or Meshed
City (pop., 1996: 1,887,405), northeastern Iran.
It is situated in the valley of the Kashaf River. For centuries it has been an important trade centre along the caravan routes and highways of the Middle East. It was damaged in a Mongol attack in 1220 and was sacked by Turkmen and Uzbeks in the 16th–17th centuries. Nādir Shah (r. 1736–47) made Mashhad his capital. The city is the burial place of Hārūn al-Rashīd and a site of pilgrimage for Shīʽite Muslims visiting the tomb of the eighth Shīʽite imam, ʽAlī al-Riḍāʾ.