Ardabil اردبیل
Sheikh Safi's Tomb
Ardabil
Coordinates: 38°15′N 48°17′E / 38.25°N 48.283°E / 38.25; 48.283Coordinates: 38°15′N 48°17′E / 38.25°N 48.283°E / 38.25; 48.283
Country	Iran
Province	Ardabil
County	Ardabil
Bakhsh	Central
Government
• M.P.	Nouradin Pirmoazen, Vali Azarvash, Hassan No'i-Aghdam
• Governing Body	Ardabil City Council
Area
• Total	18.011 km2 (6.954 sq mi)
Elevation	1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	412,669
• Density	18,857/km2 (48,840/sq mi)
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Area code(s)	451

Ardabil (Persian: اردبیل, also Romanized as Ardabīl and Ardebīl)^[1] is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place.^[2] Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families.^[3] The dominant majority of whom are ethnic Azeris followed by Kurds and Talyshes. Notable for its silk and carpet trade tradition, the ancient Ardabil Carpets are considered some of the best of the classical Persian carpet creations. Ardabil is also known as the seat of a World Heritage Site: the sanctuary and tomb of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn, eponym of the Safavid Dynasty.

Location[link]

Ardabil is about 70 km from the Caspian Sea, 210 km from the city of Tabriz. It has an average altitude of 1263 m and total area of 18.011 km².

Neighboring on the Caspian Sea and the Republic of Azerbaijan, this city is of great political and economical significance.

The province of Ardabil has been blessed with splendid natural beauty and numerous sights.

It is located on an open plain 1,500 m above sea level, just east of Mount Sabalan (4,811 m), where cold spells occur until late spring.

History[link]

Shah Ismail

The province is believed to be as old as the Achaemenid (ca. 550–330 BC). It is mentioned in the Avesta, where prophet Zoroaster was born by the river Aras and wrote his book in the Sabalan Mountains. During Parthian era the city had a special importance among the cities of Azarbaijan. Some Muslim historians attribute foundation of Ardabil to king Peroz I of Sassanid Empire. The Persian poet Ferdowsi also credits the foundation of the city to Peroz I. Ardabil suffered some damages caused by occasional raids of Huns between 4th to 6th century AD. Peroz repaired those damages and fortified the city. Peroz made Ardabil the residence of provincial governor (Marzban) of Azarbaijan.

During the Islamic conquest of Iran, Ardabil was the largest city in North Western Iran, and remained so until the Mongol invasion period. Ardabilis fought the Mongols three times, however the city fell after the third attempt by Mongols. They massacred not only the Ardabilis but inhabitants of neighboring villages and killing everyone they could find. Incursions of Mongols and Georgians left the city in ruins for nearly three centuries til the advent of Safavids.

Safavid Shah Ismail I started his campaign to nationalize Iran's government and land from here, but consequently announced Tabriz as his capital in AD 1500. Yet Ardabil remained an important city both politically and economically until modern times. She was sacked by Ottomans 14 times between 1514–722 and in 1915 and by Russians in 1813, 1828 and in 1916.

Earthquakes[link]

Ardabil is associated with historical confusion between the 893 Dvin earthquake which was often wrongly documented as the 893 Ardabil earthquake due to the similarity of the Arabic name for city of Dvin in Armenia, 'Dabil' to Ardabil.

On 28 February 1997, a destructive earthquake hit the Ardabil area. At least 965 people were killed, 2,600 injured, 36,000 homeless, 12,000 houses damaged or destroyed and 160,000 livestock were killed. Severe damage was observed to roads, electrical power lines, communications and water distribution systems around Ardabil.^[4]

Climate[link]

Cold and semi-arid (Köppen BSk), many tourists come to the region for its relatively cool climate during the hot summer months. The winters are long and bitter cold, with a temperature plummeting to -25 °C. The annual rainfall is around 380 mm.