Haroniye - Tus
Haroniye is a historical building and it is associated with the Abbasid Mulsim Caliph Harun al-Rashid and it is only at a stone’s throw away from Ferdowsi’s tomb. This building dates back to the late 8th or early 9th century, Caliph Harun al-Rashid became ill and later died in this city. now, Haroniye appears to be very bland but in the past it may had been decorated.
Tus is only 40km from Mashhad, now there is nothing but ruins but still it makes a great visit for history buffs. Once it was a splendid city, Alexander the Great captured it in 330 BC. The Mongol invasion of the 13th century (1220 – 1259) completely destroyed this city and it was left to ruins. Among the ruins, only two main buildings are associated with Tus today and Haroniye is one of them.
In the past, Tus has produced some of the finest Iranian figures in the history. Some of the famous people from this city are Imam al-Ghazali, Jabir ibn Hayyan, Ferdowsi, Nizam al-Mulk, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Shaykh Tusi. There were few old stone fragments on display inside the courtyard of the Haroniye. These pieces were picked up from different sites in Tus. Tus, indeed is a great place to think and wonder how things have changed its’ path in ever dynamic Iran.
