Sabzevar, city in northeastern Iran, located in Knorasan province. Sabzevar is the main commercial center for an agricultural region that is noted for the production of grapes and raisins. It has many small-scale industries, especially for food processing and for the manufacture of cooperware (wooden barrels and tubs) and electric motors. Sabzevar is also home to an old bazaar where wholesale merchants arrange the export of fresh, dried, and preserved fruits and vegetables. The main highway between Tehran and Mashhad (Meshed) passes through the city, while the highway north to Bojnurd connects Sabzevar to the Caspian Sea province of Marandaran. The city's major historical site is the 12th-century tower of Khosrowgerd, located 6 km (4 mi) west of the city center. The 19th-century seminary founded by the renowned Muslim philosopher Hajji Hadi Sabzevari is also in the city.
Sabzevar existed as a small town during the Sassanid Empire (AD 224-651). It was relatively prosperous during the medieval period (641-1500) but was captured and looted on several occasions. Its development as an industrial center began in the late 1960s. As a result of large-scale rural-to-urban migration, Sabzevar's population has more than doubled since 1976. Population (1994) 160,755.
