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Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District of
Qazvin County Qazvin County () is in Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Qazvin. Demographics Languages and ethnic groups Persian people, Persians, Azeris and Tat people (Iran), Tats are the largest ethnic groups of people. ...
,
Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...
province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the province. Qazvin was a capital of the
Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
for over forty years (1555–1598) and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran. It is famous for its traditional confectioneries (like
Baghlava Baklava (, or ; ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. There are several theories for the origin of th ...
), carpet patterns, poets, political newspaper and
Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...
influence on its accent. Located in northwest of
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, in the Qazvin Province, it is at an altitude of about above sea level. Due to its position at the south of the rugged
Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...
range called KTS Atabakiyam, its climate is cold but dry.


History

Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at major moments of
Iranian history The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...
. It was captured by invading Arabs (644 AD) and destroyed by
Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...
(13th century). In 1555, after the Ottoman capture of
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
,
Shah Tahmasp Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the d ...
(1524–1576) made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid Empire, a status that Qazvin retained for half a century until
Abbas the Great Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid Iran, Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Mohammad Khodabanda, Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered ...
moved the capital to Isfahan in 1598.''Iran'' (5th ed., 2008), by Andrew Burke and Mark Elliott
p. 28
, Lonely Planet Publications,
It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout its history. Qazvin is located at a crossroad connecting
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
,
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
, and the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
region, which has historically been a major factor in its commercial importance. However, it never rivalled other major Iranian cities like
Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...
,
Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...
, or
Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
during the Middle Ages. One reason is that its growth is constrained by a lack of water. Until fairly recently, the entire Qazvin plain was irrigated by just a single
qanat A qanāt () or kārīz () is a water supply system that was developed in ancient Iran for the purpose of transporting usable water to the surface from an aquifer or a well through an underground aqueduct. Originating approximately 3,000 years ...
and four small streams.


Prehistory

The earliest remains of prehistoric humans have been discovered in a cave called
Qaleh Kurd Qaleh Kurd cave () is the oldest archaeological site discovered in Iran. The cave is located at the very western limit of the Iranian Central Plateau, not far from the village of Qaleh in Qazvin province, surrounded by the Alborz and Zagros Mounta ...
where archaeologists discovered a Neanderthal tooth. Archaeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia.


Sasanian era

Qazvin was founded by
Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; ) was the second Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent u ...
(), the second ruler of the
Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
. It was refounded by
Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...
(), who established a
coin mint A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used as currency. The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. In the beginning, hammered coinage or cast coinage were the chief means of coin minting ...
there. Under the Sasanians, Qazvin functioned as a frontier town against the neighbouring
Daylamites The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising the southeastern ...
, who made incursions into the place.


