Ahar Persian:اهر | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Sheikh Shahab tomb in the city of Ahar | |
  Ahar | |
| Coordinates:38°28′47″N47°04′01″E / 38.47972°N 47.06694°E /38.47972; 47.06694[1] | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | East Azerbaijan |
| County | Ahar |
| District | Central |
| Population (2016)[2] | |
• Total | 100,641 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
Ahar (Persian:اهر)[a] is a city in theCentral District ofAhar County,East Azerbaijan province,Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[4] Ahar was the capital ofKaradag Khanate in 18th and 19th centuries.
Ahar is one of the ancient cities of theAzerbaijan region, its name before Islam was "meimad".[5] In the 12th-13th centuries, Ahar was a minor and short-lived, but prosperousemirate ruled by thePishteginid dynasty ofGeorgian origin (1155—1231).[6]Yaqut al-Hamawi, writing in early thirteenth century, describes Ahar asvery flourishing despite its small extent.[7]
The city lost most of its importance during the rule ofIlkhanate.[7]Hamdallah Mustawfi, writing in mid fourteenth century, describes Ahar as a little town. He estimates the tax revenue of the town to be comparable to that ofMardanaqom, which presently is a medium-sized village.[8]
Ahar was in the focus ofSafavid's agenda for casting of Azerbaijan as a Safavid dominion. Thus,Shah Abbas I rebuilt the mausoleum of Sheikh Sheikh Shihab-al-din in Ahar.[9]
Ahar suffered enormously during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 andRusso-Persian War of 1826–1828. Western travelers in 1837-1843 period had found Ahar, a city with around 700 households, in wretched condition. Their impression was that theQajar princes, who were dispatched as the governors of Qaradagh hastened to collect as much wealth as possible before their removal.[10]
Ahar was one of the epicenters ofPersian Constitutional Revolution due to the involvement ofArasbaran tribes in armed conflicts; the revolutionary and ati-revolutionary camps were headed, respectively, bySattar Khan andRahimkhan Chalabianloo, both fromQaradağ region. When in 1925Rezā Shāh deposedAhmad Shah Qajar and founded thePahlavi dynasty, Ahar's gradual decline started. The new king insisted onethnicnationalism and cultural unitarism and implemented his policies with forceddetribalization andsedentarization. He renamed Qaradağ asArasbaran to deny theTurkic identity of the inhabitants. This policy, in particular, resulted in suppression of ethnicAzeris.[11]
For further information on the history of Ahar andArasbaran region one may consult the following scholarly books (all inPersian language):
Two concise English language articles are the following:
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 85,782 in 20,844 households.[18] The following census in 2011 counted 92,608 people in 24,810 households.[19] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 100,641 people in 30,129 households.[2]
In the wake of theRusso-Persian War (1804–13) and with 3,500 inhabitants, Ahar was the only city ofQaradağ.[20] Around the mid-1830s, the population was estimated to be from five to six thousand inhabitants in about 600 houses.[21] By 1956 the population had increased to 19,816.[22] At the 2016 census, its population had increased to over 100,000.[2] Despite this population boom, the city has been losing its former importance to the much smaller neighboringKaleybar, as the latter is gaining nationwide fame as a tourist destination.
