TEHRAN – Iranian authorities have recently demolished a brick construction that was illegally developing within the legitimate boundaries of ancient Neyshabur in northeast Iran.

The police unit for protecting cultural heritage smashed a walling and land-use change in an immediate action upon the order of the judicial authority and in collaborations with Neyshabur’s municipality, IRNA reported on Monday.

“Any [unauthorized] change of use of agricultural lands, masonry, and construction in historical sites and their properties are prohibited,” the news agency quoted a senior police official in charge of protecting cultural heritage as saying.

Situated some 70 km west of Mashhad, Neyshabur (Nishapur) was founded around the third century CE. Experts say, that “Nishapur” derived its name from its alleged founder, the Sasanian king Shapur I (d. 272).

It was once one of the four great cities of the region of Khorasan and was important in the 5th century as the residence of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd II (reigned 438–457).

By the time the Arabs came to Khorasan in the mid-7th century, however, it had become insignificant. Under the Tahirid dynasty (821–873), the city flourished again, and it rose to importance under the Samanid dynasty (ended 999). Toghril Beg, the first Seljuq ruler, made Neyshabur his residence in 1037, but it declined in the 12th century and the 13th twice suffered earthquakes as well as the Mongol invasion.

The evidence from the various seasons of excavations in Neyshabur has revealed much about the development of architectural decoration in northeastern Iran. Walls in residences and public buildings throughout Neyshabur were decorated in many different ways, from frescoes to carved and painted stucco, terracotta panels to glazed ceramic tiles.

Neyshabur has been an important hub for turquoise as well as the manufacture of glass, metal, stone vessels, and textiles. The surrounding area produces cereals and cotton, and the town’s industries include agricultural marketing and the manufacture of carpets and pottery. Neyshabur is linked by road and railway with Tehran and Mashhad.

AFM/