Early Islamic dynasties

Qazvin came under the expanding
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
in 644, during the reign of
Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...
. It was taken by Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, who besieged the city and received a request for a ''
sulh Sulh () is an Arabic word meaning 'resolution' or 'fixing' generally, in problem solving. It is frequently used in the context of social problems. It is also an Arabic surname, mostly from Lebanon used in the variant Solh. in other words, it means ...
'' (agreement) from its inhabitants. They were offered the same terms as
Abhar Abhar () is a city in the Central District of Abhar County, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Abhar has historically served as a place of importance due to lying right between the cities of Qazvin ...
had earlier, but the people of Qazvin did not want to pay
jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...
and supposedly accepted
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
instead. Al-Bara' then used Qazvin as a base for further campaigns into Daylam and Gilan. Later, when
Sa'id ibn al-'As Sa'id ibn al-As ibn Abi Uhayha (; died 678/679) was the Arab Caliphate, Muslim governor of Kufa under Caliph Uthman () and governor of Medina under Caliph Mu'awiya I (). Like the aforementioned caliphs, Sa'id belonged to the Banu Umayya, Umayyad ...
was appointed governor of Persia under the Umayyads, he built a new town called Hājjāj at Qazvin. Two more new cities were founded at Qazvin during the late 8th century. The
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
caliph
Musa al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī (; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab al-Hādī () was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH (785 CE) until his death in 1 ...
founded a new city called Mādina Mūsā next to Hājjāj. He bought nearby Rustamābād and designated it as a
waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
for the benefit of the new town. His freedman Mubarak, a Turk, also founded a new town at Qazvin in 792/3 (176 AH), called Mubarakābād after himself.
Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...
visited Qazvin while on his way to
Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...
and saw firsthand the locals' struggles as a result of the Daylamite raids. At the same time, he was impressed by their efforts to fend off the Daylamites. Harun suspended Qazvin from having to pay the ''
kharaj Kharāj () is a type of individual Islamic tax on agricultural land and its produce, regardless of the religion of the owners, developed under Islamic law. With the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, the ''kharaj'' initially was synonym ...
'' tax and instead ordered an annual payment of 10,000 silver
dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...
s. He had a wall constructed around the new cities of Mādina Mūsā and Mubarakābād and also built a
congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...
in the city, and he endowed several buildings as a waqf to support the mosque. The mosque no longer exists today. Harun's wall was not completed until 868, over half a century after his death. It had 206 towers and 12 gates and was built out of mud brick except for the battlements and gates. When it was finished, more people began to settle in Qazvin. Its population was heavily
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
during this time. Qazvin remained an important frontier town during the wars between the Abbasid caliphate and the
Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are the ...
rulers of the Caspian. The caliph
al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. ...
appointed Fakhr al-Dawla Abu Mansur Kufi as governor of Qazvin around 838; he remained governor for the next 40 years. For a couple of years around 865/6, the Alids under Hasan ibn al-Bakir took control of Qazvin, and Fakhr al-Dawla continued to serve as governor under them. Qazvin briefly came under
Samanid The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate society, Persianate Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Greater Khorasan, Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest ...
rule in 905/6 (293 AH) when Ilyas ibn Ahmad became governor. The next year, though, the governorship passed to Fakhr al-Dawla Abu Ali, an ancestor of
Hamdallah Mustawfi Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini (; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and the interregnum that followed. A native of Qazvin, Mustawfi belonged to fami ...
, and he served as governor for the next 27 years. In 913/4 (301 AH) Qazvin was put under Ali ibn al-Muqtadir along with
Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...
,
Dinavar Dinavar (also spelled Dinawar and Daynavar; ) was a major town between the 7th and 10th centuries, located to the northeast of Kermanshah in western Iran. The ruins of the town is now located near Shir Khan, in Dinavar District, Sahneh County, ...
, Zanjan,
Abhar Abhar () is a city in the Central District of Abhar County, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Abhar has historically served as a place of importance due to lying right between the cities of Qazvin ...
, and
Tarom TAROM (; legally ''Compania Națională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A.'') is the flag carrier and oldest currently operating airline of Romania, based in Otopeni near Bucharest. Its headquarters and its main hub are at Henri Coand ...
. In 916/7 (304 AH),
Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj Yusuf ibn Abi'l Saj (died, d. 928) was the Sajids, Sajid Emir of Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan from 901 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devdad. War with Armenians and Georgians Yusuf came to power in 901 by overthrowing his nephew, ...
unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of Qazvin. He was defeated by
Asfar ibn Shiruya Asfar ibn Shiruya ( Gilaki/: died 931) was an Iranian military leader of Gilaki origin, active in northern Iran (esp. Tabaristan and Jibal) in the early 10th century. He played a major role in the succession disputes of the Alids of Tabaristan, an ...
, who made himself ruler of the whole region between
Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan (; ; from , ), was a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onward ...
and
Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...
and
Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...
and
Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...
. In 927/8 (315 AH) Qazvin was the site of a battle between Asfar and an army sent by the Abbasid caliph
al-Muqtadir Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...
against him. The people of Qazvin assisted the Abbasid army, but Asfar won the battle. As punishment for siding against him, Asfar destroyed parts of the city, killed many of its inhabitants, and imposed monetary demands on the city. After Asfar's death, the
Buyid The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...
ruler
Rukn al-Dawla Hasan (died September 976), better known by his ''laqab'' as Rukn al-Dawla ( Persian: رکن‌الدوله دیلمی), was the first Buyid amir of northern and central Iran (c. 935–976). He was the son of Buya. Struggle for power Hasan was ...
took control of Qazvin, and it remained part of Buyid territory for over a hundred years. There was rioting in the city in 968/9 (358 AH) and the Buyid vizier Abu'-Fath Ali ibn Muhammad was sent to restore order. When that was done, he imposed a fine of 1,200,000 dirhams on the city.


