KHORASSAY (anc. Parthia, Margiana, and Aria), the largest province of Persia, lies between lat. 31° and 38° 30' n. and long. 53° and 62° 30' e. ; contains about 210,000 sq.m., of which nearly one-third is a vast salt waste; of the remainder, a .large portion consist& of plains of shifting sand; and the rest is fertile. The fertile districts are in the n., where the high range of the Elburz crosses the province, throwiudout spurs, forming a. mountainous district, abounding with fertile and well-watered valleys. Artificial fertil ization by means of canals was here carried on to a great extent in ancient times, but the incessant disturbances which have unsettled the district for the last 1000 years have almost put an end to this practice. The chief products of Khorassan are grain, cotton, silk, hemp, tobacco, aromatic and medicinal plants, fruits, wine, salt, gold, silver and precious stones, also camels, horses, and asses. In the more thickly-peopled districts,
manufactures of silks, woolens, and camels' and goats' hair fabrics, also of muskets and. sword-blades, are carried onto a considerable extent. The chief towns of the province are Meshed, the capital, Yezd, and Astrabad. The inhabitants are Moham medans of .the Shiah sect.
Khorassan, in ancient times, also included the desert of Khiva or Kharasm and the district now known as the kingdom of Herat; but the first was separated from it by tIxe. Seljuks at the commencement of the 11th c., and the latter about 1510, since which, period it has been on several occasions seized and held for a short time by the Persians.
Khorassan has been several times separated from the Persian empire, but was finally reunited to it at the commencement of the 16th c. by Ismail the first Suffaveaa shah of Persia. See PERSIA.
ItHORSABAD'. See XINEVElf.