or Khurāsān
Province (pop., 1996: 6,048,000), northeastern Iran.
Its capital is Mashhad . The region was first named by the Sāsānian dynasty , in whose language it means "Land of the Sun." It was overrun by Muslim armies с 650. Under Arab rule, it encompassed a vast territory including what is now southern Turkmenistan and northern Afghanistan. It was conquered с 1220 by Genghis Khan and с 1380 by Timur . Its current frontiers, as a province of Iran, were defined in 1881. Its population is composed of many ethnic groups as a result of numerous migrations and invasions over the centuries. The languages spoken are Turkish, Persian, and Kurdish. The province gives its name to the handcrafted Khorāsān carpet.