Kazeroon Persian: کازرون
City
Shapur Cave in North of Kazerun
Nickname(s):  City of Science, City of Civilization, The Green City
Kazeroon
Coordinates: 29°36′56″N 51°39′24″E / 29.61556°N 51.65667°E / 29.61556; 51.65667[1]
Country	Iran
Province	Fars
County	Kazerun
District	Central
Government
• Mayor	Reza Nozari
Elevation	860 m (2,820 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Total	96,683
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Area code	071

Kazerun (Persian: کازرون)^[a] is a city in the Central District of Kazerun County, Fars province,^[2] Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.^[4] Its agricultural products include date palms, citrus orchards, wheat, tobacco, rice, cotton, and vines.

At the 2006 National Census, its population was 84,594 in 20,810 households.^[5] The following census in 2011 counted 89,685 people in 25,034 households.^[6] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 96,683 people in 28,988 households.^[7] It is the fifth-largest city in Fars.^{[citation needed]}

The nearby ruins of the ancient city of Bishapur 12 mi (19 km) N., include bas-relief depictions from the Sasanid era^[2] (ca. 224–651). A statue of Shapur I (AD 241–272) can be found in a large cave at the site. The ruins of the Qaleh-ye Gabri (Castle of the Gabrs, or Zoroastrians) are located on a mound SE of Kazeroon.,^[2] during the Qajar Dynasty many people from Kazerun migrated to Bahrain, today there are many people with the surname Kazeruni.

History

The historic city Bishapur is near Kazeroon. This city was a capital of the Sasanian Empire.

From 1548 to 1834, an Afshar family governed the district of Kazerun.^[8] In June 1824, a severe earthquake occurred in Kazerun and Shiraz that killed a few thousand people.^[9]

Since 16 April 2018, as part of the 2017–18 Iranian protests, the city has experienced anti-government protests, with the proximate local cause being a plan by Kazerun lawmaker Hossein Rezazadeh to turn parts of the city's northern outlying districts of Nowdan and Qaemiyeh into a new city named Kuh-e-Chinar. On 18 May 2018, five people were killed after security forces opened fire on demonstrators.^[10]

Climate

Kazerun has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh).

Places of interest

• Parishan Lake, which is near Kazeroon.^[11]
• Shapur River
• Shapur statue (the largest statue of ancient Iran), which is near Bishapur.
• National park Dašt-e Aržan, a vast green meadow on Kazerun–Shiraz highway.^[12]

Recreational places

Barm Plain is biggest Plain of Oak in Iran, Davan, Sarmashhad and Kaskan are three villages in Kazeroon. The old name of Kazeroon was "Green City".^{[citation needed]}

Ashura and Tasua re-enactment

This re-enactment has been one of the most celebrated and unique reenactments in Iran. The date of this re-enactment is in the ninth and tenth of the month Moharram. In these two days, people go out and re-enact the Battle of Karbala. The theater starts from morning until noon. Almost all people in the city walk on the street together. They mourn for this historical event.^{[citation needed]}

Sister cities

• Al-Mada'in, Iraq ^[13]

Notable people

Nasrollah Mardani, a famous contemporary Persian poet, is from Kazeroon. It is also believed that Salman the Persian, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, comes from this city.^[14] Haj Sadrallah Zamanian was a pillar of the community for many years. The town is also the scene of a famous battle in the novel My Uncle Napoleon. Kazeroon is a city of Science. Qotb al-Din Kazerooni, Allame Jalaladdin Davani, Allame Ali Davani are from Kazeroon. The mothers of Hafez and Saadi were also from Kazeroon. Firouz Naderi, (the associate director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), responsible for Project Formulation and Strategy), was born in Kazeroon. Reza Malekzadeh, a medical scientist and gastroenterologist who is well known in Iran is from Kazeroon.