Kerman

Kerman  is a city in Iran. It is the center of Kerman province. Located in a large and flat plain, this city is located 1,076 km (669 mi) south of Tehran, capital of Iran.
Kerman city had an estimated population of 533,799 in 2005.
History
It is believed, that Kerman has been founded as early as the 3rd century by Ardeshir I, founder of the Sassanian dynasty. In Islamic time, Kerman was one of the important cultural centres of Iran.
Kerman was under the Seljuk Turks in the 11th and 12th cent., but remained virtually independent, conquering Oman and Fars.

When Marco Polo visited the city in 1271 it had become a major trade emporium linking the Persian Gulf with Khorasan and Central Asia. Subsequently, however, the city was sacked many times by various invaders.
Kerman was expanded rapidly during the Safavid Dynasty. Carpets and rugs were exported to England and Germany during this period.
In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars and in 1794 captured Kerman. But soon, he was besieged in Kerman for six months by Agha Mohammad Khan. When the city fell to Agha Mohammad Khan, angered by the popular support that Lotf Ali Khan had received, all the male inhabitants were killed or blinded, and a pile was made out of 20,000 detached eyeballs and poured in front of the victorious Agha Muhammad Khan. The women and children were sold into slavery, and the city was destroyed over ninety days.
The present city of Kerman was rebuilt in the nineteenth century to the northwest of the old city, but it did not recover until the twentieth century.

 

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