Behesht-e Zahra explained

Behesht-e Zahra
بهشت زهرا
Map Type:Iran Tehran
Coordinates:35.536°N 51.37°W
Established:1970
Country:Iran
Location:Tehran
Type:Public
Size:534ha
Graves:1,600,000
Mapframe-Wikidata:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:12

Behesht-e Zahra (Persian: بهشت زهرا, lit. The Paradise of Zahra, from Fatima az-Zahra) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran,[1] it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1.

History

In the early 1950s, all the cemeteries in Tehran were supposed to be replaced by several large new ones outside the then precincts of the capital. Behesht-e Zahra was built in late 1960s on the southern side of Tehran towards the direction of the city of Qom and opened on 29 June 1970 by mayor of Tehran, Gholamreza Nikpey.

Many of the deceased soldiers of the Iran–Iraq War were buried in the martyr's section of the graveyard.[2] [3]

Notable burials

Royalty

Politicians (Pahlavi Era)

Military personnel

Political dissidents

Politicians (Islamic Republic)

Scholars and journalists

Artists

Actors, actresses and film directors

Athletes

Businessmen and philanthropists

Others

In addition to tombs of the royals, politicians, and other significant people, in the graveyard there are symbolic tombs for the perpetrators of the 1983 Hezbollah attacks on the U.S. Marine and French peacekeepers' barracks in Beirut and for the assassin of Anwar Sadat, Khalid Islambouli. Similarly, a symbolic tomb was erected in the cemetery for Hezbollah member Imad Mughniyah, who was killed on 12 February 2008 in Damascus, Syria.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Sahimi. Mohammad. The Ten Days That Changed Iran. 30 July 2013. PBS. 3 February 2010. Los Angeles.
  2. Alfoneh. Ali. Iran's Suicide Brigades. Middle East Quarterly. Winter 2007. XIV. 7. 37–44. 8 August 2013.
  3. Book: Thomas Goltz. Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic. 8 April 2015. Routledge. 978-1-317-47624-5. 442–.
  4. Book: Scott Peterson. Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran – A Journey Behind the Headlines. registration. 5 August 2013. 21 September 2010. Simon & Schuster. 978-1-4165-9739-1. 701.
  5. News: Chalhoub. Elie. Imad Mughniyeh in Iran: The Stuff of Legends. 4 August 2013. Al Akhbar. 14 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130929133648/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/4198. 29 September 2013. dead.