View source for Tabas

{{Short description|City in South Khorasan province, Iran}}

{{for multi|the administrative division of South Khorasan province|Tabas County|other places with the same name|Tabas (disambiguation){{!}}Tabas}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement
|name                    = Tabas
|native_name             = {{langx|fa|طبس}}
|native_name_lang        = fa
|settlement_type         = City
|image_skyline           = امامزاده.jpg
|imagesize               = 
|image_alt               = 
|image_caption           = [[Hosein Ibn Mosa Alkazem]]'s Shrine in Tabas
|image_flag              = 
|flag_alt                = 
|image_seal              = 
|seal_alt                = 
|image_shield            = 
|shield_alt              = 
|etymology               = 
|nickname                = 
|motto                   = 
|image_map               = 
|map_alt                 = 
|map_caption             = 
|pushpin_map             = Iran
|pushpin_map_alt         = 
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|coordinates             = {{Coord|33|35|46|N|56|55|41|E|dim:3km|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes   = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=33.596111&mlon=56.928056&zoom=14#map=14/33.59611/56.92806|website=[[OpenStreetMap]] |title=Tabas, Tabas County|date=12 November 2024|access-date=12 November 2024|lang=fa}}</ref>
|subdivision_type        = Country
|subdivision_name        = [[Iran]]
|subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of Iran|Province]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[South Khorasan province|South Khorasan]]
|subdivision_type2       = [[Counties of Iran|County]]
|subdivision_name2       = [[Tabas County|Tabas]]
|subdivision_type3       = [[Bakhsh (administrative division)|District]]
|subdivision_name3       = [[Central District (Tabas County)|Central]]
|established_title       = 
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|unit_pref               = Metric
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
|area_footnotes          = 
<!-- square kilometers -->
|area_total_km2          = 
|elevation_footnotes     = 
|elevation_min_m         = 660 
|elevation_max_m         = 730
|population_footnotes    = <ref name="2016 South Khorasan Province"/>
|population_as_of        = 2016
|population_total        = 39676
|population_density_km2  = auto
|population_note         = 
|population_demonym      = 
|timezone                = [[Iran Standard Time|IRST]]
|utc_offset              = +3:30
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|website                 = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|module                  = 
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}}

'''Tabas''' ({{langx|fa|طبس}}){{efn|Also [[romanize]]d as '''Ṭabas'''; formerly known as '''Golshan'''<ref>{{GEOnet3|-3086556}}</ref>}} is a city in the [[Central District (Tabas County)|Central District]] of [[Tabas County]], [[South Khorasan province|South Khorasan]] province, [[Iran]], serving as capital of both the county and the district.<ref name="Khorasan Province Structure">{{cite report|title=Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the divisions of Khorasan province, centered in Mashhad|language=fa|website=rc.majlis.ir|via=Islamic Parliament Research Center|url=https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/113047|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024415/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/113047|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|archive-date=17 November 2015|date=c. 2015|orig-date=Approved 21 June 1369|id=Proposal 3223.1.5.53; Approval Letter 3808-907; Notification 84902/T125K|access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref>

== History ==
===Early history===
The history of Tabas dates back to pre-Islamic times. It was an important outpost of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid empire]].

Due to its strategic location at the edge of the [[Great Salt Desert]], and at the confluence of many roads, the geographer [[al-Baladhuri]] called the city "the Gate of [[Khurasan]]".<ref name="LeStrange"> {{Lands of the Eastern Caliphate|pages=359–361}}</ref> In the early Islamic period it was known as  '''Tabas al-Tamr''' ({{lit.|Tabas of the [[Date (fruit)|Dates]]}}) due to a large forest of date palms that grew there, and later as '''Tabas Gilaki''' after a famous governor of the city, Abu'l-Hasan ibn Muhammad Gilaki, who in the mid-11th century had pacified the region.<ref name="LeStrange"/> Along with the town of [[Tabas-e Masina]] further east, it gave its name to the local district, [[Tabasayn]].<ref name="LeStrange"/> In the 10th–11th centuries, the town is described as well fortified, with several villages around. Medieval and geographers note that it was amply supplied with water due to underground wells; the town even featured hot baths, and extensive lemon and orange plantations.<ref name="LeStrange"/> In the late 11th century, it became part of the [[Nizari Ismaili state]], and was besieged by the [[Seljuk Turks]] under [[Ahmad Sanjar]] in 1102.<ref name="LeStrange"/>

Tabas was spared when the [[Mongol invasion of Iran|Mongols attacked Iran]]. It had a local government incorporating not only Tabas but also Ferdows and Gonabad. After the death of [[Nader Shah]] in 1747, it as under the control of the Zangu'i Arabs as an independent state which included nearby Tun.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Sir John|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=4zA-5-gEcD0C&pg=GBS.PA142|title=The History of Persia: From the Most Early Period to the Present Time|date=1829|publisher=Murray|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Noelle-Karimi|first=Christine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kdl9oAEACAAJ|title=The Pearl in Its Midst: Herat and the Mapping of Khurasan (15th-19th Centuries)|date=2014|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|isbn=978-3-7001-7202-4|language=en}}</ref> For a time they even kidnapped [[Nader Mirza Afshar]] and placed the [[Kurds of Khorasan|Kurds]] of [[Quchan|Khabushan]] in control of [[Mashhad]].

