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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}


{{for multi|the administrative division of West Azerbaijan province|Urmia County|other places with a similar name|Urmia (disambiguation){{!}}Urmia}} {{distinguish|Urmia County}}{{for|other places with a similar name|Urmia (disambiguation){{!}}Urmia}}


{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}


{{Infobox settlement {{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Urmia | official_name = Urmia
| other_name = | native_name = ارومیه
| native_name = {{lang|fa|ارومیه}} | other_name =
| native_name_lang = fa | settlement_type = City
| settlement_type = City | image_skyline = {{multiple image
| nickname = Cradle of Water | border = infobox
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage | total_width = 300
| photo1a = Uromia Iran,pareeke jangali - panoramio.jpg | perrow = 1/2/2/2
| photo2a = 3 Gonbad photo 2.jpg | image1 = Uromia Iran,pareeke jangali - panoramio.jpg
| photo2b = Jame Mosque of Urmia-5.JPG | alt1 = Skyline of the city
| image2 = 3 Gonbad photo 2.jpg
|
| spacing = 2 | alt2 = ]
|size = 266 | image3 = Jame Mosque of Urmia-5.JPG
| alt3 = ]
| image4 = Urmia Nane Maryam Church ارومیه کلیسای ننه مریم.jpg
| alt4 = ]
| image5 = Marsargiz church.jpg
| alt5 = ]
}} }}
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = | image_caption =
Clockwise from top: Skyline of the city, ], ] Clockwise from top: Skyline of the city, ], ], ], ]
| image_flag = Urmia flag.gif | image_flag = Urmia flag.gif
| image_seal = Urmia government logo.svg | image_seal = Urmia government logo.svg
| seal_size = | seal_size =
| subdivision_type = ] | subdivision_type = ]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Iran}} | subdivision_name = ]
| subdivision_type1 = ] | subdivision_type1 = ]
| subdivision_name1 = ] | subdivision_name1 = ]
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| population_as_of = 2016 census | population_as_of = 2016 census
| population_note = | population_note =
| population_urban = 736224<ref name="2016 census"/> | population_urban = 736224<ref name="2016 West Azerbaijan Province"/>
| population_metro = 1,000,000 | population_metro = 1,000,000{{cn|date=February 2024}}
| population_blank1_title = Population Rank in Iran | population_blank1_title = Population Rank in Iran
| population_blank1 = 10th | population_blank1 = 10th
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|pushpin_map = Iran |pushpin_map = Iran
|mapsize = |mapsize =
| coordinates = {{coord|37|32|55|N|45|04|03|E|dim:4km|display=inline,title}} | coordinates = {{coord|37|32|38|N|45|03|53|E|dim:4km|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=37.548611&mlon=45.0675&zoom=13#map=13/37.5486/45.0675 |website=] |title=Urmia, Urmia County |date=6 April 2023 |access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref> |coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=37.543889&mlon=45.064722&zoom=13#map=13/37.54389/45.06472|website=] |title=Urmia, Urmia County|date=28 September 2024|access-date=28 September 2024}}</ref>
| elevation_m = 1332 | elevation_m = 1332
| elevation_ft = 4370 | elevation_ft = 4370
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}} }}


'''Urmia''' or '''Orumiyeh'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Orumiyeh|title = Orūmīyeh &#124; Iran &#124; Britannica}}</ref><ref group=nb>{{GEOnet3|-3077456}}</ref> ({{lang-fa|ارومیه}}, {{IPA-fa|oɾumiˈje|pron|Urmia-2.ogg}})<ref group=nb>Variously ] as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.</ref> is the largest city in ] of ]. In the ] of ], it is capital of both the county and the district.<ref name="West Azerbaijan Structure">{{cite web |title = Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the country divisions of West Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Urmia |language = fa |website = Lamtakam |url = https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113037 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231220192713/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113037 |publisher = Ministry of Interior, Council of Ministers |last = Habibi |first = Hassan |date = 7 July 1369 |archive-date = 20 December 2023 |access-date = 20 December 2023}}</ref> '''Urmia''' ({{langx|fa|ارومیه}}; {{IPA|fa|oɾumiˈje|pron|Urmia-2.ogg}}){{efn|name=fn1|Also ]d as '''Orumiyeh''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Orumiyeh|title = Orūmīyeh &#124; Iran &#124; Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{GEOnet3|-3077456}}</ref> ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''}} is the largest city in ] of ]. In the ] of ], it is capital of the province, the county, and the district.<ref name="West Azerbaijan Province Structure">{{cite report|title=Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of West Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Urmia|language=fa|website=lamtakam.com|via=Lam ta Kam|url=https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113037|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220192713/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113037|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|orig-date=Approved 21 June 1369|date=c. 2023|id=Notification 82808/T137|archive-date=20 December 2023|access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref> The city is situated near the borders of ] with ] and ].<ref>https://www.aznews.tv/the-urmia-lake-crisis-environmental-degradation-ethnic-tensions-and-water-politics/</ref>


The city lies at an altitude of {{convert|1330|m}} above sea level along the ] on the ]. ], one of the world's largest ]s, lies to the east of the city, and the ] with ] lies to the west. The city lies at an altitude of {{convert|1330|m}} above sea level along the ] on the ]. ], one of the world's largest ]s, lies to the east of the city, and the ] with ] lies to the west.

Urmia is the ] city in ]. At the 2006 census, its population was 577,307 in 153,570 households.<ref name="2006 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006) | page = 04 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = AMAR | url = http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/04.xls | access-date = 25 September 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110920094953/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/04.xls | format = Excel | archive-date = 20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 667,499 people in 197,749 households.<ref name="2011 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011) | page = 04 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = Syracuse University | url = https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/West-Azerbaijan.xls |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230120205939/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/West-Azerbaijan.xls |archive-date = 20 January 2023| access-date = 19 December 2022 | format = Excel}}</ref> The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 736,224 people in 225,050 households.<ref name="2016 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016) | page = 04 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = AMAR | url = https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_04.xlsx | access-date = 19 December 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220830042935/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_04.xlsx | format = Excel | archive-date = 30 August 2022}}</ref> The majority of the city's residents are ], with a large minority of ], and a smaller number of ], and ], as well as ]-speakers who moved to the city mostly for employment.<ref name="Sadeghi">{{cite journal |last1=Sadeghi |first1=Karim |last2=Richards |first2=Jack C |title=The idea of English in Iran: an example from Urmia |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |date=18 May 2016 |volume=37 |issue=4 |page=420 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2015.1080714 |s2cid=147225654 |issn=0143-4632}}</ref>


The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits (especially ]s and ]s) and ] are grown. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals. The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits (especially ]s and ]s) and ] are grown. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.
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An important town by the 9th century, the city has had a diverse population which has at times included Muslims (]s and ]), Christians (], ], ], and ]), ], ] and ]. Around 1900 Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, in the next decades most of the Christians were either killed by the advancing Ottoman troops or in raids by Kurdish tribes<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hellot-Bellier |first1=Florence |title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire |date=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-498-6 |pages=71, 95, 96 |edition=1 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvw049wf.8 |chapter=The Resistance of Urmia Assyrians to Violence at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century|volume=26 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvw049wf.8 |jstor=j.ctvw049wf.8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaunt |first1=David |title=Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I |date=2006 |publisher=Gorgias Press |isbn=978-1-4632-1081-6 |pages=81–120 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463210816-009/html |language=en |chapter=Playing with Fire: Occupied Urmia|doi=10.31826/9781463210816-009 }}</ref> or fled shortly after the end of the war.<ref name=Columbia>{{cite web| url = http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Urmia.html| title = Urmia {{!}} Encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name="nineveh.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nineveh.com/Assyrians%20in%20the%20History%20of%20Urmia,%20Iran.html|title=Assyrians in the History of Urmia, Iran}}</ref><ref name="E.J. Brill 1936">E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, M.{{nbsp}}Th{{nbsp}}Houtsma, p.{{nbsp}}1035, 1987</ref> An important town by the 9th century, the city has had a diverse population which has at times included Muslims (]s and ]), Christians (], ], ], and ]), ], ] and ]. Around 1900 Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, in the next decades most of the Christians were either killed by the advancing Ottoman troops or in raids by Kurdish tribes<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hellot-Bellier |first1=Florence |title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire |date=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-498-6 |pages=71, 95, 96 |edition=1 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvw049wf.8 |chapter=The Resistance of Urmia Assyrians to Violence at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century|volume=26 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvw049wf.8 |jstor=j.ctvw049wf.8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaunt |first1=David |title=Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I |date=2006 |publisher=Gorgias Press |isbn=978-1-4632-1081-6 |pages=81–120 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463210816-009/html |language=en |chapter=Playing with Fire: Occupied Urmia|doi=10.31826/9781463210816-009 }}</ref> or fled shortly after the end of the war.<ref name=Columbia>{{cite web| url = http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Urmia.html| title = Urmia {{!}} Encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name="nineveh.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nineveh.com/Assyrians%20in%20the%20History%20of%20Urmia,%20Iran.html|title=Assyrians in the History of Urmia, Iran}}</ref><ref name="E.J. Brill 1936">E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, M.{{nbsp}}Th{{nbsp}}Houtsma, p.{{nbsp}}1035, 1987</ref>