| Climate data for Ahar(normals and extremes 1991-2020) elevation:1391 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.4 (63.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 26.4 (79.5) | 31.0 (87.8) | 33.6 (92.5) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.4 (102.9) | 40.0 (104.0) | 35.4 (95.7) | 30.3 (86.5) | 23.2 (73.8) | 20.5 (68.9) | 40.0 (104.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.2 (39.6) | 5.8 (42.4) | 11.0 (51.8) | 16.6 (61.9) | 21.7 (71.1) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.7 (83.7) | 25.0 (77.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.5 (43.7) | 17.1 (62.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.5 (31.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.1 (41.2) | 10.3 (50.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.1 (71.8) | 18.0 (64.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 5.9 (42.6) | 1.6 (34.9) | 11.1 (51.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.7 (23.5) | −3.6 (25.5) | 0.1 (32.2) | 4.6 (40.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.4 (54.3) | 15.7 (60.3) | 15.5 (59.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 7.1 (44.8) | 1.4 (34.5) | −2.4 (27.7) | 5.5 (42.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.2 (−9.8) | −20.5 (−4.9) | −18.4 (−1.1) | −15.8 (3.6) | −4.0 (24.8) | 2.6 (36.7) | 7.8 (46.0) | 7.0 (44.6) | 1.5 (34.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | −16.6 (2.1) | −19.2 (−2.6) | −23.2 (−9.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 18.3 (0.72) | 21.1 (0.83) | 33.8 (1.33) | 45.0 (1.77) | 48.3 (1.90) | 22.6 (0.89) | 8.6 (0.34) | 6.2 (0.24) | 11.0 (0.43) | 24.5 (0.96) | 27.5 (1.08) | 19.5 (0.77) | 286.4 (11.26) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.1 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4 | 53.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 65 | 64 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 53 | 49 | 49 | 57 | 59 | 64 | 64 | 59 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | −6.9 (19.6) | −6.0 (21.2) | −2.9 (26.8) | 1.7 (35.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 9.9 (49.8) | 8.1 (46.6) | 3.6 (38.5) | −1.4 (29.5) | −5.2 (22.6) | 2.2 (35.9) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 168 | 164 | 179 | 188 | 248 | 301 | 312 | 304 | 256 | 211 | 167 | 162 | 2,660 |
| Source: NOAA NCEI[23] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Ahar(1986-2010 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 4.9 (40.8) | 10.0 (50.0) | 16.3 (61.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 25.9 (78.6) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.3 (82.9) | 24.8 (76.6) | 19.0 (66.2) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.1 (43.0) | 16.6 (61.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.8 (30.6) | 0.4 (32.7) | 4.8 (40.6) | 10.4 (50.7) | 14.6 (58.3) | 19.0 (66.2) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.9 (71.4) | 18.1 (64.6) | 13.1 (55.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 1.9 (35.4) | 11.0 (51.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) | −4.0 (24.8) | −0.3 (31.5) | 4.5 (40.1) | 8.2 (46.8) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.5 (52.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | 1.6 (34.9) | −2.4 (27.7) | 5.3 (41.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 16.8 (0.66) | 19.1 (0.75) | 32.9 (1.30) | 45.2 (1.78) | 48.9 (1.93) | 23.8 (0.94) | 6.7 (0.26) | 6.2 (0.24) | 12.7 (0.50) | 26.9 (1.06) | 26.4 (1.04) | 19.6 (0.77) | 285.2 (11.23) |
| Average snowy days | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 6.8 | 36.6 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | −7.0 (19.4) | −6.7 (19.9) | −3.4 (25.9) | 1.5 (34.7) | 5.7 (42.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.7 (45.9) | 3.4 (38.1) | −1.4 (29.5) | −5.0 (23.0) | 2.1 (35.7) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 158.6 | 162.9 | 173.3 | 179.3 | 246.7 | 292.7 | 311.6 | 298.5 | 252.6 | 204.1 | 161.5 | 155.8 | 2,597.6 |
| Source: IRIMO(Temperatures)[24](Precipitation)[25] | |||||||||||||
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Until the early 1960s Ahar was the economic hub ofArasbaran region.Arasbaran nomadic tribes bartered their produce in Ahar's bazaar. The charcoal produced in villages adjacent toArasbaran forests was carried by muleteers to Ahar and from there was transported toTabriz. In addition, Ahar was a distribution center for theArasbaran rug. The gradual settlement of nomads, widespread use of fossil fuels, changing life-styles, and establishment of new marketplaces such asKaleybar through facilitated transportation, have diminished Ahar's economical importance.
The main tourist site in the city is the mausoleum of Sheikh Shaabe-deen, who was the teacher ofSafi-ad-din Ardabili, the founder of the family ofSafavid dynasty. The monument has been described by James Morier in early nineteenth century as the following, "The mausoleum is of brick, with a foundation of stone, and faced by an elevated portico, flanked by two minors or pillars encrusted with green tiles. A little wooden door was opened for us in the back of the building, which introduced us into the spot that contained the tomb of the Sheikh, which was enclosed by a stone railing, carved into open work, and surrounded by a sculptured arabesque ornament, of very good taste. The tomb is distinguished by a marble cover, on which is an Arabic inscription in relieve.".[29]
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