Natanz is a city in the arid center of Iran. The city lies in an oasis in the desert. The city is located about southeast of Kashan. The city is well known for the pears grown there. About 11.000 people live in the city. There are shrines in the area, for example that of Abdas-Samad Esfahani. He was a Sufi who died in Natanz in 1299 CE. King Darius III was killed in the mountains near the city, about 330 BC. The village Abyaneh, near Natanz is a well-known holiday resort today. Before Ismail I made Twelver Islam the state religion, it was a center of Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism originated in Iran, around 1000 BC. 