he Fars Province is considered as one of the primitive centers of civilization and one of the most famous provinces of the Old Persian Empire, thus, for centuries was a home to kingdoms in the Iranian Plateau. Before Islam, two main Iranian leaders named Koorosh (Cyrus) and Ardeshir Babakan rose from this region and each began their vast dynasties which are the Achaemanian and the Sassanid respectively. At the end of the Achaemanian Dynasty that ruled in Iran for about 219 years, Alexander the Macedonian founded the Seleucidian Dynasty (311 B.C.) in Iran and established many cities in the Pars (Fars) region.
Meanwhile, local powers under an Iranian name established their government in the central part of the region, in an area called Estakhr. Since 250 B.C., on their coins imprints of Pahlavi scripts with Iranian figures and Zoroastrian braziers could be observed. However, the Pars region was a part of Seleucidian Empire till the period of Antioukhous IV period. After the Parthians liberated the central parts of the Seleucidian Empire, Pars became an independent state.
Later on Muslims for the first time invaded Fars during the reign of Omar the Caliph. In 17 A.H. one of commanders of Ala-ebne-Hazrami, governor of Bahrain was defeated by Iranian governor of Fars, in spite of the Iranian resistance against the Muslim invaders. Ultimately, Estakhr, Tooj, Fasa and Shiraz cities were surrounded by Muslims and though with violation, they finally gave up to Islam. At that time, Fars had expanded considerably encompassing Yazd and region along the desert. It is because of this diverse and interesting historical background that Fars has so many historical monuments yet to be discovered.
In 3rd century A.H., at the time of the caliphate weakness, Fars was surrounded by Jacob Leis, the founder of the Saffarian Dynasty, and the city of Shiraz became the capital. His brother constructed a big Jame' Mosque in Shiraz. After that Fars was surrounded by the Al-e-Boyeh and later on by the Seljukians. At the time of weakness of the latter, Sonqor-ebne-Modood established the Fars Atabakan Dynasty. They ruled Fars till 543 A.H. and after a while the region was invaded by the Mongols.
In 754 A.H., the Al-e-e-Mozafar Dynasty surrounded Fars and ruled there till 895 A.H. In 959 A.H., Shah Ismail Safavid conquered Fars after which Shiraz and other cities in Fars developed considerably. Although part of the city was destroyed during the reign of Nader Shah, with Karim Khan Zand, Shiraz found its peace again at the time of the latter. In the Pahlavi era, important construction works were performed in Fars and Shiraz. After the Qajar period, the province has dealt with occasional uprisings of the Qashqaie tribes. After the revolution in 1978, this province has been a thriving area and was developed considerably in recent years.
On this marvelous historical background, many different historical and ancient monuments have remained. Each of which has its own values as a worldwide heritage, which reflects the history of the province and the country.
Due to geographical characteristics of Fars and its proximity to the Persian Gulf, since long it has been a residing area for different natives and tribes from other parts of the world like Turks, Semites, and Aryans who were under the influence of Iranian culture. However, the original tribes of Fars including Qashqaie, Mamasani, Khamseh and Kohkiluyeh have kept their native and unique culture and life styles which constitute part of the cultural heritage of the country attracting mainly international tourists.

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Shiraz Abadeh Bovanat Darab Eqleed Estahban Fasa Firooz Abad Jahrum Kazeroon	Lamerd Mamasani Marvdasht Nayreez Sepeedan
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