Ardabil Province استان اردبیل
—  Province  —
Location of Ardabīl within Iran
Coordinates: 38°15′05″N 48°17′50″E / 38.2514°N 48.2973°E / 38.2514; 48.2973Coordinates: 38°15′05″N 48°17′50″E / 38.2514°N 48.2973°E / 38.2514; 48.2973
Country	Iran
Capital	Ardabil
Counties	9
Area
• Total	17,800 km2 (6,900 sq mi)
Population (2006)[1]
• Total	1,228,155
• Density	69/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	IRST (UTC+03:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRST (UTC+04:30)
Main language(s)	Persian (official) local languages: Azeri Talysh Kurdish

Sheikh Safi's Tomb

Ardabil Province (Persian: استان اردبیل‎, Ostān-e Ardabīl ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north west of the country, bordering the Republic of Azerbaijan and the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Gilan. Its centre is the city of Ardabil. The province was established in 1993 from the eastern part of East Azerbaijan and the northern part of Gilan.

Climate and geography[link]

Many tourists come to the region for its cool climate (max 35 °C) during the hot summer months. The winters are bitter cold, with temperatures plummeting to -25°C.

Its famous natural region is the Sabalan mountains. The population of Ardabil province is mainly composed of Azeris, Talish, Tats, Kurds and Persians. The province is considered the coldest province in Iran by many. Large parts of the province are green and forested.

Famous athletes such as Ali Daei and Hossein Rezazade are originally from Ardabil.

Ardabil's capital stands about 70 km from the Caspian Sea and has an area of 18011 km². Neighbouring the Caspian Sea and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the city is of great political and economic significance. The province has been blessed with splendid natural beauty and numerous sights.

History[link]

The natural features of the province of Ardabil are mentioned in the Avesta, according to which Zoroaster was born by the river Aras and wrote his book in the Sabalan Mountains. During the Islamic conquest of Iran, Ardabil was the largest city in Azarbaijan, and remained so until the Mongol invasion period.

Shah Ismail I started his campaign to nationalize Iran's government and land from here, but consequently announced Tabriz as his capital in 1500CE. Yet Ardabil remained an important city both politically and economically until modern times.

Administrative divisions[link]

The province is divided into 9 counties: Ardabil, Bilasavar, Germi, Khalkhal, Kowsar, Meshginshahr, Namin, Nir, and Parsabad.

Ardabil Province counties
Ardabil Bilasavar Germi Khalkhal Kowsar Meshginshahr Namin Nir Parsabad

Culture[link]

Ardabil Museum

Ardabil is the seat of the sanctuary and tomb of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn, eponym of the Safavid Dynasty Kulliye. It has many hot springs and beautiful natural landscapes and these attract tourists. The mineral springs of Ardabil are Beele-Darreh, Sareyn, Sardabeh and Booshloo, which are famed throughout Iran for their medicinal qualities. It also has many beauty lakes: the largest of which are Ne'or, Shoorabil, ShoorGel, NouShahr and Alooche, which are the habitats of some species of water birds.

The beautiful Lake Ne'or is located in a mountainous area 48 km south-east of the city of Ardabil. It covers an area of 2.1 km² and has an average depth of 3 metres. It is fed by springs in the lake bed. Lake Shoorabil is located in a hilly area south of the city of Ardabil and covers an area of 640,000 m². The surface of the lake is covered with a thin white layer of minerals, which is useful for healing skin diseases and rheumatism. Near the lake there is the leisure complex of Shoorabil. Ardabil is a city of great antiquity. Its origins go back 4000 to 6000 years (according to historical research in this city). This city was the capital of Azerbaijan province in different times, but its golden age was in the Safavid period.

One of the most ancient cities in Iran is Meshkin Shahr. It is located in the north-west of Iran in Azerbaijan, 839 kilometers from Tehran. It is the closest city to the Sabalan mountains. In the past, it was called "Khiav", "Orami", and "Varavi".

The most important places to visit in the district of Meshkin Shahr are the following : - The hot water springs of Moiel, Eelando and Qaynarja, located in the suburb of the city. - Qara Soo River Sides. - The spring of Qotur Suie, located 42 kilometers from Meshkin shahr. - The old Castle of Meshkin Shahr. - Qahqaheh castle, located 80 kilometers from Meshkin Shahr. - Deev castle, located in Kavij. - The petrograph of Shapour Sasani in Meshkin Shahr. - The old cemetery in Oonar. - The tomb of Sheykh Haydar in Meshkin Shahr. - Imamzadeh Seyyed Soleyman.

The other significant historical monuments are as follows: the mausoleum of Sheikh Jebra'il, located 2 km north of Ardabil, the old but always lively bazaar, the babadavood anbaran, the Friday mosque, and a few ancient bridges. In addition to these, in many villages of Ardabil, relics of ancient monuments, including tombs, have been found.

