NEYSHABUR

also spelled Nishapur, town, northeastern Iran. Neyshabur is situated 46 miles (74 km) west of Meshed. The town, which has shifted its position repeatedly in historical times, lies at an elevation of 3,980 feet (1,213 m) in a wide, well-watered, and fertile plain at the southern foot of the Binalud Mountains. The surrounding area produces cereals and cotton, and the town's industries include agricultural marketing and the manufacture of carpets and pottery. Neyshabur is linked by road and railway with Tehran and Meshed. Neyshabur derived its name from its alleged founder, the Sasanian king Shapur I (d. 272). It was once one of the four great cities of the region of Khorasan and was important in the 5th century as the residence of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd II (reigned 438457). By the time the Arabs came to Khorasan in the mid-7th century, however, it had become insignificant. Under the Tahirid dynasty (821873), the city flourished again, and it rose to importance under the Samanid dynasty (ended 999). Toghrl Beg, the first Seljuq ruler, made Neyshabur his residence in 1037, but it declined in the 12th century and in the 13th twice suffered earthquakes as well as the Mongol invasion. A few miles east of the town is the Qadamgah (1643), a fine domed mausoleum. American excavations in 193440 disclosed rich remains of both the Seljuq and pre-Seljuq periods in the locality. Near the mosque of the Imamzadeh Mahroq, 4 miles (6 km) southeast of Neyshabur, is the tomb of the 12th-century astronomer-poet Omar Khayyam. The grave of the poet and mystic Farid od-Din 'Attar also lies nearby. Pop. (1991) 135,681.