Piranshahr ( fa, پیرانشهر; ckb, پیرانشار, Pîranşar) is a city located in West Azerbaijan Province in west Iran. It is the capital of Piranshahr County. Piranshahr is the center of the traditional region of Mukriyan. The government's mid-year census for 2016 puts Piranshahr's population at 91,515 compared with the 1996 figure of 34,000.

Etymology

According to the Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, the name of the city is derived from the famous figure of '' Shahnameh''

Piran Viseh Piran son of Viseh ( fa, پیران ویسه) is a Turanian figure in Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. Beside Shahnameh, Piran is also mentioned in other sources such as Tabari and Tha'ālibī. He is the king of Khotan and the spahb ...

Piran is a Turanian figure in ''Shahnameh'', the

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...

Greater Iran Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Culture of Iran, Iranian culture and Iranian langua ...

. Beside Shahnameh, Piran is also mentioned in other sources such as Tabari and

Tha'ālibī Al-Tha'alibi (961–1038), was a writer famous for his anthologies and collections of epigrams. As a writer of prose and verse in his own right, distinction between his and the work of others is sometimes lacking, as was the practice of writ ...

. He is the king of Khotan and the spahbed of Afrasiab, the king of Turan. He is described as a wise and intelligent man, seeking to bring peace to Iran and Turan. In old Iranian writings, Piran and

Aghrirat Aghrirat ( fa, اَغْریرَتْ) or Aghrirath ( fa, اَغْریرَثْ) is a famous Turanian character in Shahnameh and Iranian mythology. He and Piran Veyse are the only Turanians that are described positively in Iranian mythology. Aghrirat i ...

are the only Turanians that have been described positively. Piran plays a vital role in the story of

Siavash Siyâvash ( fa, سیاوش) or Siavash ( fa, سياووش) is an Iranian legendary prince, a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the ''Shahnameh''. Siyâvash or various other transliterations from Persian/Farsi/Azerbaijani languages may also refer to ...

, the story of

Kay Khosro Kay Khosrow ( fa, کیخسرو) is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book, ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Befo ...

and the story of Bizhan and Manizhe. In Persian culture, Piran is a symbol of wisdom. It has been said that

Karim Khan Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Name of Iran, Persia) except for Khorasan Province, Khorasan. He ...

called

Mohammad Khan Qajar Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ( fa, آقا محمد خان قاجار, translit=Âqâ Mohammad Xân-e Qâjâr; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (, ), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ru ...

"Piran Viseh". Piran is often compared to Bozorgmehr. According to Djalal Khaleghi Motlagh, Piran may be the Median

Harpagus Harpagus, also known as Harpagos or Hypargus (Ancient Greek Ἅρπαγος; Akkadian: ''Arbaku''), was a Median general from the 6th century BC, credited by Herodotus as having put Cyrus the Great on the throne through his defection during the b ...

that saved

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

Parsua civilization

The city of Piranshahr is a very ancient settlement. Its locale was the capital of some ancient Aryan civilizations such as Mehr, Parsua and the kingdoms of the Mannaeans. According to Minorsky, the ancient Parsua is identical with the name of the town Pasveh, which is located in

Lajan Lajan District ( fa, بخش لاجان) is a district (bakhsh) in Piranshahr County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 22,757, in 3,960 families. The district has one city, Gerd Kashaneh, and two rural distric ...

district (Bakhsh) in Piranshahr. According to Minorsky, The name Persian is connected to the name of Parsua and Pasva and it is believed that the present day Persians (Persian speakers of Iran) dwelled in this district before later migrating to southern and central parts of Iran. Pasveh is in the vicinity of Piranshahr. Pasva is a village near Piranshahr whose name, according to the Iranist Vladimir Minorsky has existed since the 9th century BC and was built by the "Parsua tribes". It was also mentioned in the records of the Assyrian ruler Shalmaneser III (reign 858-824 BC).

Climate

Piranshahr's climate is classed under the Köppen climate classification as a humid continental climate (''Dsa'').

Education

The main institutions of higher education in the area are Payame Noor University and Islamic Azad University. The city is also home to a number of conservatories and art schools.

Demographics

According to Piranshahr's organization for Civil Registration, the highest average annual growth rate in the province is in Piranshahr.

Law and government

The city's chief administrator is the mayor, who is elected by the municipal board of the city. According to Iranian laws the municipal board is periodically elected by the city residents. Mayor: Kamran Fateh Governor: Ardavan Nasouti Friday prayer: Mamousta Mostafa Mahmoudi Majlis representative: Dr Rassoul Khezrihttp://drkhezri.ir/

References

{{Portal, Iran Populated places in Piranshahr County Cities in West Azerbaijan Province Iranian Kurdistan Kurdish settlements in West Azerbaijan Province