Ghaznavids, Seljuks, and Khwarazmshahs

Qazvin came under
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...
control in 1030 (421 AH). Around 1033/4 (424 AH), Abu Ali Muhammad Ja'fari became governor of Qazvin. He and his sons continued to hold power in Qazvin for almost 60 years. The last of these sons, Fakhr ul-Ma'ali Sharafshah, died in 1091 or 1092 (484 AH) and was survived by one daughter. He was extremely wealthy and he and his followers owned most of the land in the area. The annual income from his landed estates was said to be 366,000 gold
dinars The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...
. In 1038/9 (430 AH), along with an alliance of the
Ghuzz The Oghuz Turks (Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia. ...
, the
Daylamite The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising the southeastern ...
ruler
Fanna Khusraw Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw (), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla (; 24 September 936 – 26 March 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 949 to 983. At the height of his power, he ruled an empire stretching from Makran ...
came to Qazvin after already sacking Ray the year before. The locals bought them off for a sum of 7,000 dinars. Later in 1042/3 (434 AH), the
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
sultan
Tughril Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is ...
besieged Qazvin. In 1046 Qazvin was visited by Nasir-i Khusraw, who left the following account: Under the
Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...
, Qazvin appears to have formed part of the central territory around the capital in
Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
that was more or less directly ruled by the sultans, who were able to levy taxes and appoint governors here. However, despite Qazvin's position close to the
Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...
strongholds like
Alamut Alamut () or Rudbar () is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts on the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provin ...
, the Seljuks do not seem to have considered it an important governorship to be given to an important amir. After the death of the last Ja'fari ruler of Qazvin, Malikshah appointed Imad ud-Dawla Turan ibn Alfaqash as governor of Qazvin and instructed him to transfer his household and possessions there so that he would be more invested in its governance. Later, in 1118/9 (512 AH),
Sanjar Sanjar (, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (6 November 1086 – 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until 1118,Tughril II Rukn al-Dunya wa'l-Din Abu Talib Tughril bin Muhammad ( 1109 – 24 October 1134) known as Tughril II was the Sejluk sultan of Persian Iraq briefly in 1132. He maintained power through the support of his uncle, the principal Seljuk sultan Ahmad ...
along with other territories. In terms of religion, Seljuk-era Qazvin was mostly
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
, although it did have a
Shi'i Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...
quarter. The oldest known structure in Qazvin that still exists is the dome chamber of the city's
Jameh mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...
, which according to its inscription was built from 1106 to 1114 (500-508 AH). Its patron was the amir Abu Mansur Khumartash ibn Abd Allah al-'Imadi. It was built adjoining an earlier
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
that was itself built in the 10th century by the ''sahib'' Isma'il ibn Abbad. The 13th-century writer Zakariya Qazvini wrote that the dome was "unparalleled anywhere" in size; he wrote that "the masons despaired of vaulting such a huge space until a passing boy suggested that they fill the interior with straw". According to Hamdallah Mustawfi, two
iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
s were added to the mosque in 1153 (548 AH); the present-day north iwan is Seljuk in style and may be one of them. The present-day mosque mostly dates from the Safavid and Qajar periods; it is one of the largest mosques in Iran. Another early monument is the Heydariyeh Mosque, which was probably built a few years after the Jameh mosque. Its original function is unclear; it could have been either a mosque or a madrasa. It features a very early use of glazed ornamentation. A unique architectural style emerged in Seljuk-era Qazvin that influenced architecture in surrounding regions, such as the mosques at Sojas and Ghorveh. Not long after the Isma'ilis established themselves at Alamut, Abu'l-Mahasin Ruyani persuaded the Qazvinis to have anyone coming from the direction of Alamut to be out to death, to prevent people from developing sympathies for the enemy after spending time with them. In 1129 (423 AH) the Isma'ilis killed about 400 people in Qazvin in retaliation for their envoy being killed in Isfahan. Under the grandmaster
Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid Muḥammad ibn Buzurg-Ummīd (; died February 20, 1162) was the son of Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd, and the third ruler of the Nizari Ismailis from 1138 until 1162 based in Alamut. Career Upon the demise of Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd on February 9, 1138, he ...
(1138–62) the Isma'ilis conducted raids against Qazvin. In 1165 (560 AH) the Isma'ilis of Rudbar built a fortress very close to Qazvin, which threatened the city. In 1176 (572 AH), the city's walls were rebuilt by the Seljuk vizier Sadr al-Din al-Maraghi. Qazvin later came under the
Khwarazmshah Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a to ...
s. Isma'ili raids continued during this period. When Jalal al-Din Hasan III succeeded as Isma'ili imam in 1210 (607 AH) he claimed to have converted to
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
and took the name "Naw-Musalmān" meaning "New Muslim". The people of Qazvin were skeptical and demanded proof, and he obliged by inviting some of Qazvin's leading men to Alamut Castle where he publicly burned Isma'ili texts for them to see. Also in 1210, the city was damaged by the forces of
Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...
sent by
Tamar the Great Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position ...
, as per the retribution for destroying Georgian-controlled
Ani Ani (; ; ) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom that covered much of present-day Armen ...
by the Muslim forces that left 12,000 Christians dead.


The Mongols

Meanwhile, a new threat was looming – the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
. Qazvin changed hands several times during their wars with the Khwarazmshahs, and in 1220 (617 AH) the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
massacred the city's inhabitants. It was under the Mongols that there was large-scale Turkic migration into the Qazvin area. Although at least some must have settled there during Seljuk times, it was during the Mongols that they started coming in larger numbers. Several prominent Turkic families established themselves in Qazvin. One of them was the Būlātmūriyān, who first came during the rule of Ögedei when their member Amir Takash was appointed ''
shihna Shiḥna () was a medieval Islamic term meaning, roughly, "military administrator." The term was used particularly for the Seljuk Turks' representative in Iraq, who exerted the Seljuks' power over the Abbasid caliph. The Seljuks themselves ruled ...
'' or military governor of Qazvin. Another was the Qarāvulān, who acquired large landed estates but had already lost their prominence by the time of Hamdallah Mustawfi. However, most of the main families at his time still traced their roots back to an Arab founder. The religion was mostly Sunni of the
Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...
''
madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...
'', although there were Shi'i and
Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
Sunni minorities. Mangu Qa'an appointed Iftikhar al-Din Muhammad al-Bukhari as governor of Qazvin in 1253/4 (651 AH). Iftikhar al-Din learned Mongolian and translated the ''
Kalila wa-Dimna The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, , "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
'' into Mongolian. He and his brother Imam al-Din Yahya remained in office until 1278/9 (677 AH). Qazvin suffered during the tumultuous period preceding
Ghazan Khan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa ...
's rise to power in 1295. Many people left the town, to the point that Hamdallah Mustawfi wrote that Friday prayers could not be performed. He also mentioned Mongol reappropriation of waqf land in nearby Pishkildarra. At the end of Uljaytu's reign Qazvin became administered by Husam al-Din Amir Umar Shirazi and the mustawfi Hajji Fakhr al-Din Ahmad. When
Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335; ), also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder (Modern , ''Abu sayid Baghatur Khan'', in modern Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian), was the ninth ruler (c. 1316 – 1335) ...
took over in 1316, he assigned the income from Qazvin to cover the expenses of his mother's household. After the fall of the
Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
, Qazvin had an uneventful history until the beginning of the
Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
.