Urmia, Takab and Piranshahr respectively have the highest number of registered provincial sites in the list of national sites.<ref>https://www.isna.ir/news/1401022718297/ثبت-۳۴۳۱-قلم-اثر-آذربایجان-غربی-در-سامانه-جامع-میراث-فرهنگی-کشور</ref> Urmia, Takab and Piranshahr respectively have the highest number of registered provincial sites in the list of national sites.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.isna.ir/news/1401022718297/ثبت-۳۴۳۱-قلم-اثر-آذربایجان-غربی-در-سامانه-جامع-میراث-فرهنگی-کشور | title=ثبت ۳۴۳۱ قلم اثر آذربایجان غربی در سامانه جامع میراث فرهنگی کشور | date=17 May 2022 }}</ref>


== Etymology == == Etymology ==
] suggested ] origin for the name,<ref>Richard Nelson Frye, The history of ancient Iran, München (1984), 48–49</ref> while ] connected the origin of the name Urmia to ] urmi- "wave" and urmya- "undulating, wavy".<ref>The Proto-Indoaryans, by T. Burrow, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No.{{nbsp}}2 (1973), pp. 123–140, published by Cambridge University Press, see 139</ref> ] suggested ] origin for the name,<ref>Richard Nelson Frye, The history of ancient Iran, München (1984), 48–49</ref> while ] connected the origin of the name Urmia to ] urmi- "wave" and urmya- "undulating, wavy".<ref>The Proto-Indoaryans, by T. Burrow, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No.{{nbsp}}2 (1973), pp. 123–140, published by Cambridge University Press, see 139</ref>


The name could also derive from the combination of the ] words '']'' ({{lang|syr|ܐܘܪ}}; a common name for cities around ], meaning "city") and ''Mia'' ({{lang-syr|ܡܝܐ|lit=water}}), "City of Water" referring to the great ] nearby.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Search Entry|url=http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/sureth/dosearch.php|access-date=2020-11-23|website=assyrianlanguages.org}}</ref> Compare ], ]. The name could also derive from the combination of the ] words '']'' ({{lang|syr|ܐܘܪ}}; a common name for cities around ], meaning "city") and ''Mia'' ({{langx|syr|ܡܝܐ|lit=water}}), "City of Water" referring to the great ] nearby.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Search Entry|url=http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/sureth/dosearch.php|access-date=2020-11-23|website=assyrianlanguages.org}}</ref> Compare ], ].


=== Variants and alternatives === === Variants and alternatives ===
As of 1921, Urmia was also called, ''Urumia'' and ''Urmi''.<ref name=Sykes>{{cite book|last=Sykes|first=Percy|title=A History of Persia|year=1921|publisher=Macmillan and Company|location=London|page=67|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7307/view/1/67/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Urmia |volume= 27 | page = 800}}</ref> During the ] (1925–1979), the city was called ''Rezaiyeh''<ref group=nb>Also ''Rezaeyeh'', ''Rezā’īyeh'', ''Rezâiyye''</ref> ({{lang-fa|رضائیه}}) after ], the dynasty's founder, whose name ultimately derives from the Islamic concept of '']'' via the ] in ] ], ]. As of 1921, Urmia was also called, ''Urumia'' and ''Urmi''.<ref name=Sykes>{{cite book|last=Sykes|first=Percy|title=A History of Persia|year=1921|publisher=Macmillan and Company|location=London|page=67|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7307/view/1/67/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Urmia |volume= 27 | page = 800}}</ref> During the ] (1925–1979), the city was called ''Rezaiyeh'' (رضائیه){{efn|Also romanized as ''Rezaeyeh'', ''Rezā’īyeh'', and ''Rezâiyye''}} after ], the dynasty's founder, whose name ultimately derives from the Islamic concept of '']'' via the ] in ] ], ].


In his ], ] referred to the city as {{Lang-ota|Rûmiyye|label=none|script=Latn|italic=yes}} ({{Lang-ota|رومیه|script=Arab}}), also mentioning that the Mongols called the city {{Lang-ota|Urumiye|label=none|script=Latn}} ({{Lang-ota|اورمیه|script=Arab}}), Persians {{Lang-ota|Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ|label=none|script=Latn}} ({{Lang-ota|رومیه كبری|script=Arab}}), and some historians {{Lang-ota|Türkistân-ı İrân|label=none|script=Latn}} ({{Lang-ota|تركستان ایران|script=Arab}}), which he justified by the considerable amount of Turkoman ] in the city.<ref name="Çelebi">{{cite book|editor1-link=Robert Dankoff |editor1-last=Dankoff |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Kahraman |editor2-first=Seyit Ali |editor3-last=Dağlı |editor3-first=Yücel |title=Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnâmesi: IV |publisher=Yapı Kredi Yayınları |pages=314–315 |url=https://archive.org/details/EvliyelebiSeyahatnmesiIV/page/n313/mode/2up |access-date=18 October 2022 |language=ota |quote=Moğol kavmi bu kal'aya Urumiye derler. Kavm-i Acem Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ derler. Ba'zı müverrihân Türkistân-ı İrân derler. Zirâ evliyâ-yı Türkmanı gâyet çokdur.}}</ref> In his ], ] referred to the city as {{Lang|ota-Latn|Rûmiyye}} ({{Langx|ota-Arab|رومیه}}), also mentioning that the Mongols called the city {{Lang|ota-Latn|Urumiye}} ({{Langx|ota-Arab|اورمیه}}), Persians {{Lang|ota-Latn|Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ}} ({{Langx|ota-Arab|رومیه كبری}}), and some historians {{Lang|ota-Latn|Türkistân-ı İrân}} ({{Langx|ota-Arab|تركستان ایران}}), which he justified by the considerable amount of Turkoman ] in the city.<ref name="Çelebi">{{cite book|editor1-link=Robert Dankoff |editor1-last=Dankoff |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Kahraman |editor2-first=Seyit Ali |editor3-last=Dağlı |editor3-first=Yücel |title=Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnâmesi: IV |publisher=Yapı Kredi Yayınları |pages=314–315 |url=https://archive.org/details/EvliyelebiSeyahatnmesiIV/page/n313/mode/2up |access-date=18 October 2022 |language=ota |quote=Moğol kavmi bu kal'aya Urumiye derler. Kavm-i Acem Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ derler. Ba'zı müverrihân Türkistân-ı İrân derler. Zirâ evliyâ-yı Türkmanı gâyet çokdur.}}</ref>


