Sarpol-e Zahab () is a city in the Central District of

Sarpol-e Zahab County Sarpol-e Zahab County () is in Kermanshah province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Sarpol-e Zahab, whose people are adherents of Shia, Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the wo ...

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

province,

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. The town is close to

Qasr-e Shirin Qasr-e Shirin (, is a city in the Central District of Qasr-e Shirin County, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Its population in 2016 was 18,473. It is a Free-trade zone (FTZ) and is populated ...

and the Iraqi border.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The town is populated by

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 34,632 in 8,210 households. The following census in 2011 counted 35,809 people in 9,447 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 45,481 people in 12,850 households.

Reliefs

The area of Sar-e Pol-e Zahab has several more or less well preserved reliefs of the

Lullubi Lullubi, Lulubi (: ''Lu-lu-bi'', : ''Lu-lu-biki'' "Country of the Lullubi"), more commonly known as Lullu, were a group of Bronze Age tribes of Hurrian and Semitic languages, Semitic origin who existed and disappeared during the 3rd millennium BC ...

kingdom, as well as a Parthian relief.

Lullubian reliefs

The most famous of these reliefs is the

Anubanini rock relief The Anubanini petroglyph, also called Sar-e Pol-e Zohab II or Sarpol-i Zohab relief, is a rock relief from the Akkadian Empire period (circa 2300 BC) or the Isin-Larsa period (early second millennium BC) and is located in Kermanshah Province, Ira ...

. Another relief named Sar-e Pol-e Zohab I is about 200 meters away, in a style similar to the Anubanini relief, but this time with a beardless ruler. The attribution to a specific ruler remains uncertain. There are also other Lullubian relief in the same area of Sar-e Pol-e Zahab. File:Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief IV.jpg, Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief I File:Anubanini_Rock_Relief_1.jpg, Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief II:

File:Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief II.jpg, Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief III File:Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief III.jpg, Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, relief IV

Parthian relief

Another relief is located below the Anubanini relief, lower on the cliff. This relief was created during the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

in the name of Gotarzes, possibly

Gotarzes I Gotarzes I ( ''Gōdarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 91 BC to 87 or 80 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates II (), and was succeeded by his son Orodes I. Name "Gotarzes" is from Middle Iranian ''Gōdarz'' (), itself from ...

, but more probably the Parthian king

Gotarzes II Gotarzes II ( ''Gōtarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of Artabanus II of Parthia, Artabanus II. When his father died in 40, his brother Vardanes I of Parthia, Vardanes I was to succeed to the throne. Howe ...

, who ruled from 39 to 51 CE and is known to have made other reliefs, such as the equestrian relief at Behistun. Anubanini Rock Relief 3.jpg, The second relief, below the Anubanini relief, a Parthian relief. File:Sar-e_Pol_Parthian_relief.jpeg, Drawing of the Parthian relief.

Notes

References

Populated places in Sarpol-e Zahab County Cities in Kermanshah province Rock reliefs in Iran Kurdish settlements in Kermanshah province {{SarpolZahab-geo-stub