The history of the origin of Kazerun, like other ancient cities of Iran, is in obscure and sometimes it is mixed with myths. However, sources such as
Fars-Nama attribute the foundation of Kazerun to the
Pishdadian dynasty.
Prehistory The first signs of habitation in the city known today as Kazerun were found in the caves known as
Tikab in the northern mountain of Kazerun. These caves were inhabited by the
Human evolution around 20,000 years ago.
Pishdadian dynasty Pishdadian dynasty are the first rulers of Iran land in myths. In
Fars-Nama,
Ibn Balkhi considers
Tahmuras, the Pishdadi king, to be the founder of the city of Kazerun.
Historical period before Islam Achaemenid Empire Although there is not much information about the status of Kazerun during the
Achaemenid Empire, but according to some writings, Kazerun was a small and sparsely populated area of the ancient city of Dindella (
Persian: دیندلا), which was destroyed in the attack of
Alexander the Great on Iran. In the following centuries, a city named
Bishapur was built on the site of this ancient city.
Sasanian Empire The period of the
Sasanian Empire is the peak period of prosperity of the Kazerun region. At this time,
Shapur I, the Sassanid king, after defeating the
Roman Empire in the
Battle of Edessa, ordered the construction of a city called
Bishapur in 266 AD. and for this reason, the city of Bishapur was built according to the Roman city-building method (
Hippodamus) and by Roman prisoners. At that time, two cities named Kazerun and Old City (
romanized: Shahr-e Kohneh) were also located near Bishapur, which were merged with each other under the name of Kazerun in later centuries. At the same time as the foundation of the city of Bishapur,
Shapur I also began to develop the city of Kazerun. The city of Bishapur was one of the capitals of the Sasanian Empire and the center of the
Shapur-Khwarrah, and Kazerun and the Old City were also considered its subsidiaries. At that time, the city of Kazerun included three districts: Nowred, Raheban and Derist, and the Old City was located in an area between today's Kazerun and
Lake Parishan. Bishapur was also the birthplace of
Hormizd I and
Bahram I, two Sassanid kings.
Valerian, the captured emperor of
Rome, lived in the palace he built for him in the city of Bishapur on the orders of
Shapur I. According to some accounts, he also died in this city. Shapur I, the Sassanid king also died in 270 AD in the city of Bishapur. In the 5th and 6th centuries AD,
Kavad I tried to settle the city of Kazerun and expanded it. Until the
Arab conquest of Persia, Bishapur was a prosperous city with a population between 50,000 and 80,000 people. Silver drachma of Ardashir II, minted in Bishapur.jpg|Silver coin with the image of
Ardashir II, minted in Bishapur Kavād (Kavādh) I. First reign, CE 488-497 Uncertain RY date (possibly RY 4 = 492 CE).jpg|A coin with the image of
Kavad I, minted in Bishapur Sasaniden- Khusro II. - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5494622.jpg|A coin with the image of
Khosrow II, minted in Bishapur
Islamic era Seventh to Ninth century AD During the Arab conquest of Persia in 638 AD,
Umar assigned one of his commanders named Mojashe bin Masoud to conquer
Shapur-Khwarrah. Despite the great resistance of the people of Shapur-Khwarrah, the Arabs conquered Bishapur. In the year 639 AD, Uthman bin Abi al-As was commissioned by Mojashe bin Masoud to conquer Kazerun and captured this city. After that, the people of Kazerun and Bishapur continuously rebelled against the Arabs. Among in the year 643 AD and after the caliphate of
Uthman, the people of Shapur-Khwarrah, under the command of
Shahrag's brother, one of the Sassanid nobles declared independence. But in the end, after the
Great battle of Bishapur and the siege of this city, Uthman bin Abi al-As finally conquered Bishapur, Now Bandegan and
Jereh again with peace and receiving the wealth and tribute. The people of Shapur broke their agreement again in 646 AD and Uthman conquered the city again with
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. The resistance of the people of Shapur-Khwarrah against the Arabs was so great that Abida, the Arab general, was seriously injured and when he was dying, he requested the Arab troops to massacre the people of this region for the sake of killing him, and the same thing happened. In 687 AD, the people of Shapur-Khwarrah revolted against the Arabs once again, and this time they were suppressed by Umar bin Ubaidullah bin Muammar.