Safavid rule

From its beginnings under
Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...
, the Safavid state had key frontiers in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, and in Khorasan with the Uzbek tribes led by the
Shaybanids The Shibanids or Shaybanids, more accurately known as the Abul-Khayrid-Shibanids, were a dynasty of Uzbek ( Turko-Mongol) origin who ruled over the Khanate of Bukhara (from 1505 to 1598), the Khanate of Khwarezm (Khiva) (from 1511 to 1695), a ...
. Because of Qazvin's central location on the road between these two regions, its strategic importance increased under the Safavids. In 1555, after temporarily losing his original capital of
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
to the Ottomans,
Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...
moved his capital to the more secure location of Qazvin. Qazvin remained capital until Abbas I moved the capital to Isfahan about half a century later. While it was the capital, Qazvin bore the title ''dār al-salṭana''. Like many other cities in Iran, Qazvin became divided into Haydari and Ne'mati factions during the Safavid period. The Italian traveller Vicento d'Alessandri visited Qazvin during the reign of Tahmasp I and reported that 4 of Qazvin's districts belonged to one group and 5 belonged to the other, and the two had been hostile to one another for at least 30 years by that point with frequent conflicts between the two. Widespread public conversion to
Twelver Shi'ism Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as ...
probably took place during the early Safavid period, but many people probably secretly remained Sunnis for some time. The Nuqqawi heresy spread to Qazvin during the reign of Tahmasp I. The local leader was Darvīsh Khusrāw, who came from a family of ''muqanni''s (qanat builders) and had associated with the Nuqqawis for a while before returning to Qazvin. The
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
, concerned with his growing popularity, charged him with heresy and banned him from the mosque where he had been living at. After Tahmasp's death, he returned to preaching, but he was eventually charged with heresy again and executed in 1593/4 (1002 AH). Qazvin was also a mercantile center during this period. There was an increase in European merchants coming through southern Russia, and in 1561
Anthony Jenkinson Anthony Jenkinson (1529 – 1610/1611) was born at Market Harborough, Leicestershire. He was one of the first Englishmen to explore Tsardom of Russia, Muscovy and present-day Russia. Jenkinson was a traveller and explorer on behalf of the ...
noted the presence of merchants from India as well. The English merchant Arthur Edwards made several trips to Qazvin for the
Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company; ) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major Chartered company, chartered joint-stock company, the precursor of the type of business ...
; he wrote in 1567 that it was a producer of
velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
and other goods but not as high in quality as elsewhere, and in 1569 he wrote that there were many spices sold in its markets but again they were not as good as elsewhere, and they went for such a high price that buying them here would be unprofitable. After Tahmasp's death, Turkoman rebels seized Qazvin and installed his son Tahmasp Mirza as a puppet ruler in the city for a while. In the spring of 1596,
Hamza Mirza Hamza Mirza (; 4 September 1568 – 6 December 1586) was the Safavid crown prince of Iran during the reign of his father Mohammad Khodabanda (). His mother was Khayr al-Nisa Begum, a Mar'ashi princess from Mazandaran. Biography He was born on ...
marched on Qazvin and overthrew the Turkomans. Qazvin appears to have emerged relatively unscathed from this drama – Don Juan of Persia, who visited the city soon after, described it as large and prosperous. He wrote that it had over 100,000 heads of households, or upwards of 450,000 people in total, with over 500 mosques and a "sumptuous" palace quarter. A member of
Anthony Shirley Sir Anthony Shirley (1565 – 1633/1635/1638) also spelled ''Sherley'', was an English adventurer, soldier, diplomat, and political theorist who became a prominent figure in early modern European and Middle Eastern affairs. Initially rising to p ...
's entourage, which arrived in Qazvin in December 1598, was less enthusiastic and wrote that it was an unremarkable city except for a few mosques and the palace gate; he estimated its population as a somewhat smaller than
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's. In 1607, the Catholic priest Paul Simon wrote that Qazvin, though no longer the capital, was still a large city rivalling Isfahan in size. He said it was an important commercial destination for silks, carpets, and
brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...
s. Pietro della Valle, who visited Qazvin in 1618, was not very impressed with the city and wrote that it had "nothing to satisfy the expectations of a royal residence". Thomas Herbert, writing in 1627, said Qazvin was "equal for grandeur to any other city in the Persian Empire", except for Isfahan, and estimated its population at 200,000. About a decade later,
Adam Olearius Adam Olearius (born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger; 24 September 1599 or August 16, 1603 – 22 February 1671) was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by Frederick III, Duke ...
offered a lower estimate of 100,000 people. In 1674,
Jean Chardin Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...
visited Qazvin, and he wrote that its walls were in ruins by that time and it had lost its grandeur. He estimated that it had 12,000 houses and 100,000 people. He wrote that there were "a great many merchants in Qazvin, but not many rich ones" and commented on its shoe-makers, who he said made "the best shoes in the whole country" out of
shagreen Shagreen is a type of rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, historically from a horse's or onager's back, or from shark or ray. Etymology The word derives from the French ' and is related to Italian and Venetian ''sagrin'', deriv ...
and coming in green, white, and other colors. There were also artisans who made gilded horse
saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...
s and bows. There was an outbreak of plague in Qazvin in 1635/6 (1045 AH). The original Safavid palace complex is located at what is now the city's
maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place (Persian: ), adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Georgian (''moedani''); Bangla ময়দান, meaning f ...
or central square. Two parts of this now survive: the Chehel Sotun pavilion, which now hosts the Qazvin museum, and the monumental Ali Qapu portal which now serves as the city's police headquarters. The palace complex was probably originally at the northern end of the city - earlier monuments are all to the south and west - but over time the city expanded to the north and the palace precinct ended up in the center of the later Safavid city. This probably happened after the royal court moved to Isfahan under Abbas I in 1596/7 (1005 AH). The Chehel Sotun pavilion is typically attributed to Tahmasp I, although this is not confirmed because there is no inscription. Shah
Ismail II Ismail II (; born Ismail Mirza; 31 May 1537 – 24 November 1577) was the third shah of Safavid Iran from 1576 to 1577. He was the second son of Tahmasp I with his principal consort, Sultanum Begum. On the orders of Tahmasp, Ismail spent twenty ...
was enthroned here in 1576, with a grand reception held in its main hall on 22 August of that year. Mohammad Khodabandeh was probably also enthroned here, and Abbas I was also enthroned here in 1587/8 (996 AH). After Shah Abbas moved the capital to Isfahan in 1596/7 (1005 AH), Qazvin did not become a provincial capital. Instead, it was governed by a '' wazir'', ''
darugha ''Darugha'' (, , from Mongolian language, Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for the province, particularly in Kazan Kha ...
'', kalantar, and '' mustawfi'' appointed directly by the central government. Qazvin only became a provincial capital during the latter part of Shah Soltan Hosayn's rule in the early 1700s. Based on the small contingent assigned to its governor - 300 soldiers - it does not seem to have been considered an important province. The tumultuous final years of the Safavid dynasty had a negative impact on Qazvin. Its population decreased, which was at least partly because of a decline in commerce. In 1722, Qazvin surrendered to an Afghan force of 6,000 soldiers under Aman Allah Khan, but in January 1723 there was a popular uprising (or ''lūṭibāzār'') against them in all quarters of the city, led by the kalantars. The Afghans lost 2,000 men and were forced to retreat to Isfahan. Then in 1726, Qazvin surrendered to the Ottomans on the condition that the Ottomans would not send troops to the city - which the Ottomans promptly disregarded and sent 12,000 troops along with their appointed governor Ali Pasha. The troops were soon driven out of Qazvin. Writing in 1744, the English travller
Jonas Hanway Jonas Hanway Royal Society of Arts, FRSA (12 August 1712 – 5 September 1786), was a British philanthropist, polemicist, merchant and Explorer, traveller. He was the first male Londoner to carry an umbrella and was a noted opponent of tea drinki ...
wrote that a Persian merchant had told him that there had formerly been 12,000 houses in Qazvin, but by then there were only 1,100.


