TABRIZ, or TABREEZ, a town of Persia, capital of Azerbaijan, in a fertile plain, bounded on the north and south by lofty mountain ranges, and on the west by Lake Urmiyeh, about 4800 feet above the sea. N. Lat., 38. 4.; E. Long., 46. 8. It is surrounded by a wall of sun-dried bricks, about 3½ miles in circuit, but outside of this there are extensive suburbs, in which a large proportion of the people dwell; and there are here also immense gardens, producing in abundance all the fruits of southern Europe. Owing to the lofty site of the town the climate is temperate in summer, but in winter the cold is very intense. Tabriz is entered by seven gates; its streets are straight and unpaved, and its houses are generally built of brick, and made low on account of the danger of earthquakes. There are no buildings at all remarkable for their architectural merit; the most conspicuous is a castle, formerly a mosque, a lofty brick building about 600 years old, and much injured by earthquakes. The town has also numerous mosques, barracks, a cannon foundry, and manufactures of coarse cotton cloth and silk fabrics. It is one of the chief commercial towns in Persia, and trades with Tiflis in Russia, with Trebizond, and with Constantinople. To the first of these places it exports silk, cotton, rice, and dried fruits; receiving in return iron, copper, leather, cloth, and manufactured goods. European goods are imported into Tabriz by way of Trebizond, and partly also by caravans from Constantinople. In this way there are exported rice, wool, hides, furs, carpets, shawls, and other articles. The value of the annual imports of English goods alone is estimated at a million sterling. Tabriz also receives merchandise from India and Bokhara, through Herat and Teheran. Thus the town is still of great importance, though it has declined very much from its ancient prosperity, when it contained hundreds of caravanserais, mosques, and cafés, with a population of 550,000. It is said to have been founded by the wife of the caliph Haroun al Rashid in 791 A.D., and it was a favourite residence of that celebrated monarch. The present population is between 50,000 and 60,000.