Tenth century AD In 933 AD,
Imad al-Dawla, the founder of the
Buyid dynasty, sent his brother
Rukn al-Dawla to this region to capture Kazerun and Bishapur. Rukn al-Dawla defeated Yaqut, the governor of Kazerun, and captured this region. Buyid dynasty's rule in the 10th century AD was associated with religious tolerance. In the second half of the 10th century AD, the majority of the people of Kazerun remained in
Zoroastrianism religion due to the payment of
Jizya, and Kazerun was considered one of the largest Zoroastrian cities in Iran. The ruler of the city was also a
Zoroastrian named Khorshīd Marzbān. After
'Adud al-Dawla came to power, this king paid special attention to Kazerun, the main reason for which was the location of this city on the commercial highway of the back shore of the
Persian Gulf and
Siraf Port. Buyid dynasty rulers tried to revive the ancient city of Bishapur at the same time as the prosperity of Kazerun, and they were able to restore prosperity to this city to some extent after several centuries. The coins minted in Bishapur in this period also confirm this. Kazerun was considered one of the important centers of
Textile production during the time of Buyid dynasty, and for this reason, it was known as
Damietta of
Ajam (
Persia). During this period,
Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, a famous
Sufi, founded the Kazeruniyeh Sufism in this city and started spreading
Islam and fighting against
Zoroastrians. His actions caused the Zoroastrian majority of the people of Kazarun to convert to Islam. At the end of the 10th Century AD, the migration of people from the old city (in the east of Kazerun), which was called
Balad al-Atigh in Arabic, intensified to the city of Kazerun. With the migration of the people of Bishapur, Old City and other areas, the city of Kazerun prospered and became the area of population concentration.
Eleventh and Twelfth centuries AD After the establishment of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism by Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, the city of Kazerun found a different situation. The religious attraction of this Sufism established the position of Kazerun as the center of Shapur region.
Thirteenth to Sixteenth centuries AD The 13th to 16th century AD was the peak period of prosperity and fame of the city of Kazerun throughout its history. This fame was due to the expansion of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism and its
Sufi lodges in Iran,
India,
China, and the
Ottoman Empire, and was influenced by the religious appeal of
Abu Ishaq of Kazerun. With the beginning of the 10th century, a large network of merchants of Kazerun city entered all over Iran and the countries of India, China, and the Ottoman Empire and started trading. Along with trade, these merchants were the representatives of the central Sufi lodge of Kazeruniyeh Sufism in the city of Kazerun and promoted this Sufism.
Hasan Fasa'i narrates about this in his book
Fars-Nama-ye Naseri: The influence and fame of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism during the 10th to the 10th century AD reached such an extent that many people and kings of Iran, as well as many people and emperors of India and Ottoman, and part of the Chinese people were disciples of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism and made their offerings to the branches of this Sufism in Cities and countries used to pay for it to be sent to the central Sufi lodge in Kazerun, and this issue created world fame for the city of Kazerun. , the
Sultan of Delhi in 14th century AD Among the kings of Iran who were followers of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism, we can mention
Shahrukh, who used to visit the tomb of Abu Ishaq of Kazerun during his trip to the south of Iran. Among the kings of India who were disciples of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism, we can mention
Balban,
Alauddin Khalji and
Muhammad bin Tughluq. The two Ottoman emperors,
Bayezid the Thunderbolt and
Mehmed the Conqueror, were also devotees of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism and built buildings in the name of this Sufism in Ottoman.