Qajar era

By the beginning of the 19th century, Qazvin was again starting to flourish as a center of trade. Commercial traffic on the Caspian Sea was growing, and Qazvin was one of the main centers of activity – in the words of one traveller in 1801, it was "the mart of all the commerce of the Caspian". Qazvin's importance as a commercial ''
entrepôt An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...
'' was helped by the fact that it lay at a three-way crossroads: it connected
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, the new
Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...
capital; Tabriz, "the second city of the empire", and the important Caspian port of Anzali. Qazvin was manufacturing velvets, brocades, and cotton cloth. In an 1841 report, the British diplomat Keith Edward Abbott wrote that Qazvin was commercially as important as Tehran.
Mirza Husayn Farahani Mirza may refer to: * Mirza (name), a name derived from a historical royal and noble title * ''Mirza'' (lemur), a genus of giant mouse lemurs * "Mirza", a 1965 French-language song by Nino Ferrer * Mirza, Kamrup, a town in Assam, India * Mirza me ...
, who visited Qazvin in 1884, wrote that it was divided into 17 districts and had 600 shops, 8
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
s, 40 mosques, 9 madrasas, and 12 yakhchals. Its walls were in ruins but 12 gates were still standing. This increase in commercial importance does not seem to have been accompanied by an increase in population, although it's hard to tell for sure because contemporary estimates were not necessarily based on the same criteria.
James Justinian Morier James Justinian Morier (15 August 1782 – 19 March 1849) was a British diplomat and author noted for his novels about the Qajar dynasty in Iran, most famously for the ''Hajji Baba'' series. Early life Morier was born in Ottoman Smyrna, the ...
and
William Ouseley Sir William Ouseley HFRSE FSAScot (1767 – September 1842), was a British oriental studies, orientalist. Early life Ouseley was born in Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, the eldest son of Captain Ralph Ouseley (1739), Ralph Ouseley an ...
in the early 1800s both gave an estimate of 25,000 people. The census taken from 1880 to 1882 gave a population of 64,362 for Qazvin. Farahani in 1884 wrote that Qazvin had 30,000 people in about 7,000 households. George Curzon wrote that Qazvin's population was said to be 40,000 in 1889, but he wrote that its actual population was probably no more than 2/3 of that. In the middle of the century, the Babi movement had one of its centers here and the first massacre of Babis occurred in Qazvin in 1847. In the second half of the 19th century Qazvin was one of the centers of Russian presence in northern Iran. A detachment of the
Persian Cossack Brigade The Persian Cossack Brigade, also known as the Iranian Cossack Brigade (), was a Cossacks, Cossack-style cavalry unit formed in 1879 in Qajar Iran, Iran. It was modelled after the Caucasian Cossack regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. Until 1 ...
under Russian officers was stationed here. From 1893 this was the headquarters of the Russian Company for Road construction in Persia which connected Qazvin by roads to Tehran and Hamadan. The company built a hospital and the St. Nicolas Church.


