BIRJAND, a town of Persia in the Kain district of the prov ince of Khurasan, 53' N. and S9° so' E., built on low hills in a barren and treeless valley, on a plateau 4,440f t. in elevation, and divided by the broad bed of a river. The population is vari ously estimated at 14,000-18,000. It is a busy commercial town with good caravanserais and a college. It is situated 328m. south of Meshed on the main road to railhead at Duzdab, which, in recent years, has been made passable for motor cars. The sur rounding district has long been famed for its carpets, which almost all come from Durruksh about 5om. to the north-east. Saffron is very extensively cultivated round Kain, while the barberry grows to perfection at Birjand. Wheat and barley, sufficient for local needs, are grown in normally good years. The water-supply in the surrounding country is scanty. The inhabitants include a strong Sunni element; the Afghan community is also strong, and in Bir jand itself and among the nomads of the region there is a large Arab-speaking element. There is a British vice-consulate and a telegraph office at Birjand, having direct communication with Meshed and Duzdab.
See P. M. Sykes, io,000 Miles in Persia (1902).