Colleges and universities[link]

1. Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
2. Mohaghegh Ardabili University
3. Islamic Azad University of Ardabil
4. Payam Noor University of Ardabil
5. Soureh University of Ardabil
6. Islamic Azad University of Khalkhal

Language[link]

The primary language of Ardebil province is Azeri, a branch of Turkic Languages. It is predominantly spoken among people of Ardebil and adjasent provinces like East Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and large portions of West Azerbaijan, as well as the Republic of Azerbaijan. Minority languages in Ardabil include Tati, Talishi and Persian

Azeri [8] or Torki[9][10] is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia, primarily inRepublic of Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran. Azerbaijani is member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Turkish, Qashqai and Turkmen. Today′s Azeri languages evolved from the Eastern Oghuz branch of Western (Oghuz) Turkic[11] which spread to Southwestern Asia during medieval Turkic migrations, and has been heavily influenced by Persian.[12] Arabic also influenced the language, but Arabic words were mainly transmitted through the intermediary of literary Persian.[13]

Turkic Azeri gradually supplanted the old Iranic Azeri language, as well other local Iranic languages, most notably the Tati, Azari, Harzandi, Talishi and Tabrizi. To the north, it replaced a variety of Caucasian languages in the Caucasus, particularly Udi. By the end of the 17th century, it had become the dominant language of the region, and was a spoken language in the court of the Safavid Empire. However, minorities in both Rep. Azerbaijan and Iran continue to speak the earlier Iranian languages to this day, and Middle- and Modern Persian loanwords are numerous in the Azerbaijani language.

Rashidi categorizes The historical development of Azeri Language into two major periods: early (ca. 16th to 18th century) and modern (18th century to present). Azerbaijani differs from its descendant in that it contained a much greater amount of Persian, and Arabic loanwords, phrases and syntactic elements. Early writings in Azerbaijani also demonstrate linguistic interchangeability between Oghuz and Kypchak elements in many aspects (such as pronouns, case endings, participles, etc.). As Azerbaijani gradually moved from being merely a language of epic and lyric poetry to being also a language of journalism and scientific research, its literary version has become more or less unified and simplified with the loss of many archaic Turkic elements, stilted Iranisms and Ottomanisms, and other words, expressions, and rules that failed to gain popularity among Azerbaijani-speaking masses.

Between ca. 1900 and 1930, there were several competing approaches to the unification of the national language in Azerbaijan popularized by the literati. Despite major differences, they all aimed primarily at making it easy for semi-literate masses to read and understand literature. They all criticized the overuse of Persian, Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and European (mainly Russian) elements in both colloquial and literary language and called for a more simple and popular style.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Encyclopedia of Orient About Ardabil
• Ardabil-Iran Carvan Tourism
• Ardabil entries in the Encyclopædia Iranica
• site of meshkin shahr
• site of khalkhal
• site of ardebil

		Azerbaijan
	East Azerbaijan Province
		Ardabil Province    East
		Zanjan Province	Gilan Province

v t e Ardabil Province Capital Ardabil Counties and Cities Ardabil County Ardabil Hir Bileh Savar County Bileh Savar Jafarabad Germi County Germi Tazeh Kand-e Aguti Khalkhal County Khalkhal Hashatjin Kolowr Kowsar County Kivi Meshgin Shahr County Meshgin Shahr Lahrud Razi Namin County Namin Abi Beyglu Anbaran Nir County Nir Kuraim Parsabad County Parsabad Aslan Duz Sareyn County Sareyn Landmarks Sardabe Waterfall Complex of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili Emamzadeh Klouver Ardabil Bazaar Alvares (ski resort) Shorabil Sabalan Neor lake Shapur II Bas-relief of Meshkinshar Haftkhaneh Cave Sarein springs Ardabil Anthropology Museum Qarah Soo Bridge

v t e Provinces of Iran Alborz Ardabil Bushehr Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari East Azerbaijan Isfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Kurdistan Lorestan Markazi Mazandaran North Khorasan Qazvin Qom Razavi Khorasan Semnan Sistan and Baluchestan South Khorasan Tehran West Azerbaijan Yazd Zanjan

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.

Demography[link]

• Population (Metropolitan): about 650,000
• Religion: Mainly Shi'a Islam
• Ethnicity: Mostly Azeris
• Language: The majority of the population speaks Azeri, however, most of Ardabil's population could understand and speaks Persian as well.

Attractions[link]

Sheikh Safi's tomb

Ardabil Museum

and a few ancient bridges. In addition to these, in many villages of Ardabil, relics of ancient monuments, including tombs have been found.

