Mahabad | |
|---|---|
City | |
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  Mahabad | |
| Coordinates:36°46′04″N45°44′02″E / 36.76778°N 45.73389°E /36.76778; 45.73389[1][2] | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | West Azerbaijan |
| County | Mahabad |
| District | Central |
| Population (2016)[3] | |
• Total | 168,393 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
| Area code | 044 |
| Website | www |
| [4] | |
Mahabad (Persian:مهاباد)[a] is a city in theCentral District ofMahabad County,West Azerbaijan province,Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[6]
Mahabad first became the name of the city afterWorld War I, during the reign ofReza Shah (r. 1925–1941). Before that, it was known as Savojbolagh, aPersian corruption of theTurkic wordsoghuk bulak (meaning "cold spring"). TheKurdish version was Sablagh.[7][8]
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Savojbolagh is first attested in the 16th century, during theSafavid era.[7]Mukri Kurds participated in several wars between theSafavid dynasty andOttoman Empire, and gained more predominance. In the 17th century, Savojbolagh became the seat of Mukri principality (known asMukriyān in Sorani Kurdish and Mokriyān inPersian). Many believe Budaq Sultan Mukri who built Savojbolagh'scongregational mosque is the founder of the current town.
Mahabad was the capital of the short-lived Republic of Mahabad, which was declared independent on 1 January 1946, under the leadership of Kurdish nationalistQazi Muhammad.
The republic received strong support from theSoviet Union, which had occupied northern Iran following theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran duringWorld War II. It included the majority Kurdish-speaking towns ofBukan, Piranshahr, Sardasht and Oshnavieh.[9]
After an agreement brokered by the United States, the Soviets agreed to leave Iran, and sovereignty was restored toMohammad 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.[10][11][12] Qazi Muhammad was hanged on 31 March 1947. At the behest ofArchibald Roosevelt Jr., who argued that Qazi had been forced to work with the Soviets out of expediency, U.S. ambassador to IranGeorge 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".[13]
On 7 May 2015, the people of the city rioted following the unexplained death on 4 May 2015 of Farinaz Khosravani, a hotelchambermaid. 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.[14]
Most of Mahabad is populated by Kurds who follow theSunni branch ofIslam. Besides Kurdish, many[vague] speak Persian andAzeri Turkic as well.[15]Neo-Aramaic-speakingJews originally used to inhabit the city as well.[7]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 133,324 in 31,000 households.[16] The following census in 2011 counted 147,268 people in 38,393 households.[17] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 168,393 people in 47,974 households.[3]
In 1977, the employment rate of the city was 95.8%, much higher than the provincial average of 86%. However, after theIranian revolution of 1979 the employment rate fell and reached 88.8% in 1997.[18]
The city lies south ofLake Urmia in a narrow valley 1,300 metres above sea level.[19][20]
Mahabad County is bordered by the counties ofUrmia andMiandoab to the north; by the counties ofPiranshahr andNaqadeh to the west and the northwest respectively; by the county ofSardasht to the southwest; and by the county ofBukan to the east.
| Climate data for Mahabad (1991–2020, extremes since 1985) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 30.8 (87.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 40.6 (105.1) | 42.6 (108.7) | 41.6 (106.9) | 38.8 (101.8) | 32.4 (90.3) | 25.4 (77.7) | 21.8 (71.2) | 42.6 (108.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.4 (39.9) | 7.2 (45.0) | 12.7 (54.9) | 18.5 (65.3) | 24.1 (75.4) | 30.3 (86.5) | 33.5 (92.3) | 33.7 (92.7) | 29.5 (85.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 13.0 (55.4) | 6.8 (44.2) | 19.7 (67.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | 2.2 (36.0) | 7.1 (44.8) | 12.4 (54.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 23.0 (73.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 25.9 (78.6) | 21.5 (70.7) | 15.0 (59.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 2.3 (36.1) | 13.4 (56.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.8 (25.2) | −2.1 (28.2) | 2.1 (35.8) | 6.5 (43.7) | 10.2 (50.4) | 14.3 (57.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 17.4 (63.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 8.4 (47.1) | 2.8 (37.0) | −1.5 (29.3) | 7.1 (44.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −14.8 (5.4) | −4.6 (23.7) | 1.6 (34.9) | 7.8 (46.0) | 5.4 (41.7) | 9.2 (48.6) | 4.4 (39.9) | −0.6 (30.9) | −11.4 (11.5) | −18.8 (−1.8) | −19.4 (−2.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 45.1 (1.78) | 43.2 (1.70) | 57.0 (2.24) | 57.7 (2.27) | 32.3 (1.27) | 4.4 (0.17) | 2.3 (0.09) | 0.9 (0.04) | 2.4 (0.09) | 27.5 (1.08) | 49.9 (1.96) | 41.0 (1.61) | 363.7 (14.32) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.4 | 6.3 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 49.9 |
| Average snowy days | 6.6 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 17.2 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 71.0 | 65.0 | 58.0 | 53.0 | 49.0 | 36.0 | 34.0 | 32.0 | 34.0 | 48.0 | 63.0 | 69.0 | 51.0 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | −5.7 (21.7) | −4.9 (23.2) | −2.7 (27.1) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.9 (37.2) | 3.2 (37.8) | 4.9 (40.8) | 4.1 (39.4) | 1.6 (34.9) | 0.8 (33.4) | −1.4 (29.5) | −4.2 (24.4) | −0.1 (31.8) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 140.0 | 163.0 | 202.0 | 227.0 | 288.0 | 355.0 | 367.0 | 346.0 | 299.0 | 237.0 | 173.0 | 140.0 | 2,937 |
| Source 1:NOAA[21] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:IRIMO(extremes 1985-1990),[22] meteomanz(snow days 2000-2023, extremes since 2021[23]) | |||||||||||||
The prolific translator intoPersian,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) andGiw Mukriyani, all from Mahabad, are considered as the main writers and poets. The first Kurdish-Kurdish-Persian Dictionary inIran was written byHejar.Kurdistan's national poet was the title given toHejar(along withHêmin) during the short lived reign of theRepublic of Mahabad in recognition of his poetry's service to the cause[3].After the fall of thePahlavi dynasty in 1979, "Hêmin" set up the Salaha-al-Din AyyubiKurdish publishing house inUrmia, which publishesSirwe (from spring 1985), a quarterly cultural magazine that Hêmin ran until his death in 1986[4].The dialect of Mahabad, is adopted as the literary standard ofKurdish language in western Iran (which is very close to the standard "sorani" used inIraqi Kurdistan).
By road, Mahabad is 122 kilometres away from the provincial capitalUrmia, and 679 kilometres away fromTehran.
In 2013, Mahabad was connected to the national railway and a 40 kilometre route between the city andMiandoab was established. The project was inaugurated in the presence of then presidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad.[24]
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.[25]
The biggest sports complex in Mahabad is the Azadi Sports Complex. The complex has afootball ground which was built in 1973, a 2,000 seat covered arena, a wrestling hall, table tennis complex, weightlifting hall and a gymnastics hall.[26]
Volleyball is the most popular sport in Mahabad[27] 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, whenFarmandarie Mahabad became champions of the Iranian first division (second tier). In 1995, the team then went on to finish a record fourth in theIranian Super League, however the team was dissolved only shortly after.[28]Farhad Piroutpour is the most successful player to have come from Mahabad, he has been a member of theIran 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 ofShahrdari Mahabad was formed and started competing in the West Azerbaijan Super League.
Media related toMahabad at Wikimedia Commons
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West Azerbaijan province, Iran | ||
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