Due to the city's contact with many ethnic groups and cultures throughout its history, the name of the city has many linguistic variants: Due to the city's contact with many ethnic groups and cultures throughout its history, the name of the city has many linguistic variants:
*{{lang-fa|ارومیه}}, {{IPA-fa|oɾumiˈje|pron|Urmia-2.ogg}}<ref group=nb>Variously ] as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.</ref> *{{langx|fa|ارومیه}}, {{IPA|fa|oɾumiˈje|pron|Urmia-2.ogg}}{{efn|name=fn1}}
*{{lang-hy|Ուրմիա|Urmia}}<ref>Hakobyan T. Kh., Melik-Bakhshyan St. T., Barseghyan H. Kh. , Yerevan University Publishing House", 2001, nayiri.com</ref> *{{langx|hy|Ուրմիա|Urmia}}<ref>Hakobyan T. Kh., Melik-Bakhshyan St. T., Barseghyan H. Kh. , Yerevan University Publishing House", 2001, nayiri.com</ref>
*{{lang-az|اورمیه|Ūrmiya|translit-std=ALA-LC|script=Arab|italic=no}}, or {{lang-az|اورمو|label=none|Ūrmū|translit-std=ALA-LC|script=Arab|italic=no}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Urmu İranın havası çirkli olan 10 şəhəri siyahısında |url=https://www.gunaz.tv/az/new/rmu-randa-hava-irkliliyin-g-r-ilk-10-h-r |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=]}}</ref> *{{langx|az-Arab|اورمیه|Urmiya|translit-std=ALA-LC}}, or {{langx|az-Arab|اورمو|label=none|Urmu|translit-std=ALA-LC}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Urmu İranın havası çirkli olan 10 şəhəri siyahısında |url=https://www.gunaz.tv/az/new/rmu-randa-hava-irkliliyin-g-r-ilk-10-h-r |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=]}}</ref>
*{{lang-ku|ئورمیە|translit=Ûrmiye|label=]|translit-std=ALA-LC|script=Arab|italic=no}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Parêzgarên Ûrmiyê û Colemêrgê liser pirsên ewlekariyê civîn encam dan|language=ku|trans-title=The governors of Urmia and Hakkari met on security issues|agency=Kurdistan24|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/ku/news/302266d2-735a-40cc-a6f5-9cb323d84d09|access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref> *{{langx|ku-Arab|ئورمیە|translit=Ûrmiye|label=]|translit-std=ALA-LC}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Parêzgarên Ûrmiyê û Colemêrgê liser pirsên ewlekariyê civîn encam dan|language=ku|trans-title=The governors of Urmia and Hakkari met on security issues|agency=Kurdistan24|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/ku/news/302266d2-735a-40cc-a6f5-9cb323d84d09|access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref>
*{{Lang-ckb|ورمێ|translit=Wirmê|translit-std=ALA-LC|script=Arab|italic=no}}<ref>{{cite news |title=بەندیخانەی ورمێ؛ بەندکراوێک بەگومانی تووشبوون بە بە ڤایرۆسی کرۆنا ڕەوانەی نەخۆشخانە کرا |language=ku |url=http://kurdistanhumanrights.net/ku/?p=8163 |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref> *{{Langx|ckb-Arab|ورمێ|translit=Wirmê|translit-std=ALA-LC}}<ref>{{cite news |title=بەندیخانەی ورمێ؛ بەندکراوێک بەگومانی تووشبوون بە بە ڤایرۆسی کرۆنا ڕەوانەی نەخۆشخانە کرا |language=ku |url=http://kurdistanhumanrights.net/ku/?p=8163 |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref>
*{{lang-syr|ܐܘܪܡܝܐ|Urmia}}<ref>Thomas A. Carlson et al., "Urmia – ܐܘܪܡܝܐ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified 30 June 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/206.</ref> *{{langx|syr|ܐܘܪܡܝܐ|Urmia}}<ref>Thomas A. Carlson et al., "Urmia – ܐܘܪܡܝܐ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified 30 June 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/206.</ref>


== History == == History ==
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] ]


According to ], there were villages in the ] as early as 2000{{nbsp}}BC, with their civilization under the influence of the ]. Excavations of the ancient ruins near Urmia led to the discovery of utensils that date to the 20th{{nbsp}}century BC. In ancient times, the west bank of Urmia Lake was called ''Gilzan'', and in the 9th{{nbsp}}century BC an independent government ruled there, which later joined the ] or Manna empire; in the 8th{{nbsp}}century BC, the area was a vassal of the ] until it joined the ]. According to ], there were villages in the ] as early as 2000{{nbsp}}BC, with their civilization under the influence of the ]. Excavations of the ancient ruins near Urmia led to the discovery of utensils that date to the 20th{{nbsp}}century BC. In ancient times, the west bank of Urmia Lake was part of ], and in the 9th{{nbsp}}century BC an independent government ruled there, which later joined the ] or Manna empire; in the 8th{{nbsp}}century BC, the area was a vassal of the ] until it joined the ].


] who did survive the invasion of ] by ] fled through northern Iraq up into the Hakkari Mountains to the west of Lake Urmia and the area remained as their homeland until the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibb, Kramers, Lewis |first1=Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen, Johannes Hendrik, Bernard |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam : New Edition Vol. 7 |date=1992 |page=1032|edition=Encyclopaedia of Islam New }}</ref><ref name="Skutsch2013">{{cite book |author=Carl Skutsch|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXYKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-19388-1|page=149}}</ref> ] who did survive the invasion of ] by ] fled through northern Iraq up into the Hakkari Mountains to the west of Lake Urmia and the area remained as their homeland until the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gibb, Kramers, Lewis |first1=Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen, Johannes Hendrik, Bernard |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam : New Edition Vol. 7 |date=1992 |page=1032|edition=Encyclopaedia of Islam New }}</ref><ref name="Skutsch2013">{{cite book |author=Carl Skutsch|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXYKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-19388-1|page=149}}</ref>
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Christian militias in Azerbaijan were no match for the Ottoman army when it invaded in July 1918.{{sfn|Gaunt|2020|p=78}} Tens of thousands of Ottoman and Persian Assyrians fled south to ], where the British ] was garrisoned, on 18 July to escape Ottoman forces approaching Urmia under ].{{sfn|Hellot-Bellier|2020|loc=17}}{{sfn|Kévorkian|2011|p=744}} The Ottoman invasion was followed by killings of Christians, including Chaldean archbishop ], and the sacking of Urmia.{{sfn|Koohi-Kamali|2003|p=77}}{{sfn|Gaunt|2020|p=80}} Christian militias in Azerbaijan were no match for the Ottoman army when it invaded in July 1918.{{sfn|Gaunt|2020|p=78}} Tens of thousands of Ottoman and Persian Assyrians fled south to ], where the British ] was garrisoned, on 18 July to escape Ottoman forces approaching Urmia under ].{{sfn|Hellot-Bellier|2020|loc=17}}{{sfn|Kévorkian|2011|p=744}} The Ottoman invasion was followed by killings of Christians, including Chaldean archbishop ], and the sacking of Urmia.{{sfn|Koohi-Kamali|2003|p=77}}{{sfn|Gaunt|2020|p=80}}


== Demographics == ==Demographics==
{{Historical populations|percentages = pagr |1986|300,746|1991|357,399|1996|435,200|2006|583,255|2011|667,499|align=right|footnote=source:<ref></ref>|2016|736,224}}

=== Ethnic composition === === Ethnic composition ===
] in Urmia, ].]]
The city has been home to various ] during its history. The population of Urmia in the early Islamic period was Christian.<ref name="EI">"URMIYA", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (edition 2)</ref> In late 19th century, ] reported a population of 30 to 40 thousand people, chiefly ], Nestorians, Jews, and Armenians,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Quarterly Review Volume 176 |date=1893 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdXUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA183 |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> while other sources also referred to an additional Persian community.<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Fifty-ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September 1889 |date=1890 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQlLAAAAYAAJ&pg=176 |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> At the beginning of the 20th{{nbsp}}century, the city had a significant Christian minority (Assyrians and Armenians).<ref name=Columbia/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0bAgAAQBAJ&q=urmia|title=Iran|isbn=9781841624020|last1=Baker|first1=Patricia L.|last2=Smith|first2=Hilary|last3=Oleynik|first3=Maria|year=2014}}</ref> According to Macuch, and Ishaya, the city was the spiritual capital of the ], who were influenced by four Christian missions that had been established in the city in the period from 1830 to the end of ].<ref name="Macuch">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/assyrians-in-iran|title=ASSYRIANS IN IRAN}}</ref> A large number of the Assyrians and Armenians were killed in 1914 during the ] and ] genocides,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC&q=assyrian+genocide+urmia&pg=PA271|title=The Armenian Genocide|isbn=9781412835923|last1=Hovannisian|first1=Richard G.|date=31 December 2011}}</ref> which resulted in a change in the city's demographics.<ref name="Macuch"/> In the fourteenth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica from 1929, the town's population was roughly estimated to be 45 thousand before the war, mainly being Turkish with Armenian and Nestorian minorities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=Franklin Henry |last2=Garvin |first2=James Louis |last3=Cox |first3=Warren E. |title=The Encyclopedia Britannica |date=1929 |publisher=Encyclopedia britannica Company, Limited |page=899 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AolGAQAAIAAJ |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> During the era of ], Iranian Assyrians were invited to return to the region, and several thousand did return. There are around 5,000 Assyrians remaining in the city.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1846175 |title=Evidence in Stone and Wood: The Assyrian/Syriac History and Heritage of the Urmia Region in Iran |journal=Parole de l'Orient |volume=35 |pages=1–15 |year=2010|last1=Al-Jeloo |first1=Nicholas }}</ref>
The city has been home to various ] during its history. The population of Urmia in the early Islamic period was Christian.<ref name="EI">"URMIYA", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (edition 2)</ref> In late 19th century, ] reported a population of 30 to 40 thousand people, chiefly ], Nestorians, Jews, and Armenians,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Quarterly Review Volume 176 |date=1893 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdXUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA183 |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> while other sources also referred to an additional Persian community.<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Fifty-ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September 1889 |date=1890 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQlLAAAAYAAJ&pg=176 |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> At the beginning of the 20th{{nbsp}}century, the city had a significant Christian minority (Assyrians and Armenians).<ref name=Columbia/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0bAgAAQBAJ&q=urmia|title=Iran|isbn=9781841624020|last1=Baker|first1=Patricia L.|last2=Smith|first2=Hilary|last3=Oleynik|first3=Maria|year=2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides }}</ref> According to Macuch, and Ishaya, the city was the spiritual capital of the ], who were influenced by four Christian missions that had been established in the city in the period from 1830 to the end of ].<ref name="Macuch">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/assyrians-in-iran|title=ASSYRIANS IN IRAN}}</ref> A large number of the Assyrians and Armenians were killed in 1914 during the ] and ] genocides,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC&q=assyrian+genocide+urmia&pg=PA271|title=The Armenian Genocide|isbn=9781412835923|last1=Hovannisian|first1=Richard G.|date=31 December 2011|publisher=Transaction Publishers }}</ref> which resulted in a change in the city's demographics.<ref name="Macuch"/> In the fourteenth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica from 1929, the town's population was roughly estimated to be 45 thousand before the war, mainly being Turkish with Armenian and Nestorian minorities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=Franklin Henry |last2=Garvin |first2=James Louis |last3=Cox |first3=Warren E. |title=The Encyclopedia Britannica |date=1929 |publisher=Encyclopedia britannica Company, Limited |page=899 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AolGAQAAIAAJ |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> During the era of ], Iranian Assyrians were invited to return to the region, and several thousand did return. There are around 5,000 Assyrians remaining in the city.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1846175 |title=Evidence in Stone and Wood: The Assyrian/Syriac History and Heritage of the Urmia Region in Iran |journal=Parole de l'Orient |volume=35 |pages=1–15 |year=2010|last1=Al-Jeloo |first1=Nicholas }}</ref>


