Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of
Salmas County,
West Azerbaijan Province in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. It is located northwest of
Lake Urmia, near
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
.
According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,864.
The majority of the population is composed of
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...
and
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
with some
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Assyrians, and
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
History
Etymology and early history
According to
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
the earliest historic recognition of Salmas could be found at the time of
Ardashir I
Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new ...
's reign (224–242 AD) via a petroglyph of him on horseback while receiving surrender of the
Parthian personage. In another contribution by
Britannica, on an animated political map of
Sassanid Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
at the time of
Shapur I's reign (240–270 AD), Salmas is markedly acknowledged as one of the renown and apparently important cities of the empire with the same original name as now. There is a speculation that the nickname of the city, Shapur, might be derived from the name of this
king (of kings) of Persia.
Salmas was held by the Kurdish
Rawadid dynasty
Rawwadid or Ravvadid (also Revend or Revendi) or Banū Rawwād () (955–1071) was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty, centered in the northwestern region of Adharbayjan (Azerbaijan) between the late 8th and early 13th centuries.
Originally of Az ...
and frequented by the
Hadhabani tribe in the 10-11th centuries.
Al-Maqdisi described it as a Kurdish town who had built a wall around the city.
Another Mention of the city was made in 1281, when its Assyrian bishop made the trip to the consecration of the
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...
patriarch
Yaballaha in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
.
[Houtsma, M. Th. ''et al''. (1993 reprint) "Salmas" ''E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936'' Volume 4, E.J. Brill, New York]
page 118
In the Battle of Salmas on 17–18 September 1429, the
Kara Koyunlu were defeated by
Shah Rukh who was consolidating
Timurid holdings west of
Lake Urmia. However, the area was retaken by the Kara Koyunlu in 1447 after the death of Shah Rukh.
In March 1915
Cevdet Bey
Jevdet Bey or Cevdet Tahir BelbezSait Çetinoğlu"Bir Osmanlı Komutanının Soykırım Güncesi", ''Birikim'', 09.04.2009. (1878 – January 15, 1955) Selcuk Uzun"1915 „Van İsyanı“ ve Vali Cevdet (Belbez) Bey" ''Küyerel'', 30.12.2011. wa ...
ordered 800
Assyrians of Salmas to be killed.''
''
Mar Shimun, the Patriarch of the
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...
was murdered by the
Kurdish chieftain
Simko Shikak in Salmas in March 1918.
Around the advent of the 1910s,
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
started to station infantry and
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
in Salmas. The Russians retreated at the time of
Enver Pasha
İsmail Enver, better known as Enver Pasha ( ota, اسماعیل انور پاشا; tr, İsmail Enver Paşa; 22 November 1881 – 4 August 1922) was an Ottoman military officer, revolutionary, and convicted war criminal who formed one-third ...
's offensive in the Iran-Caucasus region, but returned in early 1916, and stayed up to the wake of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
.
Geography
Salmas in early atlases
The atlases below are some of the earliest maps to have been ever sketched to show the territory and originality of the name of Salmas and are some of the strongest documents providing proofs to some basic facts about the city including its existence and identity.
File:Salmas in Circa1700-Circa1720 Homann Map of "Persian Empire" - Jomann Imperium Periscum.jpg, Salmas in 1724 Homann Homann is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Heinrich Homann
Heinrich Homann (6 March 1911 – 4 May 1994) was a communist politician and former Wehrmacht officer who held a number of offices in the German Democratic Republi ...
Map of "Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
" at the Time of Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
• Modified by Hassan Jahangiri
File:Salmas in 1730 Ottens Map of the "Persian Empire" - Geographicus; RegnumPersicum - Ottens 1730.jpg, Salmas in 1730 Reiner and Joshua Ottens Map of the "Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
" at the Time of Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
• Modified by Hassan Jahangiri
File:Salmas in 1747 Emanuel Bowen Map of the "Persian Empire at the Time of Afsharid Dynasty".jpg, Salmas in 1747 Bowen Bowen may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Bowen, Queensland, a town
* Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb
** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills
** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills
* Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...
Map of the "Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
" at the Time of Afsharid dynasty • Modified by Hassan Jahangiri
File:Salmas in 1814 Thomson Map of the "Persian Empire".jpg, Salmas in 1814 Thomson Map of the "Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
" at the Time of Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin ...