20th century to present

In 1920 Qazvin was used as a base for the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Norperforce. The
1921 Persian coup d'état 1921 Persian coup d'état, known in Iran as 3 Esfand 1299 coup d'état ( with the Solar Persian date), refers to several major events in Qajar Persia in 1921, which eventually led to the deposition of the Qajar dynasty and the establishment of ...
that led to the rise of the
Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...
was launched from Qazvin. During the reign of
Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
, Qazvin declined in importance as a commercial center as communications improved. Many merchants and other residents moved to Tehran. On 1 September 1962, an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the
Richter Scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
struck Qazvin, killing more than 12,000 people. The earthquake occurred shortly before Israeli Minister of Agriculture,
Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...
, was scheduled to visit Iran in mid-September for meetings with the
Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
and with his Iranian counterpart, in order to discuss Israel's possible role in the
White Revolution The White Revolution () or the Shah and People Revolution () was a far-reaching series of reforms to aggressively modernize the Pahlavi Iran, Imperial State of Iran launched on 26 January 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ended with ...
, a plan for land reform and the modernization of rural Iran. Shortly after the earthquake, two planning experts were sent from Israel to assist with Iranian relief activities. After touring the region and meeting with the Iranian minister in charge of relief efforts, they were assigned to rebuild the village of Khuznin, located in the center of the Qazvin region. Other teams, both Iranian and foreign, had also arrived in the region to offer assistance and expertise in the reconstruction activities. Each team was assigned one or more villages for planning and rebuilding. Over the course of three months, the Israeli team built hundreds of houses in the village that they had been allocated. In 1963, the Qazvin Development Authority was established to develop the agriculture and water resources of Qazvin and its surroundings. Qazvin became a state in 1996. On 15 July 2009 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashed near Qazvin. In Autumn 2015 portions of Qazvin were struck by a
meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
.


Demographics


Language

The majority of the people of the city of Qazvin are
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
. The majority language is
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.The official Media from Qazvin- 10 February-2010
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...
and Tats are the other ethnic groups of the city of Qazvin. They speak Azerbaijani and Tati.


Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 349,821 in 96,420 households. The following census in 2011 counted 381,598 people in 114,662 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 402,748 people in 127,154 households.


Climate

Qazvin has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Csa'').


Main sights

Qazvin contains several archeological excavations. In the middle of the city lie the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area. Qazvin contains several buildings from the
Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
era, dating to the period in which it was capital of Persia. A well known of the surviving edifices is the
Chehel sotoun, Qazvin Chehel Sotun (), originally named Kolah Farangi Mansion () is a Safavid era royal pavilion located in Qazvin, Iran. Its construction is attributed to Tahmasp I, who transferred the capital of Iran from Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Ce ...
, today a museum in central Qazvin. In the Islamic era, the popularity of mystics (
tasawwuf Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
), as well as the prominence of tradition (
Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
), religious jurisprudence (
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
), and philosophy in Qazvin, led to the emergence of many mosques and religious schools. They include: *
Jame' Atiq Mosque of Qazvin The Jāmeh Mosque of Qazvin (; ) is a Shia Islam, Shi'ite congregational mosque, Friday mosque (''jāmeh''), located in Qazvin, in the Qazvin province of Iran. Completed in 807 Common Era, CE, it is one of the oldest mosques in Iran, and was a ...
* Heydarieh Mosque * Masjed Al-Nabi (Soltani Mosque): With an area of 14000 m2, this mosque is one of the most glorious mosques of antiquity, built in the Safavieh's monarchy era. *Sanjideh Mosque: Another mosque of Qazvin dating back to pre-Islamic Iran; a former fire temple. Its present-day form is attributed to the Seljukian era. *Panjeh Ali Mosque: A former place of worship for royal harem members in the Safavid period. *Peighambarieh School-Mosque: Founded 1644 according to inscription. * Peighambarieh Shrine: Where four Jewish saints who foretold the coming of Christ, are buried. *Molla Verdikhani School-Mosque: Founded in 1648. * Salehieh Madrasa and Mosque: Founded in 1817 by Mulla Muhammad Salih Baraghani. *Sheikhol Islam School-Mosque: Renovated in 1903. *Eltefatieh School: Dating back to the Il-Khanid period. *Sardar School- Mosque: Made by two brothers ''Hossein Khan'' and ''Hassan Khan Sardar'' in 1815, as a fulfillment of their promise if they came back victorious from a battle against the Russians. * Shazdeh Hosein Shrine; a shrine to a Shiite saint. * Aminiha Hosseiniyeh About south-west of Qazvin are the tombs of two Saljuki era princes — ''Abu Saeed Bijar'', son of Sa'd, and ''Abu Mansur Iltai'', son of Takin — located in two separate towers known as the Kharraqan twin towers. Constructed in 1067, these were the first monuments in Islamic architecture to include a non-conic two-layered dome. Both towers were severely damaged by a devastating earthquake in March 2003.
Sepah Street The Sepah Street (Persian: خیابان سپه), also known as the Shohada Street (Persian: خیابان شهدا) is a street in Qazvin, Iran. It is the oldest planned street in Iran, built when Qazvin was the capital of Iran's Safavid empire. ...
(خیابان سپه, pronounced "Cepah" referring to
ancient Persia The history of Iran (also known as Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and the Iranian ...
n army and not the
revolutionary guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...
pronounced "Sepaah") is known as the first modern street in Iran. This street entirely is carpeted with carved gray stone and is surrounded by craftsmen gift shops (used to be bars or bygone liquorshops, called May'kadeh) and hosts historical places such as Qazvin's Ali Qapu gate, entrance of Jame' Atiq mosque and historical schools. Qazvin has three buildings built by Russians in the late 19th/early 20th century. Among these is the current Mayor's office (former Ballet Hall) and a water reservoir. St. Nicholas church was built in 1904 by the Russian Company for Roads in Persia which had its headquarter here. The church was in use until being decommissioned in 1984 because the community of Russian emigres in Qazvin did not exist any more. The iconostasis and bell was removed to Tehran and the building handed over to the Iranian government which keeps it available to the public as a historic monument. In front of the church is a 1906 memorial to a Russian road engineer.


