History of Iran
According to some sources, including "Encyclopædia Britannica", the name "Tabriz" derives from "tap-riz" ('flowing hot'), from the many thermal springs in the area. Other sources claim that in AD 246, to avenge his brother's death, king Tiridates II of Armenia repelled Ardashir I of the Sassanid Empire and changed the name of the city from Shahistan to Tauris, deriving from "ta-vrezh" ("this revenge" in Grabar). In AD 297, it became the capital of Tiridates III, king of Armenia. However, this story has a popular origin and no ancient source has recorded such event. This is based on accounts of Vardan Areveltsi, a 13th-century Armenian historian. "The Cambridge History of Iran" points to a connection between the "ancient stronghold of Tarui-Tarmakisa" (or Tarwi-Tarwakisa), which existed in the 8th century BC, and the city of Tabriz, with Ernst Emil Herzfeld's "Archaeological History of Iran" also directly equating "Tarwakisa" with Tabriz. Thus, some researchers believe that Tabriz may be considered a pre-Iranian toponym.