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![[Flag of Kazerun]](../images/i/ir-kazer.gif)
image by
Tomislav Šipek, 25 February 2019See also:
The flag of Kazerun is white with logo and green fringe.
http://www.asrekazeroon.ir/
Tomislav Šipek,
25 February 2019
The municipality of Kazerun (150,683 inhabitants in 2016) is located in
south-western Iran.
The present city of Kazerun is approximately at the
same location as the Achaemenid city of Gazra (circa 556-330 BC) and a few
kilometers from the city of Bishapur, which dates from the Sassanid era
(224-651).The inhabitants of the city speak a local dialect of modern Persian
whose origins go back to Pahlavi, an Iranian (Middle-Persian) language that was
spoken during the Sassanid era, itself descended from Old Persian. But in the
city and especially in the villages of the department, there is also a
population of Turkish Qashqai nomads, sedentary for many decades. The conversion
of the inhabitants of Kazerun to Islam began in the 7th C, but a large part of
the population remained long as Zoroastrian. The Islamization of the region was
therefore complete only quite late in the early 11th century.
Bishapur
was founded in 266 by order of the Sassanid king Shapur I (king from 240 to
272). The city bears, in fact, the name of its founder, in Middle Persian, Bai
Shapur meaning "Lord Shapur". The ruins of Bishapur extend over a 200-hectare
area. The construction of the city dates from the apogee of the reign of its
founder after his important victories over the Romans, especially after the
defeat of the Roman army and the fall of the emperor Valerian (emperor from 253
to 260), captured by the Sassanid soldiers and transferred to Bishapur. Valerian
died in captivity, since the Romans did nothing to release him, having no
interest in his return for political reasons related to his succession. During
the Sassanid era, Bishapur became the capital of the Persians for a relatively
short period. After the Islamization of Iran, it gradually lost its importance
for the benefit of its closest neighbor, Kazerun.
However, Bishapur was
inhabited until the 14th century, before being abandoned.
The city was built according to the architectural models of the Arsic and
Hellenistic period on the basis of a checkerboard plan. The ruins of Bishapur
reveal two parts clearly separated from each other: first the imperial citadel
(which contains the temple of Anahita, the royal hall, the terrace of mosaics
and the residence of Valerian, the commemorative columns where appears the name
of Shapur I, and, second, the city proper (houses, public roads, markets,
hammams, caravanserais, ...).
Tangueh-Chogan is a narrow horseshoe valley
located near the ancient city of Bishapur (500 m) and at the bottom of which
flows a small river. The rocks on both sides of the valley are decorated at
irregular intervals with six Sassanid bas-reliefs. These bas-reliefs date from
the time of the reign of three Sassanid kings: Shapur I, Bahram I (king from 273
to 276) and Bahram II (king from 276 to 293). A gigantic statue of Shapur I
watches over the entrance to a deep cave on the heights of the valley of
Tangueh-Chogan. Shapur cave is located on a rock perched 800 meters above the
village which is just down at the bottom of the valley. The statue is one of the
rare examples of Sassanian sculpture available today, the technique generally
used during the pre-Islamic antiquity of Iran being bas-relief. It was carved in
a natural pillar of the cave, and is more than 7 meters high.
The logo of
Kazerun recalls that the city is Iran's narcissus capital. The word Narcissus is
of Persian origin ("narges"). In winter (late December-early February), the
plains that extend around the city of Kazerun are embellished, for a
period of 45 days, with very beautiful flowers: narcissus. Several species of
this flower grow in the wild in this region. The most beautiful landscapes
of the narcissus season are thus offered to the senses of tourists and
inhabitants of the department, on a plain of 25 hectares which is near the
villages of Jarreh, Balbal and Famour. The daffodils of Kazerun are among the
rare winter species of this family of flowers.
https://www.koochar.com/en/wiki/iran/cities-of-iran/shiraz/kazeroon-the-second-largest-city-of-fars/
Ivan Sache, 25 February 2019