Until the ] and the ] in 1947, several thousand Jews also lived Urmia, and their language (]) is still spoken by an ageing community in ]. Until the ] and the ] in 1947, several thousand Jews also lived Urmia, and their language (]) is still spoken by an ageing community in ].


According to the ] of ], ethnic Azeris form around 40% of the population of Urmia region.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Iran: A Country Study|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8444-1187-3|location=Washington D.C.|pages=|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/irancountrystudy00curt_2/page/97}}</ref> The majority of the city's residents are Azerbaijanis, with a large minority of Kurds, and a smaller number of Assyrians, and Armenians, as well as Persian-speakers who moved to the city mostly for employment.<ref name="Sadeghi" /> According to the ] of ], ethnic Azeris form around 40% of the population of Urmia region.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Iran: A Country Study|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8444-1187-3|location=Washington D.C.|pages=|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/irancountrystudy00curt_2/page/97}}</ref> The majority of the city's residents are Azerbaijanis, with a large minority of Kurds, and a smaller number of Assyrians, and Armenians, as well as Persian-speakers who moved to the city mostly for employment.<ref name="Sadeghi">{{cite journal |last1=Sadeghi |first1=Karim |last2=Richards |first2=Jack C |title=The idea of English in Iran: an example from Urmia |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |date=18 May 2016 |volume=37 |issue=4 |page=420 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2015.1080714 |s2cid=147225654 |issn=0143-4632}}</ref>


The majority of the population can speak the official language of Iran, ], in addition to their own native tongue.<ref>دكتر م پناهايان، مجموعه اي در چهار جلد به نام " فرهنگ جغرافياي ملي تركان ايران زمين " سال 1351 Dr. M. Panahian, a four-volume collection entitled "National Geographical Culture of the Turks of Iran" in 1351</ref><ref>سيري در تاريخ زبان ولهجه هاي تركي , دكتر جواد هئيت- چاپ سوم , سال1380,ص 307 A Journey in the History of Turkish Language and Dialects, Dr. Javad Hayat – Third Edition, 2001, p. 307</ref> The majority of the population can speak the official language of Iran, ], in addition to their own native tongue.<ref>دكتر م پناهايان، مجموعه اي در چهار جلد به نام " فرهنگ جغرافياي ملي تركان ايران زمين " سال 1351 Dr. M. Panahian, a four-volume collection entitled "National Geographical Culture of the Turks of Iran" in 1351</ref><ref>سيري در تاريخ زبان ولهجه هاي تركي , دكتر جواد هئيت- چاپ سوم , سال1380,ص 307 A Journey in the History of Turkish Language and Dialects, Dr. Javad Hayat – Third Edition, 2001, p. 307</ref>
Line 139: Line 142:


When 17th-century explorer ] visited the region, the city's Muslim population was mostly Sunni and not yet converted to Shia Islam.<ref name="Çelebi"/> Around 1900, ] made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, most of the Christians were either killed when the ] invaded ] and committed ] against Urmia's ] and ] population<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hellot-Bellier |first1=Florence |title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire |date=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-498-6 |pages=95–96 |edition=1 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvw049wf.8 |chapter=The Resistance of Urmia Assyrians to Violence at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century|volume=26 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvw049wf.8 |jstor=j.ctvw049wf.8 }}</ref>{{sfn|Gaunt|2006}} or fled shortly after the end of the war. Approximately 15,000 ] reside in northern Iran, in Urmia and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area.{{sfnp|Hooglund|2008|pp=100–101}} The ] of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals. When 17th-century explorer ] visited the region, the city's Muslim population was mostly Sunni and not yet converted to Shia Islam.<ref name="Çelebi"/> Around 1900, ] made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, most of the Christians were either killed when the ] invaded ] and committed ] against Urmia's ] and ] population<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hellot-Bellier |first1=Florence |title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire |date=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-498-6 |pages=95–96 |edition=1 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvw049wf.8 |chapter=The Resistance of Urmia Assyrians to Violence at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century|volume=26 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvw049wf.8 |jstor=j.ctvw049wf.8 }}</ref>{{sfn|Gaunt|2006}} or fled shortly after the end of the war. Approximately 15,000 ] reside in northern Iran, in Urmia and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area.{{sfnp|Hooglund|2008|pp=100–101}} The ] of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.

{{Historical populations|percentages = pagr |1986|300,746|1991|357,399|1996|435,200|2006|583,255|2011|667,499|align=right|footnote=source:<ref></ref>|2016|736,224}}

===Population===
Urmia is the ] city in ]. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 577,307 in 153,570 households.<ref name="2006 West Azerbaijan Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): West Azerbaijan Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/04.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920094953/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/04.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 667,499 people in 197,749 households.<ref name="2011 West Azerbaijan Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): West Azerbaijan Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/West-Azerbaijan.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120205939/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/West-Azerbaijan.xls|archive-date=20 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 736,224 people in 225,050 households.<ref name="2016 West Azerbaijan Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): West Azerbaijan Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_04.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830042935/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_04.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=30 August 2022}}</ref>


== Parks and touristic centres == == Parks and touristic centres ==
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Urmia's climate is ] (]: ''BSk'', ]: ''BS''), bordering on ] (]: ''Dfa'', ]: ''Dc''), with cold winters, mild springs, hot dry summers, and cool autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter (mostly in the form of snow), and especially spring, while precipitation is scarce in summer. Temperatures in Urmia are much colder than most of the remainder of Iran. The drought of ] will have a negative impact on the climate of the region. Urmia's climate is ] (]: ''BSk'', ]: ''BS''), bordering on ] (]: ''Dfa'', ]: ''Dc''), with cold winters, mild springs, hot dry summers, and cool autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter (mostly in the form of snow), and especially spring, while precipitation is scarce in summer. Temperatures in Urmia are much colder than most of the remainder of Iran. The drought of ] will have a negative impact on the climate of the region.


