Zuzan
Village in Razavi Khorasan province, Iran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zuzan (Persian: زوزن)[a] is a village in, and the capital of, Zuzan Rural District[4][b] in Jolgeh Zuzan District of Khaf County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. The previous capital of the rural district was the village of Qasemabad,[5] now a city.[6]
Zuzan
Persian: زوزن | |
|---|---|
Village | |
Historical village of Zuzan and Zuzan Mosque (1980) | |
  Zuzan | |
| Coordinates: 34°20′48″N 59°52′13″E[1] | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Razavi Khorasan |
| County | Khaf |
| District | Jolgeh Zuzan |
| Rural District | Zuzan |
| Population (2016)[2] | |
• Total | 2,677 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
| Zuzan at GEOnet Names Server | |
History
The earliest artifacts of Zuzan date back to the 4th century. Zuzan was the site of a medieval city, flourishing most notably during the reign of the Khwarazmian Empire. Zuzan was at a distance of other major medieval metropolises such as Khargerd, Nishapur, Herat, Jam, and Merv.[7]
The city was rectangularly planned and contained irrigation systems and dams.[8] Most of the historical remnants of the city have been lost to time,[7] but two major historical monuments remain, the Zuzan Madrasa and the Malek Zuzan Mosque.
The historical city is on the Iranian tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage nomination.[8]
Zuzan Madrasa
Although only parts of the inscription containing the date of the monument remain, this monument can be dated to 1219.[9] Andre Godard, a French archaeologist first described the building and attributed it to the Khwarazmian Empire in 1949.[10] Godard initially misidentified the building as a mosque but an inscription dedicated to Abu Hanifa shows that the building was actually an Hanafite madrasa.[11]
Architecturally, the madrasa is influenced by Ghurid and Khwarazmian architecture.[12] The building used a typical four-iwan plan type of the region, although only two iwans now remain. The building contains sophisticated ceramics and highly stylized inscriptions.[13]
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village's population was 2,183 in 479 households.[14] The following census in 2011 counted 2,585 people in 626 households.[15] The 2016 census measured the population of the village as 2,677 people in 744 households, the most populous in its rural district.[2]
Notable people
- Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, founding leader of the Druze.[16]
- Abu Sahl Zawzani, Persian statesman who served as the chief secretary of the Ghaznavids briefly in 1040, and later from 1041 to an unknown date was from Zuzan.[17]
- Qiwam al-Din Muayyid al-Mulk Abu Bakr ibn Ali al-Zuzani, the governor of the area from the 1200 to 1220, who constructed the most notable sites in the village; the Madrasa and Mosque of Malek Zuzan.[10]
