Tabriz

For the administrative division of East Azerbaijan province, see Tabriz County. For the type of carpet, see Tabriz rug.

Tabriz تبریز Tauris
City
Tabriz skyline Tabriz Municipality Palace Qajar Museum of Tabriz Arg of Tabriz Blue Mosque Bazaar of Tabriz Mausoleum of Poets
Flag Seal
Nickname:  City of Firsts
Tabriz Location within Iran
Coordinates: 38°04′N 46°18′E
Country	Iran
Region	3
Province	East Azerbaijan
County	Tabriz
District	Central
Government
• Mayor	Yaghoub Houshyar
• Chairman of City Council	Rasoul Bargi
• Parliament	Alirezabeighi, Saei, Farhanghi, Bimegdar, Pezeshkian & Saeidi
Area
• City	325 km2 (125 sq mi)
• Urban	512 km2 (198 sq mi)
• Metro	1,500 km2 (580 sq mi)
Elevation	1,351.4 m (4,434 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Density	12,000/km2 (31,000/sq mi)
• Urban	1,558,693
• Metro	1,773,023
• Rank	6th in Iran
Demonyms	Tabrizian, Tabrizli, Tabrizi
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Postal code	51368
Area code	041
Website	tabriz.ir

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Tabriz (Persian: تبریز, romanized: tabriz, pronounced [tæbˈɾiːz] ^ⓘ) is a city in the Central District of Tabriz County, in East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran.

The city of Tabriz lies close to the borders of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, 130 kilometers from the Armenia-Iran and Azerbaijan-Iran border.

Tabriz is in the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of volcanic cones in the Sahand and Eynali mountains. Tabriz's elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 m (4,430 and 5,250 ft) above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that gently slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, 60 km (37 mi) to the west. The city was named World Carpet Weaving City by the World Crafts Council in October 2015 and Exemplary Tourist City of 2018 by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

With a population of over 1.7 million (2016), Tabriz is the largest economic hub and metropolitan area in northwest Iran. The population is bilingual with most people speaking Iranian Azerbaijani as their native language and Persian as their second language. Tabriz is a major heavy industries hub for automobiles, machine tools, refineries, petrochemicals, textiles and cement production industries. The city is famous for its handicrafts, including hand-woven rugs and jewelry. Local confectionery, chocolate, dried nuts and traditional Tabrizi food are recognized throughout Iran as some of the best. Some of the most esteemed cultural institutions in northwest Iran are located in Tabriz, which is also a center for intellectual activity.

Tabriz contains many historical monuments. Most of Tabriz's preserved historical sites belong to Ilkhanid, Safavid and Qajar. Among these sites is the grand Bazaar of Tabriz, which is designated a World Heritage Site. From the early modern era, Tabriz was pivotal in the development of three neighboring regions - the Caucasus, Eastern Anatolia and Central Iran. As the country's closest hub to Europe, many aspects of early modernization in Iran began in Tabriz. The Qajar dynasty was forced to cede the Caucasian territories to Imperial Russia following the two Russo-Persian Wars in the first half of the 19th century. Until 1925, the city was the traditional residence of the Qajar crown princes.