Khorasan historically referred to a much larger area, comprising the east and the northeast of thePersian Empire. The nameKhorāsān isPersian and means "where the sun arrives from".[1] The name was first given to the eastern province ofPersia during theSasanian Empire[2] and was used from theLate Middle Ages in distinction to neighbouringTransoxiana.[3][4][5]
This province, whose people are mainlyShia Muslims,[6] roughly encompassed the western portion of the historicalGreater Khorasan.[7] The modern boundaries of the Iranian province of Khorasan were formally defined in the late nineteenth century[2] and the province was divided into three separate administrative divisions in 2004.[8]
The nameKhorāsān (lit. "sunrise"; "east"; or "land of the rising sun") was originally given to the eastern province ofPersia during theSassanian period.[2] The old Iranian province of Khorasan roughly formed the western half of the historicalGreater Khorasan,[7] a region which included parts that are today inIran,Afghanistan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan andUzbekistan. Some of the main historical cities of Persia are located in the older Khorasan:Nishapur andTus (now in Iran);Merv andSanjan (now in Turkmenistan);Samarkand andBukhara (both now in Uzbekistan);Herat andBalkh (now in Afghanistan); andKhujand andPanjakent (now in Tajikistan). The term was also used from theLate Middle Ages–especially in post-Mongol (Chagatai andTimurid) times–to distinguish the region from neighbouringTransoxiana.[3][4][5] The modern Iranian boundaries of the province of Khorasan were defined and formalised in the late nineteenth century.[2]
In August 1968 and September 1978, the region was the scene of two majorearthquakes that left 12,000 and 25,000 people dead, respectively. A third major earthquake, the1997 Qayen earthquake, took place on 10 May 1997 and left 1,567 dead, 2,300 injured, and 50,000 homeless.
The major ethnic groups in the region arePersians withKhorasani Kurds,Khorasani Turkic people andTurkmens as the minorities. Smaller minorities areBaloch (Khorasani Baloch), Jews, Mongols, and Roma.[9] Most of the people in the region natively speak closely related modern day dialects ofPersian. The region is home to a significant Sunni Muslim minority. The largest cluster of settlements and cultivation stretches around the city of Mashhad northwestward, containing the important towns of Quchan, Shirvan, and Bojnurd.
