"Zenjan" redirects here. For the village in Isfahan province, seeZaranjan. For the administrative division of Zanjan province, seeZanjan County. For the administrative division of Iran, seeZanjan province. For other uses of the same name, seeZanjan.
Zanjan's population boasts the highest level of happiness among the people of 30 other provinces in Iran, according to a detailed survey conducted byIsna.[6]
After 833, theAbbasid Caliphate had a chain of forts constructed from Zanjan toArdabil to counter the 817–837 rebellion of theKhurramite leaderBabak Khorramdin (died 838).[8] In the 10th-century, Zanjan was ruled by local Daylamite dynasties such as theMusafirids (919–1062).[7] According to the 13th-century Arab geographerYaqut al-Hamawi (died 1229), the Persians referred the city as "Zangan."[9] During theIlkhanate era (1256–1335), the inhabitants were reported by Hamdallah Mustawfi to have spoken "pure Pahlavi" (pahlavī-e rāst), aMedian or northern form of Persian.[10][11]
One important moment in the history of the city was in 1851 when the city became a center for the suppressed Babi religious movement, along withNeyriz and a fortress known as Shaykh Tabarsi. The forces of the central government captured the Babi fort in Zanjan after a long siege on the orders of GrandVizier (Prime Minister of Iran)Amir Kabir and killed or expelled the Bab's followers.[12]
Approximately half of the population ofZanjan province lives in Zanjan city.[13] In a 2017 study, researchers concluded thatAzerbaijani-speaking families in the city display language shift toPersian.[13]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 341,801 in 89,829 households.[14] The following census in 2011 counted 386,851 people in 110,943 households.[15] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 430,871 people in 132,469 households,[3] making it the 20th largest city in Iran.
Zanjan has acool semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk) with hot, dry summers and cold, moist winters, often with snowfall. Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls between October and May. On February 13, 2020, a temperature of −21.0 °C or −5.8 °F was recorded.[17]
Climate data for Zanjan (1991–2020, records 1955–2020)
Zanjan'sbazaar is a public marketplace that started inAgha Mohammadkhan Ghajar-era in 1784 CE, and completed in 1792 CE during theFath-Ali Shah-era.[19] Mosques and a bath were added later. This bazaar has 940 shops, which consist of two defined parts, namely Bazaar-e Bala (upper bazaar) and Bazaar-e Paieen (lower bazaar).[19] Vendors are organized by their professions and commodities.[19]
The central mosque of Zanjan isJameh Mosque of Zanjan, also known as the Seyyed Mosque (Masjid-e-Seyyed), this was constructed in 1826 during theQajar-era, by one of Fath-Ali Shah's sons.[20] This mosque was built in the old area of the city and it's the religious center of Zajan.
It's built on Imam Street. This building holds six naturally preserved human remains calledsaltmen or “namaki”, which had been discovered in 1993 in theChehrabad salt mines. These remains are originally fromAchaemenian-era.
Tofighi's building is related to last parts of Qajar-era and Pahlavi-era. It's built on Imam Street. It was a house of the greatest man of Zanjan that was mayor of city. This building has 2 floors and consists of a symmetrical form.
The Match company (3 stars match company) is related to Pahlavi-era and located on Safa street. It is the second company of city and constructed by Mahmud Shalchi, before the World War II. It has a brick chimney.
The old abbey was constructed 200 years ago in the area of Enghelab square which is the most central and oldest part of Zanjan. It initially served as a caravanserai and then for approx. 80 years it was the house of one of Zanjan's scholars, Sheikh Jalal Ashabi.
It had been uninhabited for 20 years after the passing of the Seikh from 1997. It began to be renovated in 2017 and now serves as a traditional hotel.
The SangiCaravanserai (stone caravanserai) is an ancient roadside inn, constructed in Safavi-era and was converted into a restaurant in the 1990s.[21][22] It's a single story stone building that has four iwans (porches) and a ceiling that is arcuate.
TheRakhtshooy Khaneh Edifice is a historical wash-house and Iranian national heritage site, that is currently being used as Zanjan anthropological museum.[23]
The most famous handicrafts are knives, charuq (a local style of women's shoes, similar to clodhopper shoes),[24]filigree and gilding. Gilding is the one important art for decoration the books and calligraphies. Other handicrafts includecoppersmithing, rug weaving and carpet weaving (includingKilim andJajim style).[24]
Zanjan is known for having one of the best indoor sportclimbing walls in the Middle East, located in Enghelab sports complex. The facility also includes standard speed climbing walls. The city's football team isShahrdari Zanjan F.C., who play in the2nd Division.[25]
Shahab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi, Persian philosopher and founder of the Iranian school of Illuminationism, an important school in Islamic philosophy that drew upon Zoroastrian and Platonic ideas
Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani, Iranian theologian, Islamic philosopher, writer and Grand marja of Islam
Hujjat, early leader of the Bábí movement of 19th-century Persia
Reza Mirkarimi, contemporary film writer, director, and producer
^abسرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان زنجان [General Population and Housing Census 2016: Zanjan Province].مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 27 April 2022. Retrieved19 December 2022.
^Zanjan, Iran can be found atGEOnet Names Server, atthis link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3088976" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^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 زنجان به مرکزیت شهر زنجان [Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of elements and units of the national divisions of Zanjan province, centered in Zanjan city].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board].شناسه [ID] 965C7B0D-32D4-4BC6-A126-65D28CD02436.شماره دوره [Course number] 69,شماره جلد [Volume number] 3. Archived fromthe original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved25 June 2025.
^Abdu'l-Bahá, Edward Granville. "A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb", Published by Kalimat Press, 2004,ISBN1-890688-37-1,ISBN978-1-890688-37-0
^abcMirvahedi, Seyed Hadi; Jafari, Rasoul (2017). "Family language policy in the City of Zanjan: a city for the forlorn Azerbaijani".International Journal of Multilingualism.18 (1):1–23.doi:10.1080/14790718.2018.1545019.
^سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان زنجان [General Population and Housing Census 2006: Zanjan Province].مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved25 September 2022.
^سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان زنجان [General Population and Housing Census 2011: Zanjan Province].Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University (in Persian).مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 21 January 2023. Retrieved19 December 2022.
^"تیم فوتبال"شهرداری زنجان"پیدا شد" [The football team of "Zanjan Municipality" was found].newspaper.hamshahrionline.ir. Retrieved5 April 2021.تیم شهرداری زنجان طبق قانون قابل برگشت به شهرداری است و این موضوع با مصوبه اعضای شورای شهر مطالبه میشود [The Zanjan Municipality team can be returned to the municipality according to the law, and this issue is demanded with the approval of the city council members]
^""Cənubi Azərbaycanın Mandelası"" [Iranian Azerbaijanis are happy about the release of Said Matinpour] (in Azerbaijani). BBC Azərbaycanca. 27 August 2015. Archived fromthe original on 29 August 2015.
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