Being on the ] and ] side of the ], its winters are relatively drier and less snowier than ]'s (to the west) in southeastern Turkey due to the ].<ref> February 2014, Natural Hazards, Abbas Mofidi, Iman Soltanzadeh,Yadollah Yousefi, Azar Zarrin, MohsenSoltani, Jafar Masoompour Samakosh,Ghasem Azizi, et al. Retrieved 27 May 2022.</ref> Being on the ] and ] side of the ], its winters are relatively drier and less snowy than ]'s (to the west) in southeastern Turkey due to the ].<ref> February 2014, Natural Hazards, Abbas Mofidi, Iman Soltanzadeh,Yadollah Yousefi, Azar Zarrin, MohsenSoltani, Jafar Masoompour Samakosh,Ghasem Azizi, et al. Retrieved 27 May 2022.</ref>


{{Weather box {{Weather box
|location = Urmia (Orumiyeh) |location = Urmia (Orumiyeh) 1991-2020, extremes 1961-2020
|metric first = Y |metric first = Y
|single line = Y |single line = Y
|precipitation colour = green |precipitation colour = green
|Jan record high C = 16.4 |Jan record high C = 16.4
|Feb record high C = 18.0 |Feb record high C = 19.8
|Mar record high C = 26.0 |Mar record high C = 26.0
|Apr record high C = 26.0 |Apr record high C = 30.8
|May record high C = 30.6 |May record high C = 32.0
|Jun record high C = 36.0 |Jun record high C = 37.0
|Jul record high C = 38.0 |Jul record high C = 39.9
|Aug record high C = 38.0 |Aug record high C = 39.2
|Sep record high C = 35.0 |Sep record high C = 36.2
|Oct record high C = 30.0 |Oct record high C = 30.0
|Nov record high C = 22.0 |Nov record high C = 22.8
|Dec record high C = 17.0 |Dec record high C = 21.4


|Jan high C = 2.6 |Jan high C = 3.6
|Feb high C = 5.0 |Feb high C = 6.6
|Mar high C = 10.6 |Mar high C = 12.0
|Apr high C = 16.9 |Apr high C = 17.7
|May high C = 22.3 |May high C = 22.8
|Jun high C = 27.7 |Jun high C = 28.4
|Jul high C = 31.2 |Jul high C = 31.5
|Aug high C = 31.0 |Aug high C = 31.4
|Sep high C = 27.1 |Sep high C = 27.3
|Oct high C = 20.2 |Oct high C = 20.5
|Nov high C = 12.2 |Nov high C = 12.0
|Dec high C = 5.8 |Dec high C = 5.8


|Jan mean C = −1.8 |Jan mean C = −1.8
|Feb mean C = 0.1 |Feb mean C = 0.7
|Mar mean C = 5.3 |Mar mean C = 5.9
|Apr mean C = 11.0 |Apr mean C = 11.3
|May mean C = 15.7 |May mean C = 16.0
|Jun mean C = 20.3 |Jun mean C = 21.2
|Jul mean C = 23.9 |Jul mean C = 24.2
|Aug mean C = 23.5 |Aug mean C = 23.6
|Sep mean C = 19.3 |Sep mean C = 19.1
|Oct mean C = 13.4 |Oct mean C = 12.8
|Nov mean C = 6.8 |Nov mean C = 5.6
|Dec mean C = 1.3 |Dec mean C = 0.3

|Jan low C = −6.4
|Feb low C = −4.6
|Mar low C = −0.2
|Apr low C = 4.4
|May low C = 8.4
|Jun low C = 12.5
|Jul low C = 15.8
|Aug low C = 15.0
|Sep low C = 10.4
|Oct low C = 5.7
|Nov low C = 0.3
|Dec low C = −4.2


|Jan low C = −6.2
|Feb low C = −4.7
|Mar low C = −0.0
|Apr low C = 5.1
|May low C = 9.1
|Jun low C = 13.0
|Jul low C = 16.6
|Aug low C = 15.9
|Sep low C = 11.5
|Oct low C = 6.6
|Nov low C = 1.3
|Dec low C = −3.3


|year high C= 17.6 |year low C= 5.4
|year high F =63.7 |year low F =41.8<!--for precision-->


|Jan record low C = −22.8 |Jan record low C = −22.8
Line 256: Line 263:
|Mar record low C = −19.0 |Mar record low C = −19.0
|Apr record low C = −12.0 |Apr record low C = −12.0
|May record low C = −1.6 |May record low C = −1.8
|Jun record low C = 4.0 |Jun record low C = 3.9
|Jul record low C = 9.8 |Jul record low C = 8.4
|Aug record low C = 8.0 |Aug record low C = 7.8
|Sep record low C = 2.2 |Sep record low C = 2.2
|Oct record low C = −5.0 |Oct record low C = −5.0
Line 265: Line 272:
|Dec record low C = −20.0 |Dec record low C = −20.0


|Jan precipitation mm = 29.3 |Jan precipitation mm = 27.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 33.2 |Feb precipitation mm = 28.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 51.5 |Mar precipitation mm = 44.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 61.3 |Apr precipitation mm = 59.4
|May precipitation mm = 44.3 |May precipitation mm = 38.8
|Jun precipitation mm = 14.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 9.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 5.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 5.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 2.4 |Aug precipitation mm = 2.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 4.7 |Sep precipitation mm = 4.4
|Oct precipitation mm = 24.3 |Oct precipitation mm = 24.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 39.6 |Nov precipitation mm = 40.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 28.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 28.5
|year precipitation mm= |year precipitation mm= 312.8


|Jan precipitation days = 9.6 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Feb precipitation days = 9.4 |Jan precipitation days = 4.8
|Mar precipitation days = 11.4 |Feb precipitation days = 4.3
|Apr precipitation days = 12.7 |Mar precipitation days = 6.1
|May precipitation days = 12.0 |Apr precipitation days = 7.2
|Jun precipitation days = 5.0 |May precipitation days = 6.8
|Jul precipitation days = 2.2 |Jun precipitation days = 2.0
|Aug precipitation days = 1.7 |Jul precipitation days = 0.7
|Sep precipitation days = 2.1 |Aug precipitation days = 0.6
|Oct precipitation days = 7.1 |Sep precipitation days = 1.0
|Nov precipitation days = 8.3 |Oct precipitation days = 3.5
|Dec precipitation days = 8.5 |Nov precipitation days = 5.3
|Dec precipitation days = 5.0


|Jan snow days = 8.5 |Jan snow days = 8.5
Line 305: Line 313:
|Dec snow days = 5.5 |Dec snow days = 5.5


|Jan sun = 114.0
|Feb sun = 132.9
|Mar sun = 169.6
|Apr sun = 197.9
|May sun = 268.6
|Jun sun = 344.3
|Jul sun = 364.0
|Aug sun = 341.2
|Sep sun = 293.1
|Oct sun = 222.3
|Nov sun = 166.4
|Dec sun = 118.7


|Jan humidity = 76 | Jan dew point C =-6.1
|Feb humidity = 74 | Feb dew point C =-5.1
|Mar humidity = 65 | Mar dew point C =-2.3
|Apr humidity = 60 | Apr dew point C =2.0
|May humidity = 58 | May dew point C =6.1
|Jun humidity = 51 | Jun dew point C =8.3
|Jul humidity = 48 | Jul dew point C =10.8
|Aug humidity = 48 | Aug dew point C =10.1
|Sep humidity = 49 | Sep dew point C =6.7
|Oct humidity = 60 | Oct dew point C =3.9
| Nov dew point C =0.0
| Dec dew point C =-3.9

|Jan sun = 142
|Feb sun = 172
|Mar sun = 203
|Apr sun = 227
|May sun = 285
|Jun sun = 353
|Jul sun = 369
|Aug sun = 353
|Sep sun = 306
|Oct sun = 237
|Nov sun = 175
|Dec sun = 136

|Jan humidity = 74
|Feb humidity = 68
|Mar humidity = 59
|Apr humidity = 57
|May humidity = 56
|Jun humidity = 47
|Jul humidity = 46
|Aug humidity = 46
|Sep humidity = 48
|Oct humidity = 58
|Nov humidity = 70 |Nov humidity = 70
|Dec humidity = 74 |Dec humidity = 75
|year humidity = 58.7
|source 1 = (temperature normals)
|source 1 = NOAA<ref name=NCEI>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Iran/CSV/Orumiyeh_40712.csv |title=World Meteorological Organization climate normals for 1991-2020: Orumiyeh-40712 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |publisher=] |no-pp=y |type=Excel |format=CSV }}</ref> (snow days 1961-1990<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web
|source 2 = NOAA (extremes, snow, sun, humidity, 1961–1990)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web
|url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/IR/40712.TXT |url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/IR/40712.TXT
|title = Oroomieh Climate Normals 1961–1990 |title = Oroomieh Climate Normals 1961–1990
|publisher = ] |publisher = ]
|access-date = 27 December 2012}}</ref> |access-date = 27 December 2012}}</ref>)(extremes from both)
}} }}


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=== Transportation === === Transportation ===
Most of Urmia's residents travel by car through the system of roads and ]s. Urmia is also served by ] and public ]es. There are also some private groups that provide services called "Phone-taxi."{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Two Tram-lines for Urmia are Planned .{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Most of Urmia's residents travel by car through the system of roads and ]s. Urmia is also served by ] and public ]es. There are also some private groups that provide services called "Phone-taxi."{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Two Tram-lines for Urmia are Planned.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}