Economy

Qazvin today is a center of
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
trade, including
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
,
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
and
velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
, in addition to
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
. It is on the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line and the
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
between Tehran and
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
. Qazvin has one of the largest power plants feeding electricity into Iran's national power grid, the ''Shahid Raja'i'' facility, which provides 7% of Iran's electrical power.


Colleges and universities

Qazvin has several institutes of higher education: *
Imam Khomeini International University Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU), informally Qazvin International University, is an international university in Iran that was founded after the Islamic Revolution. The bill of IKIU’s constitution was ratified by the Iranian Parl ...
* Islamic Azad University of Qazvin *Payam-e-Nur University of Qazvin * Qazvin University of Medical Sciences *Raja University *Shahid Babaee Technical Institute *Kar University *Parsian Higher Education Institute *Dehkhoda University *Ghazali University *Mir-Emad Higher Education Institute *Darolfonoun University *Allameh Ghazvini University


Modern towers

Some famous residential towers are: Punak (536 units), Aseman, Elahieh, Bademestan (440 units in 17 floors) and Tejarat tower with 28 floors.


Shopping complexes

*City Star in Khayam Street *Ferdowsi in Ferdowsi Street *Iranian in Adl Street *Narvan in Ferdowsi Street *Noor in Felestin Street *Meh ro mah Bouali Street *Alghadir on South Khayam Street *Alavi on Taleghani Street


Bridges

* Naderi * Molasadra * Ertebatat * Persian Gulf (Khalij Fars) * Abotorabi * Nasr * Motahari * Imam Ali * Rajaei


Famous hotels

* Alborz *Safir *Mir Emad *Iranian *behrouzi historical house * Iran * Marmar * Razhia * Ghods(closed) * Grand Hotel, Qazvin * Noizar * Minno *Sina (new)


Major parks

* Shohada * Dehkhoda * Beheshti * Fadak (Barajin) * Mellat * Al-Ghadir * Afarinesh *Molla Khalila


Transportation

* Qazvin railway station * Qazvin Airport * Qazvin Eastern Bus terminal
سامانه هوشمند اجاره اتوبوس و مینی بوس
https://terminali.ir * Qazvin southwestern terminal (Takestan & Hamedan)


Sport

Qazvin is a well-known city because of its famous athletes. The city has highly focused on athletic teams along recent years.
Techmash Tecmash ()—formal name Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo Nauchno-Proizvodstvenny Kontsern Tekhnologii Mashinostroeniya ()—is a 2010s-20s Russian arms industry company within the Rostec state corporation group producing and developing weapons, munition ...
is a basketball team which entered
Iranian Basketball Super League The Iranian Basketball Super League (IBSL) is a professional men's basketball league in Iran. It was founded in 1998. The current champions is Shahrdari Gorgan. The league follows the promotion and relegation system in which the worst two teams ...
in 2013. Shams Azar is the local football team, playing in the
Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...
(First division). This city has several important sports complexes: * Sardare Azadegan Stadium * Shahid Rajai Stadium * Shahid Babaei sports complex


Notable people


Pre-modern times

*
Ibn Majah Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Rabʿī al-Qazwīnī (; (b. 209/824, d. 273/887) commonly known as Ibn Mājah, was a Middle Ages, medieval scholar of hadith of Persian people, Persian origin. He compiled the last of Sunni ...
, author of the last of the six canonical ''
hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
'' collections recognized by
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Muslims *
Hamdollah Mostowfi Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini (; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and the interregnum that followed. A native of Qazvin, Mustawfi belonged to fam ...
: the great Il-Khanid historian and writer * Zakariya Qazvini: 13th-century writer, cosmographer, and geographer *
Ubayd Zakani Khwajeh Nizam al-Din Ubayd Allah al-Zakani (; d. 1370), better known as Ubayd Zakani (), was a Persian poet of the Mongol era, regarded as one of the best satirists in Persian literature. His most famous work is '' Mush-o Gorbeh'' ("Mouse and Cat" ...
: famous 8th-century poet noted for his satire and obscene verses *
Mir Emad Hassani Mir Emad (born Emad al-Molk Qazvini Hasani (),‎ 1554 – August 15, 1615) is perhaps the most celebrated Persian calligrapher. He was born in Qazvin, Iran. It is believed that the Nastaʿlīq style reached its highest elegance in Mir ...
: famous
Nasta'liq ''Nastaliq'' (; ; ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'' or ''Nastaleeq'' (), is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write Arabic script and is used for some Indo-Iranian languages, predominantly Classical Persian, Kashmiri, Punjabi a ...
calligrapher * Darvish Ablulmajid: famous Shekaste
Nasta'liq ''Nastaliq'' (; ; ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'' or ''Nastaleeq'' (), is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write Arabic script and is used for some Indo-Iranian languages, predominantly Classical Persian, Kashmiri, Punjabi a ...
calligrapher *Mirza Mohammad-Reza Qazvini: Persian envoy of the
Franco-Persian alliance A Franco-Persian alliance or Franco-Iranian alliance was formed for a short period between the French Empire of Napoleon I and Fath Ali Shah of Iran against Russia and Great Britain between 1807 and 1809. The alliance was part of a plan to gath ...


