You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Persian. (May 2015)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Mahabad | |
---|---|
City | |
Coordinates: 36°46′04″N45°44′02″E / 36.76778°N 45.73389°E [1] | |
Country | Iran |
Province | West Azerbaijan |
County | Mahabad |
District | Central |
Population (2016) [2] | |
• Total | 168,393 |
Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
Area code | 044 |
Website | www |
[3] |
Mahabad (Persian : مهاباد, Sorani Kurdish : مەهاباد, and Kurdish : Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād, [4] and formerly known as Savojbolagh (Persian : ساوجبلاغ), is a city in the Central District of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. [5]
At the 2006 census, its population was 133,324 in 31,000 households. [6] The following census in 2011 counted 147,268 people in 38,393 households. [7] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 168,393 people in 47,974 households. [2]
The city lies south of Lake Urmia in a narrow valley 1,300 metres above sea level. [8] [9]
Mahabad first became the name of the city after World War I, during the reign of the Pahlavi shah (king) Reza Shah (r. 1925–1941). Before that, it was known as Savojbolagh, a Persian corruption of the Turkic word soghuk bulak (meaning "cold spring"). The Kurdish version was Sablagh. [10] [11]
Savojbolagh is first attested in the 16th century, during the Safavid era. [10] Mukri Kurds participated in several wars between Safavid dynasty and Ottoman Empire, and gained more predominance. In 17th century AD, Savojbolagh became the seat of Mukri principality (known as Mukriyān in Sorani Kurdish and Mokriyān in Persian). Many believe Budaq Sultan Mukri, who built Savojbolagh's congregational mosque is the founder of the current town.
Mahabad was the capital of the short-lived Republic of Mahabad, which was declared independent on January 1, 1946, under the leadership of Kurdish nationalist Qazi Muhammad.
The republic received strong support from the Soviet Union, which occupied Iran during the same era. It included the majority Kurdish-speaking towns of Bukan, Piranshahr, Sardasht and Oshnavieh. [12]
After an agreement brokered by the United States, the Soviets agreed to leave Iran, and sovereignty was restored to the 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. [13] [14] [15] Qazi Muhammad was hanged on 31 March 1947. At the behest of Archibald Roosevelt Jr., who argued that Qazi had been forced to work with the Soviets out of expediency, U.S. ambassador to Iran George 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." [16]
On 7 May 2015, the people of the city rioted following the unexplained death on 4 May 2015 of Farinaz Khosravani, a hotel chambermaid. 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. [17]
Most of Mahabad is populated by Kurds who follow the Sunni branch of Islam. Besides Kurdish, many speak Persian and Azeri Turkic as well. [18] Neo-Aramaic-speaking Jews originally used to inhabit the city as well. [10]
Climate data for Mahabad (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.4 (65.1) | 26.4 (79.5) | 30.8 (87.4) | 34.6 (94.3) | 40.4 (104.7) | 42.6 (108.7) | 41.4 (106.5) | 38.8 (101.8) | 32.4 (90.3) | 24.8 (76.6) | 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) | −10.4 (13.3) | −4.6 (23.7) | 2.4 (36.3) | 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) |
Average precipitation 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 relative 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 |
Average dew 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 monthly sunshine 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: NOAA [19] |
Sorani Kurdish, also known as Central Kurdish or simply Sorani (سۆرانی/Soranî), is a Kurdish dialect or a languagethat is spoken in Iraq, mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan in western Iran. Sorani is one of the two official languages of Iraq, along with Arabic, and is in administrative documents simply referred to as "Kurdish".
Naqadeh, formerly known as Sulduz, is a city in the Central District of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Qazi Muhammad was an Iranian Kurdish religious and political leader who founded the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and headed the short-lived, Soviet-backed Republic of Mahabad. He was hanged by the Iranian government for treason in 1947.
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, also known as the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), is an armed leftist ethnic party of Kurds in Iran, exiled in northern Iraq. It is banned in Iran and thus not able to operate openly. The group calls for self-determination of Kurdish people, and has been described as seeking either separatism or autonomy within a federal system.
Oshnavieh, also Romanized as Oshnavīyeh, is a city in the Central District of Oshnavieh County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Abdurrahman Sharafkandi, known by his pen name Hazhar or Hajar, was a renowned Kurdish writer, poet, lexicographer, linguist, and translator, from Iran. He was born in Mahabad.
Mukriyan or 'Deryaz' was a Kurdish principality from the late 14th century to the 19th century centered around Mahabad. Mukriyan was a neighbor to the Emirate of Bradost.
Charuymaq County is in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Qarah Aghaj.
Bukan County is in West Azerbaijan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Bukan.
Naqadeh County is in West Azerbaijan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Naqadeh.
Sonqor County is in Kermanshah province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Sonqor.
Mangur is one of the largest Kurdish tribe of northwestern Iran and has a minor presence in northern Iraq. Historically semi-nomadic and war-like, they are native to a basin on the little Zab river called “Mangurayeti” in Mukriyan and also inhabit the districts and cities of Sardasht, Piranshahr, Mahabad, and Pshdar District, the latter of which is in Iraq and not considered to be apart of the geo-cultural region of Mukriyan.
Bukan is a city in the Central District of Bukan County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district.
The Republic of Mahabad, also referred to as the Republic of Kurdistan, was a short-lived Kurdish self-governing unrecognized state in present-day Iran, from 22 January to 15 December 1946. The Republic of Mahabad, a puppet state of the Soviet Union, arose alongside the Azerbaijan People's Government, a similarly short-lived unrecognized Soviet puppet state.
Kurdish separatism in Iran or the Kurdish–Iranian conflict is an ongoing, long-running, separatist dispute between the Kurdish opposition in Western Iran and the governments of Iran, lasting since the emergence of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1918.
Egriqash is a village in Mokriyan-e Gharbi Rural District, in the Central District of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 2,911, in 578 families.
West Azerbaijan province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Zanjan and Kurdistan. The Iranian province is part of Region 3. It is separated from Armenia by Turkey's short border with the Azerbaijan Republic.
Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it includes the West Azerbaijan Province, Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Ilam Province and parts of Hamadan Province and Lorestan Province.