===Earthquake of 1978===
{{Main|1978 Tabas earthquake}}
In 1978, the 7.4 {{M|w}} [[1978 Tabas earthquake|Tabas earthquake]] affected the city with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (Violent). At least 15,000 people were killed. Since then, the city has been rebuilt with many new streets, parks and public buildings.

=== Operation Eagle Claw ===
{{Main|Operation Eagle Claw}}
The failed rescue American operation [[Operation Eagle Claw]] on 24–25 April 1980 to free American hostages in Tehran occurred near Tabas in Tabas Country about 127km southwest of Tabas town by the road to Yazd location (33.07020674739667;55.89196171977231).<ref>{{Citation |title=Operation Eagle Claw |date=2003 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412952590.n324 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Terrorism |access-date=2023-06-27 |place=2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks California 91320 United States |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc.|doi=10.4135/9781412952590.n324 |isbn=9780761924081 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In Iran, the operation is called ''amaliat tabas'' (Tabas operation), and the significance and aftermath of the failed operation made the city Tabas known in almost every corner of Iran.<ref>[[:fa:عملیات طبس]]</ref> The [[Tabas (air defense system)|Tabas air defense system]] is accordingly named so.

===Administrative changes===
At first, Tabas County was part of [[Khorasan province]]. It became a part of [[Yazd province|Yazd]] province in 2001,<ref name="Khorasan Province Divisions">{{Cite report|title=The law of division of Khorasan province into three provinces|url=https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/86173|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030193054/https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/86173|archive-date=30 October 2020|website=qavanin.ir|via=Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran|publisher=Islamic Council|last=Adel|first=Gholam Ali Haddad|language=fa|access-date=27 December 2023|date=c. 2020|orig-date=Approved 3 September 1383}}</ref> joining South Khorasan province in 2013.<ref name="Tabas County Abstraction">{{Cite report|title=Approval letter regarding the abstraction of Tabas County from Yazd province and its annexation to South Khorasan province|url=https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/839188|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529134641/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/839188|archive-date=29 May 2013|date=19 December 2013|website=rc.majlis.ir|via=Research Center of the System of Laws of the Islamic Council of the Farabi Library of Mobile Users|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers|last=Rahimi|first=Mohammad Reza|language=fa|access-date=25 November 2023|orig-date=Approved 24 October 2013|id=Proposal 19089/42/1/19089; Notification 252554/T46736H}}</ref>

==Demographics==
===Language===
The people of Tabas speak a Khorasani [[Accent (sociolinguistics)|accent]] of [[Persian language|Persian]] that sounds somewhat different from the standard Iranian version ("[[Tehrani accent]]").{{cn|date=June 2024}}

===Population===
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 30,681 in 7,962 households, when it was in [[Yazd Province|Yazd]] province.<ref name="2006 Yazd Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Yazd Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/21.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920085705/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/21.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 35,150 people in 9,903 households.<ref name="2011 Yazd Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Yazd Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Yazd.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120180437/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Yazd.xls|archive-date=20 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 39,676 people in 11,876 households,<ref name="2016 South Khorasan Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): South Khorasan Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_29.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017050122/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_29.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=17 October 2020}}</ref> by which time the county had been separated from the province to join South Khorasan province.<ref name="Tabas County Abstraction"/>

==Geography==
===Location===
Tabas is in [[central Iran]], 950 kilometers southeast of [[Tehran]], in [[South Khorasan province|South Khorasan Province]].{{cn|date=October 2022}}

It is a [[Desert cities|desert city]] with many date and citrus trees. It has a 300-year-old public garden ([[Golshan Garden|Bagh-e-Golshan]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranasia.com/bagh-e-golshan/ |title=Bagh-e-Golshan |author=Samira |date=18 January 2019 |website=Iran Asia |access-date=22 April 2021}}</ref> There is also a shrine in Tabas that is visited every year by thousands of pilgrims. Tabas has two universities with 2,500 to 3,500 students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Islamic Azad University Tabas - {{!}} Admission {{!}} Tuition {{!}} University |url=https://www.unipage.net/en/18766/islamic_azad_university_tabas |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.unipage.net}}</ref> The city has hot summers, and people rarely see a winter snowfall.

