Darab City

DARAB city (daaraab) is located to the southeast of FARS province. Darab is geographically divided in two regions. The north-east region is mountainous and forested, the south-central region has much lower altitude and includes vast plains. Its original name was Darabgerd (Darabjerd). The ruins of this city still remain in the south west of the present town which is known as Dehya Castle. In Darab, lemon trees are grown which are a speciality of Iran.

Legend ascribes the foundation of the city to Darius, hence its name Darab-gerd ("Darius-fort"). In the neighborhood there are various remains of antiquity, the most important of which mi. S., is known as the Kalah i Dal-a, or citadel of Darius, and consists of a series of earthworks arranged in a circle round an isolated rock.

Nothing, however, remains to fix the date or explain the history of the fortification. Another monument in the vicinity is a gigantic bas-relief, carved on the vertical face of a rock, representing the victory of the Sassanian Shapur I (Sapor) of Persia over the Roman emperor Valerian, A.D. 260.