Soltaniyeh, located some 240 kilometres (150 mi) to the north-west ofTehran, was built as the capital of MongolIlkhanid rulers ofIran in the 14th century. Its name which refers to theIslamic ruler titlesultan translates loosely as "the Regal". Soltaniyeh was visited byRuy González de Clavijo, who reported that the city was a hub of silk exportation.[5]
William Dalrymple notes thatÖljaitü intended Soltaniyeh to be "the largest and most magnificent city in the world" but that it "died with him" and is now "a deserted, crumbling spread of ruins."[6]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 5,864 in 1,649 households,[7] when it was inSoltaniyeh District[c] ofAbhar County.[8] The following census in 2011 counted 7,116 people in 2,013 households.[9] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 7,638 people in 2,319 households,[2] by which time the district had been elevated to the status ofSoltaniyeh County.[4] Soltaniyeh was transferred to the newCentral District as the county's capital.
Hatef Naiemie, Atri (2020). "The Ilkhanid City of Sultaniyya: Some Remarks on the Citadel and the Outer City".Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies:1–30.doi:10.1080/05786967.2020.1744469.
^Soltaniyeh can be found atGEOnet Names Server, atthis link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3081931" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
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