The organisation that runs Imam Reza's shrine is not just a religious body; it is also one of the largest business empires in Iran.
A complex, not a single building
The shrine of Imam Reza has grown into a vast complex including museums, libraries, courtyards and the adjoining Goharshad Mosque, built in the fifteenth century by Gawhar Shad, a Timurid queen and patron of architecture in her own right. Combined, the complex ranks among the largest mosque and shrine precincts by area anywhere in the world, accommodating enormous numbers of pilgrims during peak seasons.
Astan Quds Razavi
The shrine is administered by Astan Quds Razavi, a centuries-old religious endowment, or bonyad, that has expanded well beyond religious administration into agriculture, industry, publishing and finance, making it one of the largest conglomerates in Iran and giving the shrine's management a significant economic footprint distinct from its devotional role.
A city shaped around a death
Mashhad's own name means place of martyrdom, referring directly to Imam Reza's death there in 818, an event Shia tradition holds resulted from poisoning, and the city grew up around the shrine specifically as a pilgrimage destination rather than the shrine being added later to an already established urban centre.