Iran seventh largest shopping mall, Isfahan City Center. The fourth most populous city of Iran, Karaj, has a population of around 1.9 million (2016 census). It is the capital of the province of Alborz, and is situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz mountain range. It is a major industrial city in Iran, with large factories producing sugar, textiles, wire, and alcohol. With a population of around 1.7 million (2016 census), Tabriz is the fifth most populous city of Iran, and had been the second most populous until the late 1960s. It was the first capital
Military history of Ray, Iran Military history of Ray, Iran This article concerns the city of Ray, Iran (near Shahr-e-Rey) as a military objective, not the large territory of which it was once capital ("Ragau" in the Apocryphal Book of Judith). Ray, in an area of fertile lowland between the Zagros Mountains, the Elburz Mountains, and the great Dasht-e Kavir desert, commanded vital routes across and around the mountains, and was a key to power over the whole of Persia (Iran). The vast majority of ancient Persian literature has been lost, so little is known about the history of Ray before the arrival of Islam