Mahabad () is a city in the
Central District of
Mahabad County,
West Azerbaijan province
West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia.
It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey ( Ağrı, Hakkâri, Iğdır and Van Provinces), Iraq ( Erbil and Sula ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Etymology
Mahabad first became the name of the city after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, during the reign of
Reza Shah (). Before that, it was known as Savojbolagh, a
Persian corruption of the
Turkic word ''soghuk bulak'' (meaning "cold spring"). The
Kurdish version was Sablagh.
Geography
Location
The city lies south of
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...
in a narrow valley 1,300 metres above sea level.
Mahabad is bordered by the counties of
Oromie and
Miandoab to the north, by the counties of
Piranshahr and
Naqadeh to the west and the northwest respectively, by the county of
Sardasht to the southwest and by the county of
Bukan to the east.
History
Savojbolagh is first attested in the 16th century, during the
Safavid era.
Mukri
Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films.
Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran. He started his film career with the film ''Pratima'' along ...
Kurds participated in several wars between the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...
and
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 gained more predominance. In the 17th century, Savojbolagh became the seat of Mukri principality (known as
Mukriyān in Sorani Kurdish and Mokriyān in
Persian). Many believe Budaq Sultan Mukri who built Savojbolagh's
congregational mosque is the founder of the current town.
Republic of Mahabad
Mahabad was the capital of the short-lived Republic of Mahabad, which was declared independent on 1 January 1946, under the leadership of Kurdish nationalist
Qazi Muhammad
Qazi Muhammad (, ; 1 May 1893 – 31 March 1947) was an Iranian Kurdish Islamic cleric and political leader who founded the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and was the first president of the short-lived, Soviet-backed, though in ...
.
The republic received strong support from the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, which had occupied northern Iran following the
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The two powers announced that they w ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It included the majority Kurdish-speaking towns of
Bukan, Piranshahr, Sardasht and Oshnavieh.
After an agreement brokered by the United States, the Soviets agreed to leave Iran, and sovereignty was restored to
Mohammad Reza Shah in 1947. The Shah ordered an invasion of the Republic of Mahabad shortly afterwards, the leaders of the republic including Qazi Muhammad were arrested and executed. Qazi Muhammad was hanged on 31 March 1947. At the behest of
Archibald Roosevelt Jr., who argued that Qazi had been forced to work with the Soviets out of expediency, U.S. ambassador to Iran
George V. Allen urged the Shah not to execute Qazi or his brother, only to be reassured: "Are you afraid I'm going to have them shot? If so, you can rest your mind. I am not." Roosevelt later recounted that the order to have the Qazis killed was likely issued "as soon as our ambassador had closed the door behind him," adding with regard to the Shah: "I never was one of his admirers".
Islamic Republic of Iran
On 7 May 2015, the people of the city rioted following the unexplained death on 4 May 2015 of Farinaz Khosravani, a hotel
chambermaid. Khosravani fell to her death from a fourth-floor window of the Tara hotel, the hotel where she worked. Anger mounted following reports that Khosravani died attempting to escape an official who was threatening to rape her. The rioters reportedly set fire to the hotel where Khosravani worked.
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 133,324 in 31,000 households.
The following census in 2011 counted 147,268 people in 38,393 households.
The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 168,393 people in 47,974 households.
Language and religion
Most of Mahabad is populated by Kurds who follow the
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 ...
branch of
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 ...
. Besides Kurdish, many speak Persian and
Azeri Turkic as well.
Neo-Aramaic-speaking
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
originally used to inhabit the city as well.
Employment
In 1977, the employment rate of the city was 95.8%, much higher than the provincial average of 86%. However, after the
Iranian revolution
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
of 1979 the employment rate fell and reached 88.8% in 1997.
Culture
The prolific translator into
Persian,
Mohammad Ghazi, came from Mahabad. He translated more than 70 important literary works into Persian.
Some poets and writers have hailed from this city in the 19th and 20th century.
Wafaei (1844–1902),
Hejar (
Abdurrahman Sharfkandi) (1920–1990),
Hêmin (Sayyed Moháammad Amini Shaykho-al-Eslam Mokri) (1920–1986), Abdorrahamn Zabihi (1920–1980) and Giw Mukriyani, all from Mahabad, are considered as the main writers and poets. The first Kurdish-Kurdish-Persian Dictionary in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
was written by
Hejar.
Kurdistan
Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...
's national poet was the title given to
Hejar(along with
Hêmin) during the short lived reign of the
Republic of Mahabad in recognition of his poetry's service to the cause
/small>.
After the fall 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 ...
in 1979, "Hêmin" set up the Salaha-al-Din Ayyubi Kurdish publishing house in Urmia, which publishes Sirwe (from spring 1985), a quarterly cultural magazine that Hêmin ran until his death in 1986 .
The dialect of Mahabad, is adopted as the literary standard of Kurdish language
Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...
in western Iran (which is very close to the standard "sorani" used in Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
).
Transportation
By road, Mahabad is 122 kilometres away from the provincial capital Urmia, and 679 kilometres away from 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. ...
.
Railway
In 2013, Mahabad was connected to the national railway and a 40 kilometre route between the city and Miandoab was established. The project was inaugurated in the presence of then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
.
Bus system
In 2000, the Mahabad bus service was inaugurated with five buses which operated three routes within the city. By 2007, the number of buses had reached 39 which operated nine routes.
Sports
The biggest sports complex in Mahabad is the Azadi Sports Complex. The complex has a football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
ground which was built in 1973, a 2,000 seat covered arena, a wrestling hall, table tennis complex, weightlifting hall and a gymnastics hall.
Volleyball
Volleyball is the most popular sport in Mahabad and the city has several teams playing in the different levels of the Iranian league system. Mahabad's rise in volleyball dates back to the 1990s, when ''Farmandarie Mahabad'' became champions of the Iranian first division (second tier). In 1995, the team then went on to finish a record fourth in the Iranian Super League, however the team was dissolved only shortly after.[http://nedayemoj.ir/?p=1324] Farhad Piroutpour is the most successful player to have come from Mahabad, he has been a member of the Iran national volleyball team since 2011.
In 2012, after two decades, ''Farmandarie Mahabad'' was re-established and began competing in the Iranian first division. In 2013, another team by the name of ''Shahrdari Mahabad'' was formed and started competing in the West Azerbaijan Super League.
Climate
See also
Notes
References
Sources
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*
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External links
Hemin Mukriani (iranica)
{{Mahabad County, state=collapsed
Populated places in Mahabad County
Cities in West Azerbaijan province
Iranian Kurdistan
Kurdish settlements in West Azerbaijan province