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler who also traveled to Kazerun and visited the tomb of Abu Ishaq of Kazerun, in this regard, writes in the book
Rihla: The fame and prestige of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism continued until the 16th century AD and the Safavids came to power. One of the most important events of Kazerun in the 13th century AD is the
Mongol attack on Kazerun in 1263. Seljuq Shah bin Salghor, the
Atabeg of Fars who had revolted against the Mongols, took refuge in the tomb of Abu Ishaq in Kazerun, and the people of Kazerun, who hated the Mongols, welcomed him and made the tomb of Abu Ishaq a bastion against the Mongols. In this battle, Seljuq Shah was captured and killed, and the people of Kazerun, who sheltered him, were massacred by the Mongols. In the 10th century AD, the Balyaniyeh Sufism was also founded by the famous Sufi of that time, Sheykh Abdollah Balyani in Kazerun.
Safavid dynasty in Kazerun, is one of the places that King
Ismail I wanted to destroy, but for some reason, stopped short of doing so. When King
Ismail I of
Safavid dynasty came to power, he saw the Kazeruniyeh Sufism as his rival and enemy, and ordered the killing of the elders of this Sufism and destroyed their buildings in Iran. He personally marched to Kazerun and in addition to killing many Sufi elders in this city, he also destroyed their prominent buildings. Despite the decline in prosperity due to the destruction of the Kazeruniyeh Sufism, Kazerun still maintained its prosperity to a large extent and was considered one of the centers of minting coins during the Safavid era.
Afsharid dynasty After
Nader Shah Afshar came to power, the rule of Afshar family continued in Kazerun. At that time, Khajeh Hessamuddin Afshar remained the ruler of Kazerun, and after him, Khajeh Mohammad Reza Afshar became the ruler of Kazerun, until in 1146 AH, Nader Shah came to Kazerun in pursuit of
Mohammad Khan Baloch during
his rebellion against Nader Shah. But Khajeh Mohammad Reza Afshar fought in support of Mohammad Khan Baloch against Nader Shah and was killed in this battle. After that, Nader Shah blinded Khajeh Mohammad Reza's nephew, Khajeh Abul Hasan Afshar. Nader Shah later regretted his act and to appease him, in 1733, he handed over the government of Kazerun to the son of Khajeh Mohammad Reza, Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni. Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan, in the position of governor of Kazerun, made many efforts in the direction of the development and settlement of this city.
Zand dynasty Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni, the then ruler of Kazerun, played an important role in the establishment and stabilization of the
Zand dynasty. In 1753, when
Karim Khan Zand was preparing to fight
Azad Khan Afghan and his representative,
Fath-Ali Khan Afshar, in
Khesht, 60 kilometers from today's Kazerun, Ruler of Kazerun joined Karim Khan Zand's army with riflemen from Kazerun. Karim Khan, who was defeated by
Azad Khan in the
battle of Kamarej in 1754, was able to defeat the Azad Khan's army with the help of forces of Kazerun. After that, the ruler of Kazerun became one of the trusted and very close people to Karim Khan Zand. However, in 1761, when Karim Khan Zand sent some of the nobles of
Fars region, including the ruler of Kazerun, to suppress the rebellion of Fath-Ali Khan Afshar in
Azerbaijan, the Fars army was defeated by the army of Fath-Ali Khan Afshar in
Qareh Chaman near
Tabriz, and some of these nobles from The rule of Kazerun is that they escape from battle. They are arrested in
Isfahan and the ruler of Kazerun is sentenced to be blinded. But with the intercession of Mirza Mohammad Kalantar, the Fars Sheriff, Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar, the ruler of Kazerun is forgiven. In 1784, when
Jafar Khan Zand conquered Isfahan, the ruler of Kazerun was also one of his companions. After that, Jafar Khan Zand appointed him to ruler of
Qom and
Kashan, and in the same year, Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni suppressed the revolt of Jandaq Arabs led by Mohammad Hasan Khan Arab Ameli. But he promised him the security of his life and sent him to Isfahan, to Jafar Khan Zand. But Jafar Khan, contrary to his promise, ordered the murder of Mohammad Hasan Khan Arab Ameli and his entourage. This issue made Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar very angry, and he left the government of Qom and Kashan and returned to his hometown Kazerun. After returning to Kazerun, he gathered some of the troops of Kuhmareh region and the nomads around Kazerun and encouraged them to overthrow Jafar Khan Zand from the kingdom. Jafar Khan, the king of Zand, after learning about this issue, sent some nobles to Kazerun to console him and invited him to Shiraz. But after the departure of Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni to Shiraz, Jafar Khan Zand broke his promise and imprisoned him along with a number of Zand nobles in the
