The New Student's Reference Work/Shiraz

Shiraz (shē′räz), a city of Persia, celebrated in Persian poetry for its climate, wine, roses and beautiful gardens, is on a broad plain, 35 miles southwest of ancient Persepolis and 217 southeast of Ispahan. The walls are about four miles around, and there were many fine mosques and other buildings until the earthquakes of 1812 and 1824, which destroyed large parts of the city and 4,000 of its inhabitants. An earthquake in 1853 completed the destruction of the city and killed 10,000 people. The city has been rebuilt, and its wine, which resembles Tokay, is still famous. Rosewater is made in large quantities, and very fine inlaid work is produced. The city was a favorite resort of the Persian princes and was the home of Hafiz and Sádi, the poets, whose tombs are in the neighborhood. Population 50,000.