Being a city of great antiquity, the origins of Ardabil go back 4000 to 6000 years (according to historical research in this city). This city was the capital of Azerbaijan province in different times, but its golden age was in the Safavid period.

Geology[link]

Many hot springs and beautiful natural landscapes are in Ardabil and around which attract tourists. The mineral springs of Ardabil (Beele-Darreh, Sar'eyn, Sardabeh and Booshloo) are notable throughout Iran for their medicinal qualities.

Many beauty lakes: the largest of which are Ne'or, Shorabil, ShoorGel, NouShahr and Aloocheh that are the habitats of some species of water birds. The beautiful Lake Ne'or is located in a mountainous area 48 km south-east of the city of Ardabil. It covers an area of 2.1 km² and has an average depth of 3 metres. It is fed by springs in the lake bed.

Music[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

• Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
• Mohaghegh Ardabili University
• Islamic Azad University of Ardabil
• Payam Noor University of Ardabil
• Soureh University of Ardabil
• Islamic Azad University of Khalkhal

Economy[link]

The economy of Ardabil is partially agricultural, partially tourist based, with some industries in operation.

The Iranian government in 2006 announced plans to build "the largest textile factory of its kind in the Middle East" in Ardabil.^[6]

Arta Industrial Group (AIG) has one of the largest textile conglomerates in Iran, which is located in the provinces called Qazvin and Ardabil. The group has received numerous awards for being one of the top 20 exporters and industrial groups in Iran since 1998. It is the first company to produce high-density fiberboard (HDF), medium-density fiberboard (MDF), laminate flooring and multi-layer films in Iran.

AIG has the first private industrial site in Iran in the city of Ardabil, which has fifteen main factories owned by (AIG). This Industrial zone covers an area of 100 hectares and Residential Area for engineers and managers of the company.

The town has an airport

Notable people from Ardabil[link]

The mausoleum of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili

Arts and music[link]

• Javad Alizadeh, cartoonist.
• Nasrollah Nasehpoor, singer in Iranian classical vocalists.
• Rubaba Muradova, opera, folk singer Maqam.

Clergy and religious[link]

• Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardabili, Iranian politician.
• Rahim Moazzen Zadeh Ardabili, son and successor of Abdul Karim Moazzen Zadeh Ardabili, recorded his Azaan in 1955
• Safi-ad-din Ardabili, Spiritual leader in 13th century.
• Sadegh Khalkhali, Iranian Islamist

Businesspeople[link]

• Jacob Ghermezian, founder of the Triple Five Group.^[7]

Poets and writers[link]

• Baba Safari, historian.
• Madina Gulgun, Azerbaijani poet.
• Mir Jalal Pashayev, writer and literary critic.
• Sadrol Mamalek Ardabili, writer.

Politicians and reformers[link]

• Babak Khorramdin, ancient revolutionary leader fighting the Abbasid Caliphate in Iran.
• Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty.
• Jafar Pishevari, founder and chairman of separatist and communist Azerbaijan People's Government, created and supported by Soviet occupational forces in north-western Iran.
• Rahman Dadman, former Minister of Roads and Transportation of Iran.
• Sayyid hossein Ardabili, member of Demokrat party in Tehran and Mashhad.

Sport[link]

• Rahim Aliabadi, Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling.
• Ali Daei, football player
• Hossein Rezazadeh, weightlifter and the current world record holder in the sport.
• Yahya Golmohammadi, football player.
• Karim Ansarifard, youngest football player in Team Melli Iran to score the most goals.

Photo gallery[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ardabil Tourist Attractions
• http://www.irantour.org/Iran/province/ardabil.html.
• http://www.travel-images.com/az-ardebil.html

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v t e Ardabil Province Capital Ardabil Counties and Cities Ardabil County Ardabil Hir Bileh Savar County Bileh Savar Jafarabad Germi County Germi Tazeh Kand-e Aguti Khalkhal County Khalkhal Hashatjin Kolowr Kowsar County Kivi Meshgin Shahr County Meshgin Shahr Lahrud Razi Namin County Namin Abi Beyglu Anbaran Nir County Nir Kuraim Parsabad County Parsabad Aslan Duz Sareyn County Sareyn Landmarks Sardabe Waterfall Complex of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili Emamzadeh Klouver Ardabil Bazaar Alvares (ski resort) Shorabil Sabalan Neor lake Shapur II Bas-relief of Meshkinshar Haftkhaneh Cave Sarein springs Ardabil Anthropology Museum Qarah Soo Bridge

v t e Provinces of Iran Alborz Ardabil Bushehr Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari East Azerbaijan Isfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Kurdistan Lorestan Markazi Mazandaran North Khorasan Qazvin Qom Razavi Khorasan Semnan Sistan and Baluchestan South Khorasan Tehran West Azerbaijan Yazd Zanjan