TEHRAN – The northeastern Iranian city of Neyshabur has recently joined the League of Historical Cities, a Kyoto-based organization.

The league is one of the most important organizations, which preserve and support cultural heritage, Neyshabur governor Gholamhossein Mozaffari said in a press release on Thursday.

Neyshabur houses several religious, historical and cultural heritages, which highlights it as one of renowned cities in the world, he added.

The League of Historical Cities holds a biennial world conference and provides cities from different cultures with a platform for bilateral cooperation and mutual learning.

“Located on the Silk Road, Neyshabur is one of the most ancient cities in Iran,” the league’s website described.

“Recent archaeological discoveries have shown that Neyshabur participated in trade with the Indus River Valley in Pakistan and part of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC.

The tomb of Omar Khayyam, who was born in Neyshabur in 1048 and is a well-known Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, is located within Neyshabur,” it continued.

Twenty-three cities of North Africa, Middle East, Central and West Asia are already the member of the league, which includes Iranian cities of Isfahan, Shiraz, Neyshabur, Kashan and Yazd as well.

---------- Neyshabur: Home to Iranian civilization

The town, which has shifted its position repeatedly in historical times, lies at the southern foot of the Binalud Mountains.

Neyshabur derived its name from its alleged founder, the Sasanid 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 Sasanid king Yazdegerd II (reigned 438–457).

By the time the Arabs came to Khorasan in the mid-7th century, however, it had become insignificant. Toghrol Beg, the first Seljuk 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.

Near the mosque of the Imamzadeh Mahrugh, 6 km southeast of Neyshabur, is the tomb of the 12th-century astronomer-poet Omar Khayyam. The grave of the poet and mystic Farid ud-Din Mohammad ibn Ebrahim Attar (C. 1142-1220) also lies nearby.

As of March 24, 2014, The League was composed of 102 members from 61 countries and regions of five continents. It is in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Program, International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Organization of World Heritage Cities.

The league also acts as a think for bilateral cooperation and best practices and strengthens affiliations between historic cities to exchange knowledge and experience.

PHOTO: The mausoleum of Persian poet and mystic Attar (on the right) and the tomb of Kamalolmolk, a court painter during the reign of Qajar king Nasser ad-Din Shah, are located in Neyshabur (Photo: Barat Ghaviandam

By Tehran Times