Early Islamic era[edit]

The present city of Shiraz was founded or restored in 693 by Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, the
brother of the Umayyad viceroy of the eastern half of the caliphate, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, or the latter's
kinsman Muhammad ibn Qasim.[18][19] The Arab Muslim army had conquered the wider region of Fars,
where the site of Shiraz is located, in several expeditions launched from their garrison town
of Basra between 640 and 653, and specifically captured the immediate area around Shiraz early
on, in 641. This area did not possess any cities, though there were a number of forts which were
forced to pay tribute to the Arabs.[20] The Sasanians held firm in Istakhr, their capital in Fars, until the
Arabs captured it in a heavy battle in 653, during which the plain of Shiraz had been utilized as an
Arab campground.[20] Because of Istakhr's deep association with the Sasanian Empire and
the Zoroastrian religion, the Arabs sought to establish in nearby Shiraz a rival cultural and
administrative center.[20] Thus, during its initial founding in 693, the city was planned to be much
larger than Isfahan.[20] However, the initial ambitions were not realized and Shiraz remained a
"provincial backwater" in the shadow of Istakhr until at least the late 9th century, according to
Limbert.[20] This is partly attributed to the reticence of the largely Zoroastrian population of Fars to
inhabit the Islamic Arab city.[20] As the population gradually shifted to Islam from Zoroastrianism and
Istakhr concurrently declined, Shiraz grew into the practical center of Fars.[20]
According to Muslim traditional sources, Shiraz was used as a hideout by three of the brothers of
the Shia Muslim imam Ali al-Ridha following the latter's death in 817/18 and later by one of the
brothers' sons, Ali ibn Hamza ibn Musa, until he was found and executed by the Abbasid authorities
in circa 835.[21] As Abbasid authority waned during this period, regional dynasties emerged with
considerable autonomy.[14] In the late 9th century, the Iranian Muslim Saffarid dynasty under Ya'qub
ibn al-Layth made Shiraz the capital of their autonomous state, which encompassed most of
modern-day Iran.[14][20][22] In 894, Ya'qub's brother and successor, Amr, founded the city's
first congregational mosque, today known as the Atigh Jame' Mosque.[23][22]
The Iranian Buyid dynasty under Imad al-Dawla Ali ibn Buya ousted the Saffarids in 933 and his
nephew and successor, 'Adud al-Dawla Fana Khusraw, took over and ruled Fars between 949 and
983, and added Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, to his Shiraz-based domains in 977;[22] the
Abbasids thenceforth became a puppet state of the Shiraz-based dynasty.[14] Shiraz developed into
the largest and most prosperous city of Fars and an important economic and cultural center of the
caliphate.[22][24] Adud al-Dawla had a large library, a hospital and several
mosques, bazaars, caravanserais, palaces and gardens built in the city, while south of it he erected
a fortified camp for his troops, known as Kard Fana Khusraw, in 974.[22][24] One of the congregational
mosques built by Adud al-Dawla has survived until the present day.[14] Two Zoroastrian fire
temples also existed in Shiraz,[22] catering to the Persians who had not converted to Islam.[14] One of
Adud al-Dawla's palaces stretched out for nearly three miles and consisted of 360 rooms.[14]
Under the Buyids, Shiraz was divided into twelve quarters and had eight gates.[24] It owed its
economic prosperity to the booming agricultural trade of Fars.[14] The city largely consumed the
agricultural products of the province, including grapes, linen, wool, cotton, collyrium, rose, violet and
palm-blossom water.[24] It was also a market for rug weavers and painters to sell their pricey
products, a testament to the residents' wealth.[14] At the time, wine, grains, gold and silver were
exported from the Farsi port cities of Siraf and Najairam.[14] Adud al-Dawla patronized scientific,
medical and Islamic religious research in Shiraz.[14]
The city was spared destruction by the invading Mongols, when its local ruler offered tributes and
submission to Genghis Khan. Shiraz was again spared by Tamerlane, when in 1382 the local
monarch, Shah Shoja agreed to submit to the invader.[25] In the 13th century, Shiraz became a
leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of
many Persian scholars and artists. For this reason the city was named by classical geographers Dar
al-'Elm, the House of Knowledge.[26] Among the Iranian poets, mystics and philosophers born in
Shiraz were the poets Sa'di[27] and Hafiz,[28] the mystic Ruzbehan, and the philosopher Mulla
Sadra.[29] Thus Shiraz has been nicknamed "The Athens of Iran".[30] As early as the 11th century,
several hundred thousand people inhabited Shiraz.[31] In the 14th ce