Arg of Karim Khan of Shiraz on charges of unworthiness. khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni also provoked the nobles of Zand to escape from prison and escaped from prison with tricks. He and other fugitives secretly went to the
Harem of Jafar Khan Zand and killed this king. Following this incident,
Sayed Morad Khan Zand, who was imprisoned in the Arg of Karim Khan along with Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni, became king and immediately elected Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar Kazaruni as the Ruler of
Fars region. But the kingdom of Sayed Morad Khan Zand lasted only for a short time and
Lotf Ali Khan Zand, the son of Jafar Khan Zand rose against him and killed him and all the people who were involved in his father's murder. However, with the mediation of
Haj Ebrahim Kalantar, the sheriff of Fars and other nobles and elders of Fars forgave the guilt of Khajeh Ali Qoli Khan Afshar, who played the main role in the murder of his father. Finally, when Lotf Ali Khan Zand was on his way to the south from Kazerun, the ruler of Kazerun surrounded him and his forces and planned to arrest Lotf Ali Khan and hand him over to Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Lotf Ali Khan Zand and his forces left their horses and fled from the Qebleh mountain range located in the south of Kazerun city towards
Dashtestan and
Bushehr. Lotf Ali Khan Zand returned to Kazerun after gathering forces in that area and during a battle, arrested Khajeh Reza Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni and blinded him and his children for revenge.
Qajar dynasty In June 1824, a severe earthquake occurred in Kazerun that killed a few thousand people. Following the
Persian famine between 1870 and 1872, out of the population of about 10,000 people in the city of Kazerun, about 4,000 people were killed and about 4,000 people were forced to emigrate, and the population of the city of Kazerun decreased to about 2,000 people, which is considered one of the biggest tragedies and demographic shocks in the history of this city. Kazerun was one of the cities with the highest percentage of people killed in this famine. After the
Qajar dynasty came to power, the Afshar clan, who had previously fought alongside Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar for his rise to power, were again assigned to the government of Kazerun. The last person of this dynasty who ruled Kazerun was a person named Khajeh Abbas Qoli Khan Afshar Kazeruni who was deposed in 1844 and the rule of Kazerun was removed from the hands of the Afshar dynasty after about 350 years. After that, the ruler of Kazerun was appointed by the central government and different people ruled in Kazerun. For example, in 1856 and during the time of
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam al-Mulk was appointed to the government of Kazerun. At one time, Teymur Mirza, the grandson of
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, was in charge of Kazerun. After that, Amir Azodi's family came to power in Kazerun. Khajeh Hassan Ali was the sheriff of Kazerun for a while, and after him, his son, Khajeh Ebrahim Kalantar was the sheriff. After the death of Khajeh Ebrahim, his brother Khajeh Abdollah Amir Azodi, known as
Naser Divan Kazeruni, became the sheriff of Kazerun. an English officer named Colonel Medil became the temporary ruler of Kazerun, who executed some of the fighters of Kazerun and He imprisoned some people, which angered the people of Kazerun. However, with the appointment of Ahmad Akhgar as the commander of the gendarmerie forces of Kazerun, who himself was considered a pro-liberation figure, and the return of Naser Divan Kazeruni to the city, the anger of the people subsided. The sensitivity of the people of Kazerun on the actions of the British in other cities, made Megerdich, the British telegrapher who was in charge of the Kazerun telegraph office, cut the telegraph wire on the order of the British, which caused him to be arrested by the Kazerun freedom fighters. In 1915, the freedom fighters of Kazerun, together with the fighters of some other regions, decided to attack the British forces in Bushehr and liberate this city. But finally,