Modern times

* Yousef Alikhani: contemporary fiction writer and researcher * Azizi family: a well-known family that originates from Qazvin includes , Sheikh Ahmad Azizi] who is buried in Peighambariyeh shrine, known research and medical doctor Sadegh Pirooz Azizi, Dr. Sadegh Pirooz Azizi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2005 Mr. Ahmad Azizi, hadi Azizi and Abolghasem Azizi. *
Ali Akbar Dehkhoda Allameh Ali-Akbar Dehkhodā (; 1879 – March 9, 1956) was a prominent Iranian literary writer, philologist, and lexicographer. He was the author of the ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'', the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language publish ...
: prominent linguist and author of Iran's first modern
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
dictionary *
Abdul Hossein Darki Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...
: doctor *
Goharshad Ghazvini Goharshad Ghazvini, also known as Goharshad Hassani Ghazvini, was a Persian calligrapher of Nastaʿlīq script in the 17th century. She was Mir Emad's daughter. She learned calligraphy when she was a teenager and learned Nastaʿlīq script from he ...
, Persian calligrapher * Jamal Karimi-Rad: former Minister of Justice (2005–2006). * Hadi Mirmiran: architect *
Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat (; born March 26, 1957) is an Iranian photographer and visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and the West, femininit ...
: Famous contemporary Iranian artist * Mojabi family: a prominent family that originates from Qazvin including
Javad Mojabi Javad Mojabi (; born 14 October 1939) is an Iranian poet, writer, researcher, and literary and art critic. Mojabi is one of Iran's most prominent modern writers and poets, and has published over 50 literary works in various forms. He has also writ ...
and
Zohreh Mojabi Zohreh Mojabi (, born 14 February 1960 in Qazvin) is an Iranian actress and playwright who has appeared in several films and TV serials. Mojabi studied at the School of Fine Arts, University of Tehran from which she received a BA in acting and ...
* Molla Khalil Ibn Ghazi Qazvini: famous ''faqih'' (religious jurist) and commentator of the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
in the
Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
period (d. 1678) *
Aref Qazvini Abolqassem Aref Qazvini or َAref Qazvini (1882 – January 21, 1934; ), also known as National Poet ( Persian: شاعر ملی) was a distinguished Iranian poet, lyricist, and musician. Known for his significant contributions to Persian literatu ...
: poet, lyricist, and musician * Ra'ees ol-Mojahedin: The late Mirza Hassan Sheikh al-Islam, son of Mirza Masoud Sheikh al-Islam, leader of the liberals and constitutionalists of Qazvin * Shahid Saless: killed in 1846. The third religious leader after Imam Ali who was murdered during prayer. *
Kázim-i-Samandar S͟hayk͟h Káẓim-i-Samandar (; died 1918), known as Samandar, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to a prominent Baháʼí family of Qazvin of Bábí and Shaykhi background. Favored by Bah ...
: a famous follower of
Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...
, The Prophet-Founder of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
*
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (; 13 January 1922 – 20 April 2019) was an Iranian artist and a collector of traditional folk art. She is noted for having been one of the most prominent Iranian artists of the contemporary period, and she was the ...
: Famous contemporary Iranian artist *
Táhirih Táhirih (Ṭāhira) (, "The Pure One," also called Qurrat al-ʿAyn ( "Solace/Consolation of the Eyes") are both titles of Fatimah Baraghani/Umm-i Salmih (1814 or 1817 – August 16–27, 1852), an influential poet, women's rights activist and th ...
: influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith * Nasser Takmil Homayoun: contemporary historian * Nasser Yeganeh: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1975–79) * Haj seyed Javadi: politician in the early 1980s *Abbas Babaei: Brigadier General in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force *
Alireza Jahanbakhsh Alireza Jahanbakhsh (, ; born 11 August 1993) is an Iranian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger and Midfielder, attacking midfielder for Dutch Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen and captain (ass ...
: professional footballer who plays for
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
club
Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
and the
Iranian national team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...
. *
Varoujan Hakhbandian Varoujan Hakhbandian (, ), mostly known as Varoujan (Qazvin, 4 December 1936 – Tehran, 17 September 1977) was an Iranian composer, songwriter and arranger of Armenian descent. He has composed and written songs for Ebi, Googoosh, Dariush, a ...
: Armenian-Iranian composer


Buried in Qazvin

* Uwais Qarni: celebrity of early Islam, thought to have been killed here while fighting against an army of Deilamian origin *
Ahmad Ghazali Ahmad Ghazālī (; full name Majd al-Dīn Abū al-Fotuḥ Aḥmad Ghazālī) was a Sunni Muslim Sufi mystic, writer, preacher and the head of Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (c. 1061–1123 or 1126). He is best known in the history of Islam for his id ...
: famous Iranian
sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
who died in 1126 CE and was buried beside Shahzadeh Hossein * Ali Ibn Shazan: great scholar of the fifth century * Shahzadeh Hossein: Shiite saint * Abbas Babaei


Twin towns and cities

*
Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...
, Portugal (2016) *
Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...
, Lebanon (2015) *
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
, Kyrgyzstan (2011) *
Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...
, Turkey (2012) *
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
, Malaysia (2011)


See also

*
Caspians The Caspians (, ''Kaspyn''; , ''Káspioi''; Aramaic: ܟܣܦܝ, ''kspy''; , ''Kaspk’''; , ''Caspiani'') were an Iranic people of antiquity who dwelt along the southwestern shores of the Caspian Sea, in the region known as Caspiane. ''Caspian' ...
* List of famous ab anbars of Qazvin * Qazwini (disambiguation), a personal name meaning "from Qazwin" * List of governors of Qazvin


Notes


References


Sources

* *


External links


Satellite Picture by Google Maps
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160308230202/http://qazvin.ir/web/guest/229=qazvin towers profilebr>How to go to Qazvin from Tehran? (Bus, Taxi or Train)
{{Iranian Architecture Cities in Qazvin province Iranian provincial capitals Former capitals of Iran Sasanian cities Populated places established in the 3rd century