Urmia is linked to ] through ]'s ] and Sero border crossing. ], which opened in 1964, was the first international airport in ] county, ]. As of April 2015 it only has regularly scheduled domestic flights to ]'s ], although there are plans to establish a direct flight between Urmia and ], due to the large number of passengers travelling between the two cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/144337/Urmia-Erbil-direct-flights-to-be-established-in-near-future|title=Urmia-Erbil direct flights to be established in near future|work= Mehr News Agency|language=en|date=21 April 2019|access-date=26 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/515927|title=Direct Flights to Start Between Urmia and Erbil: Iranian Official|work=Basnews|language=en|date=21 April 2019|access-date=26 April 2019}}</ref> The city is recently connected to ] (IRIR, {{lang|fa|رجا}}). Urmia is linked to ] through ]'s ] and Sero border crossing. ], which opened in 1964, was the first international airport in ] county, ]. As of April 2015 it only has regularly scheduled domestic flights to ]'s ], although there are plans to establish a direct flight between Urmia and ], due to the large number of passengers travelling between the two cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/144337/Urmia-Erbil-direct-flights-to-be-established-in-near-future|title=Urmia-Erbil direct flights to be established in near future|work= Mehr News Agency|language=en|date=21 April 2019|access-date=26 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/kurdistan/515927|title=Direct Flights to Start Between Urmia and Erbil: Iranian Official|work=Basnews|language=en|date=21 April 2019|access-date=26 April 2019}}</ref> The city is recently connected to ] (IRIR, {{lang|fa|رجا}}).
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== See also == == See also ==
{{Portal|Iran}}
* ] of ] or ] * ] of ] or ]
* ] * ]
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* '']'' * '']''


{{Commons category-inline|Urmia}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}


{{Portal-inline|Iran}}
=== Sources ===
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}
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== External links == == External links ==
{{Commons category|Urmia}}
<!-- Both official links don't work any more at the end of february 2023: <!-- Both official links don't work any more at the end of february 2023:
* {{official website|http://www.urmia.ir/}} * {{official website|http://www.urmia.ir/}}
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{{West Azerbaijan Province|state=collapsed}} {{West Azerbaijan Province|state=collapsed}}

{{Urmia County|state=collapsed}} {{Urmia County|state=collapsed}}

{{Provincial capitals of Iran}} {{Provincial capitals of Iran}}

{{Iranian Architecture}} {{Iranian Architecture}}


] ]

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Latest revision as of 13:05, 24 December 2024

City in West Azerbaijan province, Iran

Not to be confused with Urmia County.For other places with a similar name, see Urmia.

City in Iran
Urmia ارومیه
City
Skyline of the citySegonbadJameh Mosque of UrmiaSt. Mary ChurchSt. Sarkis ChurchClockwise from top: Skyline of the city, Jameh Mosque of Urmia, St. Sarkis Church, St. Mary Church, Segonbad
Flag of UrmiaFlagOfficial seal of UrmiaSeal
Urmia is located in IranUrmiaUrmia
Coordinates: 37°32′38″N 45°03′53″E / 37.54389°N 45.06472°E / 37.54389; 45.06472
CountryIran
Region3
ProvinceWest Azerbaijan
CountyUrmia
BakhshCentral
Government
 • MayorHossein Mahdizadeh
 • ParliamentVahid Jalalzadeh, Salman Zaker & Ruhollah Hazratpour
Elevation1,332 m (4,370 ft)
Population
 • Urban736,224
 • Metro1,000,000
 • Population Rank in Iran10th
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
Area code044
Websiteurmia.city

Urmia (Persian: ارومیه; pronounced [oɾumiˈje] ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq.

The city lies at an altitude of 1,330 metres (4,360 ft) above sea level along the Shahar River on the Urmia Plain. Lake Urmia, one of the world's largest salt lakes, lies to the east of the city, and the border with Turkey lies to the west.

The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits (especially apples and grapes) and tobacco are grown. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.

An important town by the 9th century, the city has had a diverse population which has at times included Muslims (Shias and Sunnis), Christians (Catholics, Protestants, Nestorians, and Orthodox), Jews, Baháʼís and Sufis. Around 1900 Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, in the next decades most of the Christians were either killed by the advancing Ottoman troops or in raids by Kurdish tribes or fled shortly after the end of the war.

Urmia, Takab and Piranshahr respectively have the highest number of registered provincial sites in the list of national sites.

Etymology

Richard Nelson Frye suggested Urartian origin for the name, while T. Burrow connected the origin of the name Urmia to Indo-Iranian urmi- "wave" and urmya- "undulating, wavy".

The name could also derive from the combination of the Assyrian Aramaic words Ur (ܐܘܪ; a common name for cities around Mesopotamia, meaning "city") and Mia (Syriac: ܡܝܐ, lit.'water'), "City of Water" referring to the great Lake Urmia nearby. Compare Urhay, Ur of the Chaldees.

Variants and alternatives

As of 1921, Urmia was also called, Urumia and Urmi. During the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), the city was called Rezaiyeh (رضائیه) after Reza Shah, the dynasty's founder, whose name ultimately derives from the Islamic concept of rida via the Eighth Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, Ali al-Ridha.

In his seyahatname, Evliya Çelebi referred to the city as Rûmiyye (Ottoman Turkish: رومیه), also mentioning that the Mongols called the city Urumiye (Ottoman Turkish: اورمیه), Persians Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ (Ottoman Turkish: رومیه كبری), and some historians Türkistân-ı İrân (Ottoman Turkish: تركستان ایران), which he justified by the considerable amount of Turkoman awliya in the city.

Due to the city's contact with many ethnic groups and cultures throughout its history, the name of the city has many linguistic variants:

History

People of Urmia awaiting the Shah, 1911
Urmia fruit market, 1911

According to Vladimir Minorsky, there were villages in the Urmia Plain as early as 2000 BC, with their civilization under the influence of the Kingdom of Van. Excavations of the ancient ruins near Urmia led to the discovery of utensils that date to the 20th century BC. In ancient times, the west bank of Urmia Lake was part of Gilzan, and in the 9th century BC an independent government ruled there, which later joined the Urartu or Manna empire; in the 8th century BC, the area was a vassal of the Asuzh government until it joined the Median Empire.

Assyrians who did survive the invasion of Baghdad by Timur fled through northern Iraq up into the Hakkari Mountains to the west of Lake Urmia and the area remained as their homeland until the 19th century.

During the Safavid era, the neighboring Ottoman Turks, who were the archrivals of the Safavids, made several incursions into the city and captured it on more than one occasion, but the Safavids successfully regained control over the area. When in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) Qasem Sultan Afshar was appointed governor of Mosul, he was forced to leave his office shortly afterwards due to the outbreak of a plague. He moved to the western part of Azerbaijan, and became the founder of the Afshar community of Urmia. The city was the capital of the Urmia Khanate from 1747 to 1865. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795.

Due to the presence of a substantial Christian minority at the end of the 19th century, Urmia was also chosen as the site of the first Christian missionaries from the United States in Iran in 1835 led by Justin Perkins (1805–1869) with Asahel Grant (1807–1844); and followed by Fidelia Fiske (1816–1864), Joseph Gallup Cochran (1817–1871), and Joseph Plumb Cochran (1855–1905). Another mission was soon underway in nearby Tabriz as well. During World War I, the population was estimated by Dr. Caujole to be 30,000 people, and a quarter of which (7,500) were Assyrians and 1,000 Jews.

During the 19th century, the region became the center of a short-lived Assyrian renaissance with many books and newspapers being published in Syriac. Urmia was also the seat of a Chaldean diocese.

During late 1914 Ottoman forces under the command of Enver Pasha stepped up clandestine activity in the region with the aim of committing the Ottoman Empire to war. During World War I, the city changed hands several times between the Russians and the Ottoman troops and their Kurdish allies in the following two years. In 1914, before the declaration of war against Russia, Ottoman forces crossed the border into Persia and destroyed Christian villages. Large-scale attacks in late September and October 1914 targeted many Assyrian villages, and the attackers neared Urmia. Due to Ottoman attacks, thousands of Christians living along the border fled to Urmia.

Many Christians fled during the Russian withdrawal from Azerbaijan at the beginning of January 1915, and 20,000 to 25,000 refugees were left stranded in Urmia. Nearly 18,000 Christians sought shelter in the city's Presbyterian and Lazarist missions. Although there was reluctance to attack the missionary compounds, many died of disease. Between February and May (when the Ottoman forces pulled out), there was a campaign of mass execution, looting, kidnapping, and extortion against Christians in Urmia. More than 100 men were arrested at the Lazarist compound, and dozens (including Mar Dinkha, bishop of Tergawer) were executed on 23 and 24 February.

