Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life.

[22] Some argue that the name originates with the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges (of Iranian origin), one mentioned by Ovid as "ipse vides, onerata ferox ut ducat Iazyx/ per medias Histri plaustra bubulcus aquas"[23] and "Iazyges et Colchi Metereaque turba Getaque/ Danubii mediis vix prohibentur aquis".

Another historian wrote that the Iasians lived among the Cumans and that they left the Caucasus after the first Mongolian campaign in the West, settling temporarily near the Prut.

For the loss caused to the city in 1861 by the removal of the seat of government to Bucharest the constituent assembly voted 148,150 lei to be paid in ten annual instalments, but no payment was ever made.

[39][40] During the war, while the full scale of the Holocaust remained generally unknown to the Allied Powers, the Iași pogrom stood as one of the known examples of Axis brutality toward the Jews.

In May 1944, the Iași area became the scene of ferocious fighting between Romanian-German forces and the advancing Soviet Red Army and the city was partially destroyed.

The German Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland won a defensive victory at the Battle of Târgu Frumos, near Iași, which was the object of several NATO studies during the Cold War.

Located in the North-East of Romania, at the contact between the Jijia Plain and the Bârlad Plateau, Iași used to be the crossroads place of the historic trade routes that passed through Moldavia coming from the Kingdom of Poland, Habsburg monarchy, Tsardom of Russia, and Constantinople.

The southern part of the city lies on the Iași Ridge (Romanian: Coasta Iașilor) (the northernmost hill of the Bârlad Plateau).

It is a common belief that Iași is built on seven hills (Romanian: coline): Breazu, Bucium, Cetățuia, Copou, Galata, Repedea and Șorogari, thus triggering comparisons with Rome.

Notable architecture includes the Trei Ierarhi Monastery, part of the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Site, or the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture, built on the old ruins of the mediaeval Princely Court of Moldavia.

During World War II and the Communist era many historical buildings in the old city centre (around Union Square area) were destroyed or demolished, and replaced by International style buildings and also a new mainly Mid-Century modern style Civic Centre was built around the Old Market Square (The Central Hall).

[44] The mid-1990s to early-2000s brought the first non-industrial glass curtain walled buildings (Romtelecom, Hotel Europa), while in 2012, in close proximity to the Palace of Culture, the Palas shopping mall and office complex was inaugurated.

[54] Among the oldest is Princely Saint Nicholas (1491), dating from the reign of Stephen the Great, and the Metropolitan Cathedral is the largest of its kind in Romania.

The Trei Ierarhi Monastery, a unique monument, considered to be an architectural masterpiece,[55] was erected in 1635–1639 by Vasile Lupu, and adorned with gilded carvings on its outer walls and twin towers.

Other examples of historic churches and monasteries (some of them surrounded by defence walls and towers) include: Socola (1562), Galata (1582), Saint Sava (1583), Hlincea (1587), Aroneanu [ro] (1594), Bârnova (1603), Barnovschi (1627), Golia (1650), Cetățuia (1668), Frumoasa (1726), Saint Spiridon (1747), Old Metropolitan Cathedral [ro] (1761), Bărboi (1843 with 18th-century bell tower), Bucium (1853).

Each year, around 14 October, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather to commemorate Saint Parascheva, while the city itself established its Celebration Days at the same time.

Mihai Eminescu reportedly wrote some of his best works underneath this linden tree, rendering it one of Romania's most important natural monuments and a notable Iași landmark.

When the linden was about 57 years old and about 14 cm (5.5 in) in diameter, Iași was mentioned as an urban settlement, during the reign of Prince Alexander the Good (1408).

The city is an important information technology sector centre, with the presence of several large multinational companies (Amazon, Oracle, Continental, Conduent, Xerox, Accenture, Capgemini, SCC) and many other local and foreign companies such as Bentley Systems, Bitdefender, Comodo, Endava, Ness, Pentalog, or TiVo (to name a few),[70] as well as two universities which offer specific degree programs.

[71] An estimated workforce of more than 35,000 employees is active in Iași's industrial manufacturing sector,[72] particularly in automotive (Delphi, Lear, Conex Distribution), pharmaceutical industry (Antibiotice Iași, Fiterman Pharma, Ircon SRL), metallurgical production (ArcelorMittal, Technosteel LBR), aerospace (BMT Aerospace), industrial equipment (Agmus, ASAM, Fortus), energy (E.ON Moldova Distribuție, Veolia Energie), textiles and clothing (Benetton, Iași Conf, Iașitex), home appliances (Tehnoton), building materials (Brikston, Build Corp), food (Compan, Panifcom, Zeelandia).

Many great personalities of Romanian culture are connected to Iași: the chronicler Nicolae Milescu, the historians and politicians Mihail Kogălniceanu and Simion Bărnuțiu, the poets Vasile Alecsandri and George Topârceanu, the writers Mihail Sadoveanu, Alecu Russo, and Ionel Teodoreanu, the literary critic Titu Maiorescu, the historian A.D. Xenopol, the philosophers Vasile Conta and Petre Andrei, the sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, the geographer Emil Racoviță and the painter Octav Băncilă, only to name a few.

The building, designed according to the plans of the Viennese architects Hermann Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner, was raised between 1894 and 1896, and also hosts, starting 1956, the Iași Romanian National Opera.

The Mihai Eminescu Museum, situated in Copou Park, is dedicated to the great poet's life and creation; other museums are dedicated to: Dosoftei, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Vasile Alecsandri, Mihai Codreanu, Vasile Pogor, Otilia Cazimir, Mihail Sadoveanu, George Topîrceanu, Nicolae Gane, Constantin Negruzzi, Garabet Ibrăileanu, Ionel Teodoreanu, Petru Poni, Radu Cernătescu [ro], Cezar Petrescu, and Dimitrie Anghel.

The library is situated within the historical University Palace, a building designed by architects Louis Blanc and Petru Poni, who drew inspiration from prominent European academic architecture.

Live music and different other artistic events (poetry nights, readings) are a habitual occurrence in the various bars and coffee shops the city has to offer.

The Physicians and Naturalists Society [ro], founded in Iași, has existed since the early part of the 19th century, and a number of periodicals are published.

In the period before and after World War II, the later (renamed Polytechnic Institute in 1948) extended its domain of activity, especially in the field of engineering, and became known as Gheorghe Asachi Technical University in 1993.

[96][97] In 2014, the European Commission started environmental law infringement procedures against Romania, citing Bucharest, Iași, and Brașov cases as examples.

[98] In 2015, while the atmospheric particulate matter has repeatedly reached and exceeded legal thresholds for PM10, Iași came to be regarded as the city with the second worst air quality in Romania, after Bucharest.