Tawwaj was located on or close to the
Shapur River in the region of
Fars, about from the
Persian Gulf coast. Its site has not been identified. It has been associated with the Taoke mentioned by the classical Greek historian
Arrian, which was located on the bank of the Granis River and close to a Persian royal residence. However, it has also been associated with the
Achaemenid site of Tamukkan; the finding of a ruined Achaemenid
bastion near
Borazjan supports this theory. According to the
Middle Persian geography text
Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr, the city (called ) was founded by the
Kayanid queen
Humay Chehrzad, a daughter of king
Kay Bahman, who is identified with the fifth Achaemenid monarch
Artaxerxes I (). During the
Sasanian and early Islamic period it served as an important commercial center. It was captured and garrisoned by an Arab Muslim army commanded by the brothers
al-Hakam and
Uthman ibn Abi al-As in . Tawwaj thereafter became Uthman's headquarters during his military campaigns against the Sasanians in Fars. A mosque was built in the town from that period, but had been completely ruined by the lifetime of the Persian geographer
Hamdallah Mustawfi (1281–1349). The 10th-century Persian geographer
Istakhri describes Tawwaj as located in a lowland gorge with numerous date palms, a considerably hot climate and being close in size to the Fars town of
Arrajan. It was major trade center, well known for its gold-embroidered, woven carpets. He reports that the town was populated by Arabs from
Syria brought by the
Buyid ruler
Adud al-Dawla (). By the 12th century, most of the town fell into ruins, and by the 14th century it was in a total ruinous state. ==References==