali ibn Hamzah, nephew of Shah Cheragh and [[Ali al-Rida|Imam Reza]].<ref name="LonelyPlanet2013">{{cite book |publisher=Lonely Planet |title=Iran |year=2013 |page=211 |isbn=978-8-8663-9974-2}}</ref><ref name="ITC 11-2016">{{cite web |language=en |author=Nic Dark |url=http://www.irantourismcenter.com/?page_id=6752 |title=Ali Ebn-e Hamze Mosque-Travel to Iran/ |publisher=Iran Tourism Center |access-date=2016-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116020536/http://www.irantourismcenter.com/?page_id=6752 |archive-date=2016-11-16 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
</gallery>