=== Climate ===
Tabas has a [[hot desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''BWh'').
{{Weather box
| location = Tabas (1991-2020)
| single line = yes
| metric first = yes
| Jan record high C = 24.0
| Feb record high C = 31.0
| Mar record high C = 39.0
| Apr record high C = 43.0
| May record high C = 46.0
| Jun record high C = 48.5
| Jul record high C = 50.0
| Aug record high C = 49.7
| Sep record high C = 45.3
| Oct record high C = 41.0
| Nov record high C = 33.7
| Dec record high C = 27.3
| year record high C = 
| Jan high C = 14.7
| Feb high C = 18.2
| Mar high C = 23.9
| Apr high C = 30.6
| May high C = 36.4
| Jun high C = 41.7
| Jul high C = 43.3
| Aug high C = 41.5
| Sep high C = 38.0
| Oct high C = 31.5
| Nov high C = 22.8
| Dec high C = 16.5
| year high C = 29.9
| Jan mean C = 8.3
| Feb mean C = 11.4
| Mar mean C = 16.9
| Apr mean C = 23.6
| May mean C = 29.7
| Jun mean C = 34.8
| Jul mean C = 36.5
| Aug mean C = 34.5
| Sep mean C = 30.0
| Oct mean C = 23.4
| Nov mean C = 15.3
| Dec mean C = 9.7
| year mean C = 22.8
| Jan low C = 3.6
| Feb low C = 6.1
| Mar low C = 11.1
| Apr low C = 17.2
| May low C = 22.9
| Jun low C = 27.4
| Jul low C = 29.5
| Aug low C = 27.4
| Sep low C = 22.6
| Oct low C = 16.7
| Nov low C = 9.9
| Dec low C = 5.0
| year low C = 16.6
| Jan record low C = -6.4
| Feb record low C = -4.2
| Mar record low C = -0.2
| Apr record low C = 4.2
| May record low C = 12.0
| Jun record low C = 18.6
| Jul record low C = 23.4
| Aug record low C = 18.8
| Sep record low C = 12.6
| Oct record low C = 7.8
| Nov record low C = -5.9
| Dec record low C = -5.2
| year record low C = 
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 15.3
| Feb precipitation mm = 13.8
| Mar precipitation mm = 19.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 13.1
| May precipitation mm = 3.8
| Jun precipitation mm = 0.2
| Jul precipitation mm = 0.0
| Aug precipitation mm = 0.1
| Sep precipitation mm = 0.0
| Oct precipitation mm = 0.9
| Nov precipitation mm = 4.4
| Dec precipitation mm = 11.0
| year precipitation mm = 81.6
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 3.0
| Feb precipitation days = 2.8
| Mar precipitation days = 3.2
| Apr precipitation days = 2.5
| May precipitation days = 0.8
| Jun precipitation days = 0.1
| Jul precipitation days = 0.0
| Aug precipitation days = 0.0
| Sep precipitation days = 0.0
| Oct precipitation days = 0.2
| Nov precipitation days = 1.5
| Dec precipitation days = 2.2
| year precipitation days = 16.3
| Jan humidity = 50
| Feb humidity = 42
| Mar humidity = 35
| Apr humidity = 27
| May humidity = 20
| Jun humidity = 14
| Jul humidity = 14
| Aug humidity = 14
| Sep humidity = 15
| Oct humidity = 22
| Nov humidity = 34
| Dec humidity = 47
| year humidity = 27.8
| Jan dew point C =-2.5
| Feb dew point C =-2.4
| Mar dew point C =-0.8
| Apr dew point C =1.7
| May dew point C =2.7
| Jun dew point C =2.2
| Jul dew point C =3.4
| Aug dew point C =2.6
| Sep dew point C =-0.2
| Oct dew point C =-0.7
| Nov dew point C =-1.5
| Dec dew point C =-2.1
| Jan sun = 211
| Feb sun = 210
| Mar sun = 239
| Apr sun = 268
| May sun = 322
| Jun sun = 358
| Jul sun = 371
| Aug sun = 361
| Sep sun = 321
| Oct sun = 292
| Nov sun = 232
| Dec sun = 215
| year sun = 3400
| source 1 = [[NCEI|NOAA NCEI]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Iran/CSV/Tabas_40791.csv
| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020
| publisher = World Meteorological Organization
| access-date = 2 August 2023}}</ref>
|source 2 = Ogimet<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=40791&ndays=31&ano=2025&mes=04&day=28&hora=09&ord=REV&enviar=Ver|title= 40791: Tabas (Iran, Islamic Republic of)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 28 April 2025|website=ogimet.com |publisher=OGIMET |access-date= 18 August 2025 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=40791&ndays=31&ano=2025&mes=05&day=22&hora=09&ord=REV&enviar=Ver|title= 40791: Tabas (Iran, Islamic Republic of)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 22 May 2025|website=ogimet.com |publisher=OGIMET |access-date= 18 August 2025 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=40791&ndays=31&ano=2025&mes=07&day=3&hora=09&ord=REV&enviar=Ver|title= 40791: Tabas (Iran, Islamic Republic of)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 3 July 2025|website=ogimet.com |publisher=OGIMET |access-date= 18 August 2025 |quote=}}</ref>}}

