Town in northeastern Iran with 90,000 inhabitants (2003 estimate) at an elevation 1,149 metres above sea level north of the Shah Jahan Mountains. It lies in the Khorasan Province. Even today, a large part of the people belonging to the region of Quchan are nomads.The region produces grain and wine. Quchan is connecte by road to Mashhad 150 km southeast, and Turkmenistan 100 km north. Quchan has suffered from many earthquakes, and the town was relocated 13 east of the original town in 1895. Most of the inhabitants are Kurds, originating from the Zafaranlu tribe.
HISTORY
17th century: Shah Abbas 1 resettles the Zafaranlu Kurdish tribe. They served as frontier soldiers, and received great autonomy in return, had their own hereditary tribal leader, and did not pay any tributes. 1895: Following a devastating earthquake that killed 12,000 of the inhabitants, Quchan is relocated 13 km east.