At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 1,222 in 334 households,[8] when it was capital of the formerKhoda Afarin District inKaleybar County.[9] The following census in 2011 counted 1,659 people in 474 households,[10] by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment ofKhoda Afarin County. The city and the rural district were transferred to the newCentral District, with Khomarlu as the county's capital.[6] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 1,902 people in 560 households.[4]
The first reference to Khomarlu in the published literature, is the following description byRobert Mignan, "..the village of Khomorloo, situated upon a deep ravine, between steep calcareous and barren mountains. The dwellings of the villagers were scooped from the sides of a mountain, which formed three sides of each hut, the fourth being a wall of mud, in which an aperture of four feet square was left, and a few miserable planks tied together served for the door: the whole covered over by rafters, and a thin coating of flat thatch. They had the character of being plunderers and assassins, but excused their depredations by pretending that the whole country were at war with them. Had we not been with the prince, we dared not have trusted to their hospitality. They appeared the poorest people we had yet seen. Both sexes were clad in rags, and the children to the age of seven were tous nude. They possessed a few sheep and goats, and a good supply of grapes, which they had preserved all the winter...".[11]
The online edition of theDehkhoda Dictionary, quoting Iranian Army files,[12] reports a population of 396 people in late 1940s.[13] The village was infamous for having a branch of Royal Gendarme, which was tasked with conscripting soldiers. In the wake ofWhite Revolution (early 1960s) a clan ofMohammad Khanlu tribe, comprising 60 households, used Khomarlu as their winter quarters.[14]
Just after the revolution, revolutionary institutions, such as Friday Prayer office, were set office in the village. In 1988 the notary branch of the district moved fromAbbasabad to Khomarlu and added to the importance of the village. In 1999, Khomarlu was declared a town by the decree of central government.[15] The construction of Khoda Afarin Dam in the vicinity of the village was a turning point in the development of the village and transforming it to a town.
The most important landmark near the town is a pair of historical bridges, known asKhoda Afarin Bridges. One bridge is in ruins but the other with a length of 160 m is still usable by pedestrians.
^abHabibi, Hassan (20 May 1998) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1377/02/30 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تبدیل روستای خمارلو مرکز بخش خداآفرین از توابع شهرستان کلیبر استان آذربایجان شرقی به شهر خمارلو [Transforming the village of Khomarlu, the center of Khoda Afarin District, from the functions of Kaleybar County, East Azerbaijan province, to the city of Khomarlu].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers].شناسه [ID] 22979577-279F-46FF-A48B-B483E36B37A9.شماره دوره [Course number] 77. Archived fromthe original on 13 September 2025. Retrieved13 September 2025.
^Khomarlu can be found atGEOnet Names Server, atthis link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3071131" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^abRahimi, Mohammad Reza (28 November 2010) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1389/09/07 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصويب نامه در خصوص تقسيمات كشوري در شهرستان كليبر [Approval letter regarding national divisions in Kaleybar County].سامانه ملی قوانین و مقررات [National System of Laws and Regulations] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers].پيشنهاد شماره 1/4/42/111195 [Proposal Number 1/4/42/111195]. Archived fromthe original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved12 September 2025.
^Mousavi, Mir-Hossein (9 August 1987) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1366/05/18 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].ایجاد و تشکیل تعداد 30 دهستان شامل روستاها، مزارع و مکانها در شهرستان اهر تابع استان آذربایجان شرقی [Creation and formation of 30 rural districts including villages, farms and places in Ahar County under East Azerbaijan province].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers].شناسه [ID] 1F7402E2-5CAC-4D1B-B0FF-D19D6D096C79.شماره دوره [Course number] 66,شماره جلد [Volume number] 11. Archived fromthe original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved19 June 2025.
^Habibi, Hassan (12 September 1990) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369/06/21 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوری استان آذربایجان شرقی به مرکزیت شهر تبریز [Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of East Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Tabriz].مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board].یبنامهشماره .93808ت907 [Resolution No. 93808T907]. Archived fromthe original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved9 September 2025.
^سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان آذربایجان شرقی [General Population and Housing Census 2011: East Azerbaijan Province].Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University (in Persian).مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 16 January 2023. Retrieved19 December 2022.
^Robert Mignan, A Winter Journey Through Russia, the Caucasian Alps, and Georgia: Thence ..., Vol. 1, 1839, London, p. 130
^فرهنگ جغرافیایی ایران، آبادیها، زیر نظر حسینعلی رزم آرا، تهران: سازمان جغرافیایی کشور، 1329، ج 4
