In the Middle Ages, the town was known as Tabas al-Unnab ('Tabas of the Jujube') to distinguish it from the nearby Tabas al-Tamr ('Tabas of the Dates'); together the two towns gave their name to the district of Tabasayn.[5] In the 10th century, Ibn Hawqal described it as a middling town of clay bricks, but with ruined fortifications and no castle; while Qazvini in the 13th century mentions a castle in the nearby village of Iravah. Medieval geographers noted the relatively abundant water supply of the town, in marked contrast to the surrounding countryside.[5] In the 19th century, the town was inhabited almost entirely by Afghan Sunnis, whence it was also known as Sunni-Khanah.[5]
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, Tabas-e Masina's population was 3,776 in 779 households, when it was a village in Tabas-e Masina Rural District.[6] The following census in 2011 counted 4,133 people in 979 households,[7] by which time the village had been elevated to the status of a city.[8] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 4,596 people in 1,072 households.[2]
^Tabas-e Masina can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3086561" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
