i. MODERN CITY AND ŠAHRESTĀN

The name Dārāb refers both to a šahrestān (subprovince) of Fārs province and to the chief city of that šahrestān. The subprovince is bound on the north by the šahrestāns of Neyrīz and Eṣṭahbānāt; on the east by Saʿādatābād, a baḵš (district) of Bandar-e ʿAbbās(ī) (q.v.); on the south by the šahrestān of Lār; and on the west by the šahrestāns of Jahrom and Fasā. Its central district (baḵš-e markazī) encompasses, beside the capital, several rural subdistricts (dehestāns), including Ābšūr, Īzadḵᵛāst, Rūdbāl, Hājīābād, Ḵosūya, Rostāq, Šāhījān, Fasārūd, Fūrk, Kūhestān, Qaryat al-Ḵayr, and Hašīvār (Farhang-e joḡrāfīāʾī, p. 24).

In the northern region of the šahrestān a continuation of the Zagros mountain range runs from northwest to southeast; the land slopes gradually toward the south and southwest. The three highest peaks are, from west to east, Kūh-e Namak (2,863 m), Kūh-e Panjšāh (2,765 m), and Kūh-e Barfdān (3,025 m). Owing to these and other, scattered mountains along its borders, the šahrestān enjoys cold winters and hot, dry summers, a more moderate climate than the hot neighboring regions. In 1354 Š./1975 temperatures measured in the city of Dārāb ranged between -0.8° and 45° C respectively (Saʿīdīān, p. 538). The recorded average, however, ranges from -0.4° to 46° C, with annual precipitation of 160 mm (Farhang-e joḡrāfīāʾī, p. 26).

The region is well watered, owing to abundant seasonal precipitation and a number of permanent springs and rivers, supplemented by qanāts and wells. The largest river is the Rūdbār, which rises in the southern mountains of Neyrīz and in various parts of its course is known as Rūdbāl, Rostam, Āb-e Šūr, and Tang-e Čarḵī. It flows into the Persian Gulf near Bandar-e ʿAbbās. As the soil of Dārāb is also fertile, agriculture is the primary source of livelihood in the šahrestān. The leading agricultural products and the main exports from the region include cotton (q.v.), wheat, citrus fruits (q.v.), dates (see DATE PALM), grapes (see ANGŪR), fresh vegetables, and roses. The cotton is usually ginned locally before being exported. In fact, cotton ginning and carpet weaving are the major industrial products of Dārāb. Among other crafts of economic importance is embroidery, characterized by floral designs on white cloth.

According to the census (q.v.) of 1365 Š./1986, the population of Dārāb šahrestān was 168,692 (30,755 family units, 84,834 men, and 83,858 women), with 27.4 percent living in urban areas. Of the total population 51.2 percent were below the age of fifteen years, 46.1 percent between fifteen and sixty-four years old, and 2.7 percent sixty-five years old or older (Markaz-e āmār, pp. 1, 10). This population consists mainly of Twelver Shiʿite Muslims whose first language is Persian, though Turkic languages and Arabic are also spoken.

The city of Dārāb, located in the Rūdbār valley 270 km southeast of Shiraz, at 28°45’ N and 54°33’ E and an altitude of 1,120 m (Farhang-e joḡrāfīāʾī, p. 26), is the capital of the šahrestān. Ruins of the ancient city of Dārābgerd, capital of the district of Dārābjerd, the easternmost of five districts of Fārs under the ʿAbbasid caliphate (Le Strange, Lands, pp. 288-89; corresponding to the independent province of Šabānkāra in the Mongol period; Bartol’d, tr., pp. 152-53, 161-62), lie 8 km south of the present city (see ii, below).