Mashhad

Mashhad () is a city in the Razavi Khorasan Province in Iran. Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran. It is close to Iran's border with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
Mashhad is primarily known as the resting place of Imam Reza and also the great Persian poet, Ferdowsi.
History.
Before the 9th century, Mashhad was a small village but became prosperous after imam Reza was killed and buried there by Al-Ma'mun the Abbasid caliph. Mashhad turned into a famous town, in the time of Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty (1501) and later Nader Shah of his Empire chose Mashhad as his capital. Mashhad has remained one of Iran's most important cities to this day even with the relocation of the capital to Tehran.