The first citation of the city in the historical literature belongs to the famous bookMojem Alboldan, byYaqut Homavi (13th century) which introduces the Birjand as the most beautiful town in the Qohestan. Before this, Birjand had been probably not as big and important as a municipality but rather as a rural community. However, the Birjand geographical area had its historical and political importance long before the emergence of the city of Birjand. Many citations of the region are available in the original literature likeEhya -ol- Molook of the once important localities in the area. Apart from literature, the oldest evidence on the history of the region is the ancientLakh-Mazar inscription in the Kooch village some 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Birjand. Numerous fine drawings and inscriptions are carved on an igneous rock surface. The inscriptions include pictograms as well asArsacid Pahlavi,Sasanian Pahlavi,Arabic andPersian scripts.[7]
In 1931, Birjand Municipality was opened under the name of Birjand Municipality next to the tomb of Hakim Nazari and started its activities with 12 employees. The first mayor of Birjand was Mr. Afshar, who served as mayor for six years.[8]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 157,848 in 41,341 households.[9] The following census in 2011 counted 178,020 people in 48,130 households.[10] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 203,636 people in 57,745 households.[2]
Birjand has acold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSk) with hot summers and cool winters and a significant difference between day and night temperatures. Precipitation falls mostly in winter and spring.
In 1933, due to the political and military situation of Birjand city and the east of the country,Birjand airport was established on a 150-hectare land in the north of the city.[14][15]
In 1938, in order to facilitate the transportation, export and import of goods to the subcontinent ofIndia andAfghanistan, the Birjand Customs Office was established and started its activities with two customs units, Dareh and Gezik.[16]
In 1948, Imam Reza Hospital was established in one of the lands and endowments belonging to the Alam family, known as Bagh-e Anari. In addition to accepting patients in Birjand city, this hospital also accepted other patients in southern cities of Khorasan province.[17]
It is said that the Shokatiyeh School in Birjand together withDarolfonoon inTehran were the first modernpublic schools ofhigher education in Iran in the mid-19th century. Ever since then, Birjand has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education and become an important location for research and development.
In 1975, following Dr.Mohammad Hassan Ganji, the Birjand Institute of Higher Education was established in theAssadollah Alam Endowment Collection. This university started with the admission of 120 students in the fields of mathematics, physics and chemistry and is now officially known asBirjand University.[18][19]
The city contains such universities and academic institutions as:
^Birjand can be found atGEOnet Names Server, atthis link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3056455" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
