Tabas
City
Native namePersian: طبس
Coordinates33°35′46″N 56°55′41″E
CountryIran
ProvinceSouth Khorasan
CountyTabas
DistrictCentral
Unit prefMetric
Elevation min660 m
Elevation max730 m
Population as of2016
Population total39676
Time zoneIRST (UTC+3:30)

Tabas (Persian: طبس)[a] is a city in the Central District of Tabas County, South Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[1]

History

Early history

The history of Tabas dates back to pre-Islamic times. It was an important outpost of the Sassanid empire.

Due to its strategic location at the edge of the Great Salt Desert, and at the confluence of many roads, the geographer al-Baladhuri called the city "the Gate of Khurasan".[2] In the early Islamic period it was known as Tabas al-Tamr (lit. 'Tabas of the Dates') due to a large forest of date palms that grew there, and later as Tabas Gilaki after a famous governor of the city, Abu'l-Hasan ibn Muhammad Gilaki, who in the mid-11th century had pacified the region.[2] Along with the town of Tabas-e Masina further east, it gave its name to the local district, Tabasayn.[2] In the 10th–11th centuries, the town is described as well fortified, with several villages around. Medieval and geographers note that it was amply supplied with water due to underground wells; the town even featured hot baths, and extensive lemon and orange plantations.[2] In the late 11th century, it became part of the Nizari Ismaili state, and was besieged by the Seljuk Turks under Ahmad Sanjar in 1102 during the Nizari-Seljuk conflicts.[2]

Tabas was spared when the Mongols attacked Iran. It had a local government incorporating not only Tabas but also Tun (Ferdows) and Gonabad. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, it as under the control of the Zangu'i Arabs as an independent state which included nearby Tun.[3][4] For a time they even kidnapped Nader Mirza Afshar and placed the Kurds of Khabushan in control of Mashhad.

Earthquake of 1978

Main article: 1978 Tabas earthquake

In 1978, the 7.4 Tabas earthquake affected the city with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 15,000 people were killed. Since then, the city has been rebuilt with many new streets, parks and public buildings.

Operation Eagle Claw

Main article: Operation Eagle Claw

The failed rescue American operation Operation Eagle Claw on 24–25 April 1980 to free American hostages in Tehran occurred near Tabas in Tabas Country about 127km southwest of Tabas town by the road to Yazd location (33.07020674739667;55.89196171977231).[5] In Iran, the operation is called amaliat tabas (Tabas operation), and the significance and aftermath of the failed operation made the city Tabas known in almost every corner of Iran.[6] The Tabas air defense system is accordingly named so.

Administrative changes

At first, Tabas County was part of Khorasan province. It became a part of Yazd province in 2004,[7] joining South Khorasan province in 2013.[8]

Demographics

Language

The people of Tabas speak a Khorasani accent of Persian that sounds somewhat different from the standard Iranian version ("Tehrani accent").[citation needed]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 30,681 in 7,962 households, when it was in Yazd province.[9] The following census in 2011 counted 35,150 people in 9,903 households.[10] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 39,676 people in 11,876 households,[11] by which time the county had been separated from the province to join South Khorasan province.[8]

Geography

Location

Tabas is in central Iran, 950 kilometers southeast of Tehran, in South Khorasan Province.[citation needed]

It is a desert city with many date and citrus trees. It has a 300-year-old public garden (Bagh-e-Golshan).[12] There is also a shrine in Tabas that is visited every year by thousands of pilgrims. Tabas has two universities with 2,500 to 3,500 students.[13] The city has hot summers, and people rarely see a winter snowfall.

Climate

Tabas has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh). The record high temperature of 50.0 °C (122.0 °F) was recorded on July 25, 2025.[14]

Economy

Agricultural products

The agricultural products of this desert city are very significant. Products such as: oranges, pistachios, dates, persimmons, summer fruits and daffodils; Also, tea bread, chickpea bread, and jams that are prepared from agricultural products, such as: spring orange jam, balang jam, orange peel jam, and Tabas mountain and local liqueurs.[15]

Mines

Tabas has some of the richest coal mines of Iran.[16]

The 2024 Tabas coal mine explosion in the Tabas Parvadeh 5 Mine claimed at least 51 lives.

Transportation

Multiple bus lines, a railroad station and an airport connect Tabas to Mashhad, Yazd, Tehran, Kerman and Birjand (the capital city of South Khorasan province).

Notable people

Notes

  1. ^ Also romanized as Ṭabas; formerly known as Golshan[17]

References

  1. ^ Habibi, Hassan (12 September 1990 [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369.6.21 (Iranian Jalali calendar)]). "fa: ‌تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوی استان خراسان به مرکزیت شهر مشهد" [‌Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the divisions of Khorasan province, centered in Mashhad] (in Persian). مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran]. ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board]. 84902ت125ک [84902T125K]. Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Malcolm, Sir John (1829). The History of Persia: From the Most Early Period to the Present Time. Murray.
  4. ^ Noelle-Karimi, Christine (2014). The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th-19th Centuries). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. ISBN 978-3-7001-7202-4.
  5. ^ "Operation Eagle Claw", Encyclopedia of Terrorism, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320 United States: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2003, doi:10.4135/9781412952590.n324. ISBN 9780761924081, retrieved 2023-06-27
  6. ^ عملیات طبس
  7. ^ "fa: قانون تقسیم استان خراسان به سه استان" [‌Law on the division of Khorasan province into three provinces] (in Persian). مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran]. ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. مجلس شورای اسلامی [Islamic Consultative Assembly]. 29 May 2004. روزنامه : 17268 [Newspaper: 17268]. Archived 24 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ^ Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (13 January 2013 [۲۴/۱۰/۱۳۹۱ تاریخ تصویب (Approval date 24/10/1391) (Iranian Jalali calendar)]). "fa:تصویب نامه درخصوص انتزاع شهرستان طبس از استان یزد و الحاق آن به استان خراسان جنوبی" [‌Approval letter regarding the abstraction of Tabas County from Yazd province and its annexation to South Khorasan province] (in Persian). مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran]. ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers]. پیشنهاد شماره [Proposal No.] 19089/42/4/1. Archived 12 November 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  9. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان یزد" [General Population and Housing Census 2006: Yazd Province] (Excel) (in Persian). مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 20 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان یزد" [General Population and Housing Census 2011: Yazd Province] (Excel) (in Persian). Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 20 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان خراسان جنوبی" [General Population and Housing Census 2016: South Khorasan Province] (Excel) (in Persian). مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 17 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  12. ^ Samira (18 January 2019). "Bagh-e-Golshan". Iran Asia. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Islamic Azad University Tabas - | Admission | Tuition | University". www.unipage.net. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  14. ^ Masters, Jeff & Henson, Bob (12 August 2025). "July keeps the torrid pace going in one of Earth’s hottest years on record". yaleclimateconnections.org/. New Haven: Yale School of the Environment. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  15. ^ Group, Baniboom. "Tabas - Tabas City Ecotourist and Tourist and Sights list". Baniboom. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  16. ^ "Visit Tabas Tourist Attractions, Historical & Natural | Destination Iran". www.destinationiran.com. 2020-04-05. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  17. ^