The Russian army advanced later in 1915. After Russia's withdrawal as a result of the 1917 Russian Revolution, about 5,000 Assyrian and Armenian militia policed the area, but they frequently abused their power and killed Muslims without provocation.

Armenian and Assyrian refugees in the avenue leading out of the Kurdish Gate, Urmia, July 1918

From February to July 1918, the region was engulfed by ethnic violence. On 22 February, local Muslims and the Persian governor began an uprising against the Christian militias in Urmia. The better-organized Christians, led by Agha Petros, brutally crushed the uprising; hundreds (possibly thousands) were killed. On 16 March, Mar Shimun and many of his bodyguards were killed by the Kurdish chieftain Simko Shikak, probably at the instigation of Persian officials fearing Assyrian separatism, after they met to discuss an alliance. Assyrians went on a killing and looting spree; unable to find Simko, they murdered Persian officials and inhabitants. The Kurds responded by massacring Christians, regardless of denomination or ethnicity. Christians were massacred in Salmas in June and in Urmia in early July, and many Assyrian women were abducted.

Christian militias in Azerbaijan were no match for the Ottoman army when it invaded in July 1918. Tens of thousands of Ottoman and Persian Assyrians fled south to Hamadan, where the British Dunsterforce was garrisoned, on 18 July to escape Ottoman forces approaching Urmia under Ali İhsan Sâbis. The Ottoman invasion was followed by killings of Christians, including Chaldean archbishop Toma Audo, and the sacking of Urmia.

Demographics

Ethnic composition

Assyrian Christian women praying in Mart Maryam Church in Urmia, Iran.

The city has been home to various ethnic groups during its history. The population of Urmia in the early Islamic period was Christian. In late 19th century, George Curzon reported a population of 30 to 40 thousand people, chiefly Afshars, Nestorians, Jews, and Armenians, while other sources also referred to an additional Persian community. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city had a significant Christian minority (Assyrians and Armenians). According to Macuch, and Ishaya, the city was the spiritual capital of the Assyrians, who were influenced by four Christian missions that had been established in the city in the period from 1830 to the end of World War I. A large number of the Assyrians and Armenians were killed in 1914 during the Armenian and Assyrian genocides, which resulted in a change in the city's demographics. In the fourteenth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica from 1929, the town's population was roughly estimated to be 45 thousand before the war, mainly being Turkish with Armenian and Nestorian minorities. During the era of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iranian Assyrians were invited to return to the region, and several thousand did return. There are around 5,000 Assyrians remaining in the city.

Until the Iran crisis of 1946 and the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1947, several thousand Jews also lived Urmia, and their language (Lishán Didán) is still spoken by an ageing community in Israel.

According to the Federal Research Division of Library of Congress, ethnic Azeris form around 40% of the population of Urmia region. The majority of the city's residents are Azerbaijanis, with a large minority of Kurds, and a smaller number of Assyrians, and Armenians, as well as Persian-speakers who moved to the city mostly for employment.

The majority of the population can speak the official language of Iran, Persian, in addition to their own native tongue.

Religion

Saint Mary Church: an ancient Assyrian church located in the city of Urmia.
Mar Toma church near Urmia.

The city is the archiepiscopal see of the Eastern Catholic Metropolitan Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Urmyā, which has a suffragan in Salmas. There are also Protestants, Church of the East adherents and Armenian Orthodox. There are four churches in the central part of the city, two being Assyrian Church of the East, one Armenian, and one Chaldean.

When 17th-century explorer Evliya Çelebi visited the region, the city's Muslim population was mostly Sunni and not yet converted to Shia Islam. Around 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, most of the Christians were either killed when the Ottoman Empire invaded Qajar Iran and committed genocide against Urmia's Assyrian and Armenian population or fled shortly after the end of the war. Approximately 15,000 Assyrians reside in northern Iran, in Urmia and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area. The Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1986300,746—    
1991357,399+3.51%
1996435,200+4.02%
2006583,255+2.97%
2011667,499+2.74%
2016736,224+1.98%
source:

Population

Urmia is the 10th-most populous city in Iran. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 577,307 in 153,570 households. The following census in 2011 counted 667,499 people in 197,749 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 736,224 people in 225,050 households.

Parks and touristic centres

The tourist attractions of the city of Urmia include many parks and coastal villages lying on or near the shores of Lake Urmia. The oldest park in Urmia, called Park-e Saat, was established in the first Pahlavi era. Urmia's largest park is Ellar Bagi Park (Azerbaijani "People's Garden") along the Shahar Chayi, or the "City River".

Lakes and ponds

  • Urmia Lake Natural Park
  • Hasanloo Lake
  • Marmisho lake
  • Shahrchay ِDam
  • Urmia Lake Islands

Lagoons

  • Haft Abad
  • Soole Dokel
  • Dana Boğan
  • Ali Pancesi
  • Isti Sou

Parks

  • Park-e Saat (Clock Park)
  • Park-e Jangali (Jungle Park)
  • Ellar Bagi (People's Garden)
  • Park-e Shahr (City Park)
  • Park-e Saheli (Riverside Park)
  • Park-e Shaghayegh
  • Alghadir Park
  • Tokhmemorghi (Oval) Park
  • Ghaem Park

Scenic coastal villages:

  • Chichest
  • Bari
  • Fanoos
  • Sier
  • Band
  • Khoshako

Landscape attractions:

  • Qasimlu Valley
  • Kazem Dashi Islet in Lake Urmia
  • Kashtiban Village
  • Imamzada Village
  • Silvana Region
  • Rashekan to Dash Aghol
  • Nazloo
  • Dalamper
  • Kaboodan Island

Climate

Urmia's climate is cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk, Trewartha: BS), bordering on humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa, Trewartha: Dc), with cold winters, mild springs, hot dry summers, and cool autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter (mostly in the form of snow), and especially spring, while precipitation is scarce in summer. Temperatures in Urmia are much colder than most of the remainder of Iran. The drought of Urmia Lake will have a negative impact on the climate of the region.

Being on the downwind and rain shadow side of the Zagros Mountains, its winters are relatively drier and less snowy than Hakkari's (to the west) in southeastern Turkey due to the foehn effect.

Climate data for Urmia (Orumiyeh) 1991-2020, extremes 1961-2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.4
(61.5)
19.8
(67.6)
26.0
(78.8)
30.8
(87.4)
32.0
(89.6)
37.0
(98.6)
39.9
(103.8)
39.2
(102.6)
36.2
(97.2)
30.0
(86.0)
22.8
(73.0)
21.4
(70.5)
39.9
(103.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.6
(38.5)
6.6
(43.9)
12.0
(53.6)
17.7
(63.9)
22.8
(73.0)
28.4
(83.1)
31.5
(88.7)
31.4
(88.5)
27.3
(81.1)
20.5
(68.9)
12.0
(53.6)
5.8
(42.4)
18.3
(64.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)
0.7
(33.3)
5.9
(42.6)
11.3
(52.3)
16.0
(60.8)
21.2
(70.2)
24.2
(75.6)
23.6
(74.5)
19.1
(66.4)
12.8
(55.0)
5.6
(42.1)
0.3
(32.5)
11.6
(52.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.4
(20.5)
−4.6
(23.7)
−0.2
(31.6)
4.4
(39.9)
8.4
(47.1)
12.5
(54.5)
15.8
(60.4)
15.0
(59.0)
10.4
(50.7)
5.7
(42.3)
0.3
(32.5)
−4.2
(24.4)
4.8
(40.6)
Record low °C (°F) −22.8
(−9.0)
−22
(−8)
−19
(−2)
−12
(10)
−1.8
(28.8)
3.9
(39.0)
8.4
(47.1)
7.8
(46.0)
2.2
(36.0)
−5
(23)
−13.4
(7.9)
−20
(−4)
−22.8
(−9.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 27.4
(1.08)
28.6
(1.13)
44.2
(1.74)
59.4
(2.34)
38.8
(1.53)
9.0
(0.35)
5.1
(0.20)
2.6
(0.10)
4.4
(0.17)
24.3
(0.96)
40.5
(1.59)
28.5
(1.12)
312.8
(12.31)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 4.8 4.3 6.1 7.2 6.8 2.0 0.7 0.6 1.0 3.5 5.3 5.0 47.3
Average snowy days 8.5 7.5 3.7 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.5 5.5 27.8
Average relative humidity (%) 74 68 59 57 56 47 46 46 48 58 70 75 58.7
Average dew point °C (°F) −6.1
(21.0)
−5.1
(22.8)
−2.3
(27.9)
2.0
(35.6)
6.1
(43.0)
8.3
(46.9)
10.8
(51.4)
10.1
(50.2)
6.7
(44.1)
3.9
(39.0)
0.0
(32.0)
−3.9
(25.0)
2.5
(36.6)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 142 172 203 227 285 353 369 353 306 237 175 136 2,958
Source: NOAA (snow days 1961-1990)(extremes from both)

Sport

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Sports are an important part of Urmia's culture. The most popular sport in Urmia is volleyball. Urmia is considered Iran's volleyball capital, and that is because of the ranks that Shahrdari Urmia VC got in Iranian Volleyball Super League and for the great volleyball players who play on the Iran men's national volleyball team (such as Saed Marouf, Abdolreza Alizadeh, and Milad Ebadipour) and first-class coaches in Iran. Recently, Urmia has also been called "the city of volleyball lovers" by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (International Volleyball Federation, FIVB) official website.

