MESHED (properly Mash-had, the place of martyrdom), capital of Khurasan in Persia, is situated at an elevation of 3,197 ft., in the valley of the Ab-i-Meshed or Kashaf Rud, a tributary of the Hari Rud. The town, in N., 36' E. is 46o m. crowfly from Tehran (566 m. by road), 200 m. from Herat, and 472 m. by road from Duzdab near the frontier of India. The population is estimated at 6o,000-8o,000 of which about I0,000 are pilgrims. Meshed Jews number about 4,000 and inhabit a quarter near one of the gates. The climate is fairly healthy with an average maximum temperature of 90.9° Fahr. in July and minimum of in January. The average rainfall over a period of 17 years was 9.37 inches. The town, irregular of shape, is about 6 m. in circumference and surrounded by a mud wall with towers. In the north-west stands the Ark, or citadel, which serves also as the residence of the Governor, and in front of this is the maidan, an open square about a m. in extent. There are unusually large numbers of caravanserais. The city has five gates from one of which, the Bala Khiaban gate, the main street forms a fine avenue planted with plane and mulberry trees and having a stream running down the centre. Meshed has grown up around the tomb of the Imam Riza and has supplanted Tus, the ancient capital, now in ruins, about 15 m. to the north-west. It is visited annually by some i oo,000 pilgrims. Riza was the eighth of the twelve Imams in line of succession after Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law Ali, whose particular followers—as Shiahs the Persians are. To the Shiahs, Imam Riza is a martyr, being
believed to have been poisoned by the Caliph Mamun. The build ings of the shrine—"the Glory of the Shiah World"—together with a space extending to about one hundred yards beyond the gates of the shrine on each side, is bast, i.e., sanctuary.
Meshed is very important politically as well as commercially and the British and Russian Governments maintain consulates general there. The transit trade of Meshed to Central Asia is not so great as before the construction of the Trans-Caspian railway. It is the centre of the northern wool trade and of an important rug industry. It is a nucleus of trunk roads, being joined with Tehran (566 m.) by a partly metalled road passable for carts at all times and by light motors in summer. It is joined also with Ashgabad on the Trans-Caspian railway by a good carriage road ; and south ward there is at Duzdab (600 m.) the road to railhead of the Indian system, which was made passable by motor cars during the World War. The total value of the trade passing through Meshed in was 38,339,08o krans (i St.=45 krans) exports about balancing imports. The chief items of export were carpets (5,669, 965 krans), hides and skins (5,550,213 krans), opium (4.351,600 krans), timber, and cotton tissues ; the imports were sugar, skins and hides, cotton stuffs, carpets, minerals and metals.