• Modified by Hassan Jahangiri
File:"Salmas" Zoom-Highlighted in 1818 Pinkerton Map of "Turkey in Asia, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine" - Geographicus - TurkeyAsia-pinkerton-1818.jpg, Salmas in 1818 Pinkerton Map of "Turkey in Asia, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine" (Concurred with the Time of Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin ...
) • Modified by Hassan Jahangiri
Climate
Under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
, using the isotherm, Salmas features a
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...
(''Dsa''), and is thus the one of the few cities in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and one of the 6 in the country with this categorization.
Notable people
*
Esfandiar Imanzadeh (b. 1966) – Sculptor
*
Stepanos V of Salmast (d. 1567) –
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...
of the Armenian Apostolic Church
*
Yohannan Gabriel (1758–1833) –
Chaldean Catholic
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
bishop of Salmas
*
Nicholas I Zaya
Mar Nicholas I Zaya (or ''Zaya'' or ''Eshaya'') was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1839 to 1847. He succeeded Yohannan VIII Hormizd, the last of the Mosul patriarchs who traced their descent from Eliya VI (1558–1591), and h ...
(d. 1855) –
Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans
*
Raffi (1835–1888) – Armenian novelist
*
Paul Bedjan Paul Bedjan (27 November 1838 – 9 June 1920) was an Assyrian priest of the Chaldean Catholic Church and a Syriacist and orientalist.
Born in Khosrova, Persia, an ethnic Assyrian, he was born into a Chaldean Catholic family, and enrolled as ...
(1838–1920) – Chaldean Catholic priest and orientalist
*
Abraham Guloyan (1893–1983) – Politician
*
Murad Kostanyan (1902–1989) – Actor
*
Hossein Sadaghiani (1903-1982) - The first ever manager and head coach of
Iran national football team
) ''(the national team)' other nicknames''
, Badge = Flag_of_Iran.svg
, Badge_size = 190px
, Association = Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran
, FIFA Trigramme = IRN
, FIFA Rank ...
(1941-1951) and the first ever Iranian soccer player to play for foreign clubs (
R. Charleroi S.C.
Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League and their current spell at t ...
and
Fenerbahce SK) and in a European league
*
Ardeshir Ovanessian
Ardashes "Ardeshir" Ovanessian (Persian: آرداشس آوانسیان) (1905–1990) was an Iranian communist leader of Armenian origin.
Biography
He was born around 1905 in Rasht, to an Armenian family originally hailing from Salmas. After co ...
(c. 1905–1990) – Communist leader
* Timur Lakestani (1915–2011) – aka Father of Iranian Electrical Industry
*
Jafar Salmasi (1918–2000) – weightlifter
*
Emmanuel Agassi
Emanoul Aghassian ( fa, ایمانوئل آغاسيان, anglicized as Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi; December 25, 1930 – September 24, 2021) was an Iranian Olympic boxer and the father and coach of American tennis player Andre Agassi. He represented ...
(1930–2021) – boxer and father of
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...
*
Hadi Asghari (b. 1981) – football player
Gallery
File:Salmas_Overal.jpg, Overall View of Imam St. and Shahrdari Sq.
File:Salmas_Blvd.jpg, Islamic Republic Blvd., Near Panahi Technical School
File:Khan Takhti-Rd top view.JPG, Khan Takhti-Rd near Salmas
File:Haftvan Church 002.jpg, The Haftvan Church
File:Chaldean Catholic Church in Salmas.jpg, Chaldean Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
in Salmas
File:بیمارستان خاتم الانبیاء.jpg,
File:Salmas -city.jpg, Salmas
File:Salmas_Payer_House.jpg, An angled front view of Salmas Imam Khomeini Prayer House, 2017
File:Salmas_Nation_Park_in_a_Winter_Night.jpg, A view of Nation Park in a Winter night, 2016
See also
*
1930 Salmas earthquake
*
Nor Shirakan
*
Battle of Dilman
*
Assyrian homeland
The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. T ...
*
Khoy Khanate
The Khoy Khanate, also known as the Principality of Donboli, was a hereditary Kurdish khanate around Khoy and Salmas in Iran ruled by the Donboli tribe from 1210 until 1799. The khanate has been described as the most powerful khanate in the regi ...
References
Sources
*
External links
Salmas famous people"Salmas Map – Satellite Images of Salmas" Maplandia
{{Salmas County
Populated places in Salmas County
Cities in West Azerbaijan Province
Mass murder in 1915
Kurdish settlements in West Azerbaijan Province