Zanjan, Iran

"Zenjan" redirects here. For the village in Isfahan Province, see Zenjan, Isfahan.
Zanjan
زنجان
زنگان

Seal
Zanjan
Coordinates: 36°40′N 48°29′E / 36.667°N 48.483°E / 36.667; 48.483Coordinates: 36°40′N 48°29′E / 36.667°N 48.483°E / 36.667; 48.483
Country  Iran
Region 3
Province Zanjan
County Zanjan
Bakhsh Central
Government
 • Mayor Asghar Azizi
 • Parliament Alimardani & Esmaeili
Elevation 1,638 m (5,374 ft)
Population (2012[1])
 • Total 388,796 & 486,495
 • Rank 20th in Iran
  City & County
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRST (UTC+4:30)
Website www.Zanjan.ir

Zanjan ( pronunciation  [2] Persian: زنجان, Azerbaijani: زنگان, Zәngan, Zәncan) is the capital of Zanjan Province in north-western Iran. It lies 298 km (185 mi) north-west of Tehran on the main highway to Tabriz and Turkey and approximately 125 km (78 mi) from the Caspian Sea. The city is located about 20 kilometers south of the Qaflankuh Mountain Range. At the 2011 census, its population was 386,851, which is the 20th largest city in Iran. The population of Zanjan consists mostly of Iranian Azerbaijanis who speak the Azerbaijani language.[3]

Zanjan is known for its beautiful handcrafts such as knives, traditional sandals, called charoogh, and malileh, a handcraft made with silver wires. Zanjani artists make many things like various decorative dishes and their special covers as well as silver jewelry. In ancient times, Zanjan was known for its stainless and sharp knives. But this tradition is gradually becoming extinct by introduction of Chinese-made knives into the market which are far cheaper, more abundant and of course less artistic . Many villagers today are traditional carpet weavers, perhaps Zanjan's most popular handcraft. Zanjan's population boasts the highest level of happiness among the people of 30 other provinces in Iran, according to a detailed survey conducted by Isna.[4]

History

Hamdollah Mostowfi, the Iranian traveler and historian, in his book claims that Zanjan was built by Ardashir I, the first king of the Sassanid Empire and named as "Shahin".[5] One important moment in the history of the city was in 1851 when the city became a center for the Babi uprisings, along with Neyriz 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 Grand Vizier (Prime Minister of Iran) Amir Kabir and killed or expelled the Bab's followers.[6] According to Bosworth, who quotes Hamdollah Mostowfi, the inhabitants during the Ilkhanid era spoke "pure Pahlawi", a Median or northern form of Persian.[7]

Climate

Zanjan has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with hot, dry summers and cold, moist winters. Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls between October and May.

Climate data for Zanjan
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)		 22.0
(71.6)		 25.0
(77)		 27.0
(80.6)		 32.0
(89.6)		 38.0
(100.4)		 40.0
(104)		 39.4
(102.9)		 35.0
(95)		 30.0
(86)		 23.0
(73.4)		 18.0
(64.4)		 40
(104)
Average high °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)		 4.3
(39.7)		 10.3
(50.5)		 17.0
(62.6)		 22.8
(73)		 28.8
(83.8)		 32.2
(90)		 31.6
(88.9)		 28.1
(82.6)		 20.4
(68.7)		 12.7
(54.9)		 5.5
(41.9)		 18.0
(64.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3
(27)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 4.9
(40.8)		 11.0
(51.8)		 16.4
(61.5)		 21.7
(71.1)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.4
(75.9)		 20.3
(68.5)		 13.5
(56.3)		 6.8
(44.2)		 0.4
(32.7)		 11.73
(53.12)
Average low °C (°F) −8.1
(17.4)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 3.7
(38.7)		 7.6
(45.7)		 11.2
(52.2)		 14.9
(58.8)		 14.2
(57.6)		 9.9
(49.8)		 5.5
(41.9)		 0.7
(33.3)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 4.0
(39.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 33.5
(1.319)		 30.0
(1.181)		 45.7
(1.799)		 56.5
(2.224)		 46.2
(1.819)		 7.3
(0.287)		 4.6
(0.181)		 3.4
(0.134)		 4.2
(0.165)		 26.0
(1.024)		 28.8
(1.134)		 29.2
(1.15)		 315.4
(12.417)
Average precipitation days 10.7 9.4 12.5 12.3 11.1 3.3 2.1 2.3 1.7 6.5 7.3 9.6 88.8
Average relative humidity (%) 72 69 61 54 49 40 38 39 38 49 59 68 53
Mean monthly sunshine hours 150.1 139.3 172.5 213.3 267.2 328.9 334.5 317.3 295.8 229.3 164.7 137.0 2,749.9
Source: NOAA (1961–1990) [8]

Colleges and universities

Zanjan is also home to several universities such as:

Sports

Zanjan is known for having one of the best indoor sport climbing walls in the middle east. It is located in Enghelab sports complex. The facility also includes standard speed climbing walls. The city's football team is Shahrdari Zanjan who play in the 2nd Division.

Famous natives

For a complete list see: Category:People from Zanjan, Iran

Photo gallery

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ Population according to statistical center of Iran in Persian
  2. ↑ Zanjan, Iran can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3088976" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  3. ↑ "Iran". google.com.
  4. ↑ "ایسنا - شادترين استانهاي ايران كدامند؟". isna.ir.
  5. ↑ "همشهريان اردشير بابكان هنوز هم چاروق مي پوشند". rugart.org. 2008-07-30. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  6. ↑ Abdu'l-Bahá, Edward Granville. "A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb", Published by Kalimat Press, 2004, ISBN 1-890688-37-1, ISBN 978-1-890688-37-0
  7. ↑ Bosworth, C.E.,"Zanjan", Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Ed., vol. 11:447. "... and also stated that the inhabitants spoke "pure Pahlawi", i.e. a Median or northern form of Persian"
  8. ↑ "Zanjan Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Zanjan sister Malacca, Malaysia". Zanjan Shora. 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2015-12-12.

External links

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