Wilhelm Wassmuss dissuades them from attacking and suggests that they leave the liberation of this city to the people of the same region and wait for bigger battles. After the revolt of the Fars gendarmerie forces and despite the fact that Kazerun was monitored and controlled by the British in every way, Naser Divan Kazeruni sent 700 fighting riflemen with the help of the Shiraz gendarmerie forces and 200 riflemen to help the people of Dashtestan. Finally, the rebellion of the Fars Gendarmerie was suppressed and this organization became the
South Persia Rifles, under the supervision of the British. The British deployed the South Persia Rifles in several important cities in the south of the country, including Kazerun. Naser Divan and the freedom fighters of Kazerun, who were dissatisfied with this issue, declared war on them in 1916 and disarmed the South Persia Rifles headquarters in Kazerun. They also arrested Amir Nosrat Nouri, the then governor of Kazerun. For more than 3 years, forces from Kazerun also blocked the main north–south road between the
Persian Gulf and Shiraz. Following this incident,
Abdol-Hossein Farman Farma, Governor of Fars wrote in a telegraph to Tehran that as he had predicted, the revolution in
Fars had started. General
Percy Sykes, one of the British officials and the founder of the South Persia Rifles, upon hearing the news of this incident, sent his troops to Kazerun. But before the English forces arrived in Kazerun, the Kazerun riflemen blocked the way for the British in the
Dasht-e Arzhan area. Clashes accompanied between the two sides caused the British to retreat towards Shiraz. In this battle, Captain Vetikogol, one of the British officials, was also killed. The author of the book "Police of Southern Iran" wrote as follows: After that, Naser Divan Kazeruni and his riflemen attacked
Shiraz in alliance with
Qashqai warriors and captured this city. But in the end, with the threat of the fall of Kazerun intensifying, Naser Divan left Shiraz and returned to Kazerun. Finally, the British attacked Kazerun in 1919. Following this incident, Naser Divan Kazeruni was arrested and exiled, and his comrades were also imprisoned. The north–south road of the country was reopened after more than 3 years and with the presence of 20 thousand people. Ali Naghi Behrouzi, an author from Kazerun who witnessed this incident in his childhood, wrote about this incident years later: In one of the British reports regarding the reopening of Kazerun road, it is stated as follows: After capturing Kazerun, the British appointed a person named Salar Mo'tazed to govern Kazerun temporarily. In 1918, Kazerun became one of the first cities in Iran to have a Baladiyeh (Municipality). during the Qajar dynasty many people from Kazerun migrated to
Bahrain, today there are many people with the surname Kazeruni.
Pahlavi With the beginning of the Pahlavi rule, the sovereignty of Kazerun remained in the hands of Naser Divan Kazeruni, who had returned from exile, until 1941. In 1931, following the change of the administrative system, Baladiyeh of Kazerun became Kazerun Municipality. At that time, Kazerun County, in addition to the current area, included the current counties of
Mamasani,
Rostam,
Kuhchenar, as well as
Arzhan District of
Shiraz County and parts of
Dashtestan County, all of which in the following years became independent or separated from the body of Kazerun County. In the 1960s,
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province was part of the Kazerun County, which later became an independent province. The population of Kazerun city (without suburbs) in the first official census of Iran in 1956 was about 31,000 people. In this year, Kazerun was considered as the second largest and most populous city in Fars and Ports province and one of the 30 most populous cities in Iran. During the
1953 Iranian coup d'état, the people of Kazerun supported
Mohammad Mosaddegh. In 1964, with the construction of a new road from the north to the south of the country, which passed through the city of Kazerun, this city was in a communication deadlock, and this issue caused a severe economic blow to the city and the widespread migration of the people of Kazerun to other cities. The representatives of Kazerun in the
National Consultative Assembly included Khosrowparviz, Zabihi Soltan Ahmadi, Tabatabaei, Sadeghi, Jabbari and Behnia, each of whom represented Kazerun in this parliament for one or more terms.
Islamic Republic During the
Iran-Iraq war, 1,300 fighters of Kazerun were martyred. Kazerun had the highest number of martyrs among all Iranian cities in the two operations to
Liberation of Susangerd and
Karbala-4. In 2018, the people of Kazerun gathered in protest against the division of Kazerun County and demanded the formation of a new province centered on the city of Kazerun. In 2019, Kazerun governorate was promoted to a special governorate. ==Demographics==