Iran
Shiraz, with a population of around 1.8 million (2016 census), is Iran's sixth most populous city. It is the capital of the province of Fars, and was also the capital of Iran under the reign of the Zand dynasty. It is located near the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire.
History of Shiraz
There is mention of a city at Shiraz during the Sassanid era, (2nd to 6th century AD) in the 10th century geographical treatise "Hudud ul-'alam min al-mashriq ila al-maghrib", which reports the existence of two fire temples and a fortress called "Shahmobad". In the 14th century the "Nozhat ol-Qolub" of Hamdollah Mostowfi confirmed the existence of pre-Islamic settlements in Shiraz.