[4] Darab is one of the oldest cities in Iran, and is mentioned in the Persian epic Shahname by Ferdowsi.

Legend ascribes the foundation of the city to Darius I, hence its earlier name Daráb-gerd (Darius-town).

[5] In the neighborhood there are various remains, including the Kalah i Daráb (citadel of Darius), which consists of a series of earthworks arranged in a circle around an isolated rock.

Another monument in the vicinity is a giant bas-relief, carved on the vertical face of a rock, representing the victory of the Sasanian king Shapur I over the Roman emperor Valerian in 260 A.D.[5] According to Hamza al-Isfahani, the city was triangular in design, and the circular defensive wall, which has been uncovered, was built in the 8th century by a governor of Fars under Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.

[10] In the notes to his long mystical poem The Kasidah (1880), Sir Richard Francis Burton describes his alter ego "Haji Abdu El-Yezdi" as being a native of Darab.