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Tabas
|collapsed = yes
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 13.6
|Feb high C = 17.2
|Mar high C = 23.0
|Apr high C = 29.4
|May high C = 35.3
|Jun high C = 40.7
|Jul high C = 42.2
|Aug high C = 40.5
|Sep high C = 37.1
|Oct high C = 30.6
|Nov high C = 22.6
|Dec high C = 15.6
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 7.7
|Feb mean C = 10.9
|Mar mean C = 16.3
|Apr mean C = 22.4
|May mean C = 28.1
|Jun mean C = 33.0
|Jul mean C = 35.0
|Aug mean C = 33.0
|Sep mean C = 28.8
|Oct mean C = 22.6
|Nov mean C = 15.4
|Dec mean C = 9.4
|Jan low C = 1.8
|Feb low C = 4.6
|Mar low C = 9.5
|Apr low C = 15.4
|May low C = 20.9
|Jun low C = 25.3
|Jul low C = 27.7
|Aug low C = 25.4
|Sep low C = 20.5
|Oct low C = 14.6
|Nov low C = 8.2
|Dec low C = 3.3
|year low C = 
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 16.0
|Feb precipitation mm = 14.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 16.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 12.6
|May precipitation mm = 4.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 0.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 0.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 0.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 0.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 1.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 3.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 12.9
|Jan humidity = 57
|Feb humidity = 48
|Mar humidity = 39
|Apr humidity = 33
|May humidity = 26
|Jun humidity = 19
|Jul humidity = 19
|Aug humidity = 19
|Sep humidity = 21
|Oct humidity = 28
|Nov humidity = 39
|Dec humidity = 52
|year humidity = 
|Jan precipitation days = 3
|Feb precipitation days = 2
|Mar precipitation days = 2
|Apr precipitation days = 1
|May precipitation days = 0
|Jun precipitation days = 0
|Jul precipitation days = 0
|Aug precipitation days = 0
|Sep precipitation days = 0
|Oct precipitation days = 0
|Nov precipitation days = 1
|Dec precipitation days = 2
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|source 1 = https://irimo.ir}}

==Economy==
=== Agricultural products ===
The agricultural products of this desert city are very significant. Products such as: oranges, [[Pistachio|pistachios]], dates, [[Persimmon|persimmons]], summer fruits and [[daffodils]]; Also, tea bread, chickpea bread, and jams that are prepared from agricultural products, such as: spring orange jam, balang jam, orange peel jam, and Tabas mountain and local [[liqueurs]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Group |first=Baniboom |title=Tabas - Tabas City Ecotourist and Tourist and Sights list |url=https://www.baniboom.com/en/city/tabas-city/ |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=Baniboom |language=en}}</ref>

=== Mines ===
Tabas has some of the richest coal mines of Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-05 |title=Visit Tabas Tourist Attractions, Historical & Natural {{!}} Destination Iran |url=https://www.destinationiran.com/visit-tabas-tourist-attractions.htm |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=www.destinationiran.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[2024 Tabas coal mine explosion]] in the Tabas Parvadeh 5 Mine claimed at least 51 lives.

== Transportation ==
Multiple bus lines, a railroad station and an airport connect Tabas to Mashhad, Yazd, Tehran, Kerman and Birjand (the capital city of South Khorasan province).

== Notable people ==
* [[Abbas Vaez-Tabasi]], born 25 June 1935 in Tabas; Grand Imam and Chairman of the [[Astan Quds Razavi]] board
* [[Massoud Rajavi]], born 18 August 1948 in Tabas; one of the two leaders of the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Pelikan234.jpg|[[Golshan Garden]]
File:گلدسته امامزاده کاظم در طبس.jpg
File:داخل باغ گلشن3.JPG|Golshan Garden
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal-inline|Iran}}
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{South Khorasan Province|state=collapsed}}

{{Tabas County|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Cities in South Khorasan province]]

[[Category:Populated places in Tabas County]]

[[Category:Oases of Iran]]

[[Category:Populated places destroyed by earthquakes]]

[[pnb:شہرستان طبس]]