come, as in 1157 Khorasan was conquered by the Khwarazmids. In 1220 was annexed by the Mongols of Genghis Khan. When in 1226 the great conqueror finally died, Khorasan was inherited by his son Tolui and then by Tolui's son Hulegu, the first emperor of the Mongolic Ilkhanate of Persia. In the 14th century, a flag of independence was hoisted by the Sarbedaran movement in Sabzevar, and in 1368, Khorasan came into the hands of Tamerlane. In 1507, Khorasan was occupied by Uzbek tribes. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, it was occupied by the Afghans. In 1824, Herat became independent for several years when the Afghan Empire was split between the Durranis and Barakzais. The Persians sieged the city in 1837, but the British assisted the Afghans in repelling them. In 1856, the Persians launched another invasion, and briefly managed to recapture the city; it led directly to the Anglo-Persian War. In 1857 hostilities between the Persians and the British ended after the Treaty of Paris was signed, and the Persian troops withdrew from Herat. Afghanistan reconquered Herat in 1863 under Dost Muhammad Khan, two weeks before his death. Administrative divisions Cities According to the 2016 census, 484,346 people (over 56% of the population of North Khorasan province) live in the following cities: Ashkhaneh 25,104, Ava 3,993, Bojnord 228,931, Chenaranshahr 3,380, Daraq 4,926, Eivar 3,994, Esfarayen 59,490, Faruj 12,061, Garmeh 10,933, Hesar-e Garmkhan 1,499, Jajarm 19,580, Lujali 1,481, Pish Qaleh 2,001, Qazi 2,428, Qushkhaneh 996, Raz 5,029, Safiabad 3,427, Sankhvast 2,077, Shirvan 82,689, Shoqan 2,313, Titkanlu 3,835, and Ziarat 4,179. North Khorasan today North Khorasan province is one of the most diverse territories in Iran today, largely reflecting the ethnic make-up of Iran. Most people in North Khorasan are Shia Muslims, who are often Khorasani Kurds, Persians, Khorasani Turks and so on, although there is also a small minority of Sunnis who generally are Turkmen There used to be a sizeable population of Lurs inhabiting this province, however, most returned to their native area in western Iran as there are no signs of them in the province today Previously there used to be a sizeable community of Arabs who settled in the area during the Arab invasion of Iran, however by 1875 they had intermarried so extensively with Persians and Turks that they were indistinguishable, having largely abandoned the Arab language and culture in favour of the