The 2010 Asian Men's Cup Volleyball Championship was held in Ghadir Arena in Urmia, 2012 WAFF Futsal Championship, and the 2012 Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship was also held in Urmia. It is also one of the venues of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.

Culture

An Ashik music group
Jameh Mosque of Urmia

Azerbaijanis hold festivals and ceremonies such as Nowruz and Eid al-Adha like other Iranian ethnic groups with small differences. Ashik music is one of the features of the Turkish speaking people of the world. It has different versions in Iran. Meanwhile, as many experts of this art testify the Urmia Ashik, is the most original and oldest version in the world, which has preserved its origin until the present day. Ashik music has its unique styles. As a piece of the culture of Azerbaijan, Urmia Ashik music has been registered in Iran's national heritage.

Museums

  • Natural History Museum – Displays the animals native to the vicinity of Urmia.
  • Urmia Museum – Archaeological museum affiliated with the faculty of Shahid Beheshti University.
  • Urmia Museum of Crafts and Classical Arts.
  • Urmia Museum of َAnthropology.

Education

A School in Urmia (1910)

The first modern style school established in Urmia in 1834.

Urmia University's hall

Higher education

Urmia was an important centre for higher education approximately a century ago; indeed, the medical college of Urmia, which was built by Joseph Cochran and a team of American medical associates in 1878, is the first modern university of Iran. Unfortunately, the college was shut down even before the establishment of the first official University of Iran, University of Tehran. Today, Urmia has become an important centre of education, with several state and private universities and institutes, including those listed below.

Universities in Urmia:

University Web Site
Urmia University
Malek Ashtar University of Technology Urmia Branch
Urmia University of Medical Sciences
Urmia University of Technology
Islamic Azad University of Urmia
Payame Noor University of Urmia
Elmi Karbordi University of Urmia
University College of Saba
University College of Azarabadegan
University College of Elm O fan
University College of Kamal
Shahid Beheshti Technical School
Ghazi Tabatabaee Technical School
The Girls Technical School of Urmia
Najand Institute of Higher Education
University College Afagh

Libraries

Media

Television

Urmia has one state-owned television channel, Urmia TV, which broadcasts in both Azerbaijani, and Persian, and internationally through satellite Intelsat 902.

Radio

Urmia has one radio channel broadcasting in Kurdish, Azerbaijani and Persian. The name of the local radio is Chichest.

Press

Among others, the city's print media include:

  • Orumiye
  • Barish news
  • Sedaye Urmia
  • Amanat
  • Koosha
  • Araz

Infrastructure

Transportation

Most of Urmia's residents travel by car through the system of roads and highways. Urmia is also served by taxis and public buses. There are also some private groups that provide services called "Phone-taxi." Two Tram-lines for Urmia are Planned.

Urmia is linked to Europe through Turkey's roads and Sero border crossing. Urmia Airport, which opened in 1964, was the first international airport in West Azerbaijan county, Iran. As of April 2015 it only has regularly scheduled domestic flights to Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, although there are plans to establish a direct flight between Urmia and Erbil, due to the large number of passengers travelling between the two cities. The city is recently connected to Iran National Railways (IRIR, رجا).

Health systems

The Iranian government operates public hospitals in the Urmia metropolitan region. There are also a number of private hospitals and medical centers in the city. Hospitals include: Hospitals:

  • 523 Artesh(Army) Hospital
  • Arefian Hospital
  • Azerbaijan Hospital
  • Gholipour Children's Hospital
  • Imam Khomeini Hospital
  • Imam Reza Hospital
  • Milad international medical center
  • Motahari Hospital
  • Omid Hospital
  • Razi Psychiatry Hospital
  • Taleghani Hospital
  • Seyedoshohada Heart Hospital
  • Shafa Hospital
  • Shams Hospital
  • Solati Hospital

Clinics:

  • Fatimiye Pro-Medical Clinic
  • Kosar Women's Pro-Medical Clinic

Consulates

The Turkish government has a consulate on Beheshti Avenue.

People

During its history Urmia was the origin for many Iranian illumination and modernization movements. The city was the hometown of numerous figures including politicians, revolutionaries, artists, and military leaders. Following is a partial list of some of the people who was born or lived in Urmia.

For a complete list see: Category:People from Urmia

  • Davood Azad, is an Iranian classical and folk music singer. Davood Azad, is an Iranian classical and folk music singer.
  • Oyan Nazariani, is an Azerbaijani Beach wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestler born in Urmia. He is the head coach of the Azerbaijani beach wrestling team. Oyan Nazariani, is an Azerbaijani Beach wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestler born in Urmia. He is the head coach of the Azerbaijani beach wrestling team.

Twin towns and sister cities

See also

Media related to Urmia at Wikimedia Commons

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Notes

  1. ^ Also romanized as Orumiyeh, Oroumieh, Oroumiyeh, Orūmīyeh and Urūmiyeh
  2. Also romanized as Rezaeyeh, Rezā’īyeh, and Rezâiyye

References

  1. OpenStreetMap contributors (28 September 2024). "Urmia, Urmia County" (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ^ Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): West Azerbaijan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. "Orūmīyeh | Iran | Britannica".
  4. Urmia can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3077456" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  5. Habibi, Hassan (c. 2023) . Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of West Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Urmia. lamtakam.com (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council. Notification 82808/T137. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Lam ta Kam.
  6. https://www.aznews.tv/the-urmia-lake-crisis-environmental-degradation-ethnic-tensions-and-water-politics/
  7. Hellot-Bellier, Florence (2019). "The Resistance of Urmia Assyrians to Violence at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century". Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Vol. 26 (1 ed.). Berghahn Books. pp. 71, 95, 96. doi:10.2307/j.ctvw049wf.8. ISBN 978-1-78533-498-6. JSTOR j.ctvw049wf.8.
  8. Gaunt, David (2006). "Playing with Fire: Occupied Urmia". Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I. Gorgias Press. pp. 81–120. doi:10.31826/9781463210816-009. ISBN 978-1-4632-1081-6.
  9. ^ "Urmia | Encyclopedia.com".
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  11. ^ E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, M. Th Houtsma, p. 1035, 1987
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  14. The Proto-Indoaryans, by T. Burrow, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 2 (1973), pp. 123–140, published by Cambridge University Press, see 139
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  25. Carl Skutsch (2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1.
  26. Rothman 2015, p. 236.
  27. Nasiri & Floor 2008, p. 248.
  28. ^ Oberling 1984, pp. 582–586.
  29. Speer, Robert Elliott (1911). The Hakim Sahib, the Foreign Doctor: A Biography of Joseph Plumb Cochran, M. D., of Persia. Revell. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-7950-1105-4.
  30. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Urmiah".
  31. Naby, Eden (September 2007). "Theater, Language and Inter-Ethnic Exchange: Assyrian Performance before World War I Eden Naby1" (PDF). Iranian Studies. 40 (4): 501–510. doi:10.1080/00210860701476510. S2CID 161752252. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  32. Gaunt, David (2015). "The Complexity of the Assyrian Genocide". Genocide Studies International. 9 (1): 83–103. doi:10.3138/gsi.9.1.05. S2CID 129899863.
  33. Tejirian, Eleanor H.; Simon, Reeva S. (1 September 2012). Conflict, conquest, and conversion. Columbia University Press. pp. 350–351. ISBN 978-0-231-51109-4. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  34. Gaunt 2006, p. 129.
  35. Hellot-Bellier 2018, pp. 117, 125.
  36. Hellot-Bellier 2018, p. 120.
  37. ^ Gaunt 2006, p. 110.
  38. Hellot-Bellier 2018, p. 122.
  39. Hellot-Bellier 2018, p. 126.
  40. Gaunt 2015, p. 94.
  41. Hellot 2003, p. 138.
  42. Koohi-Kamali 2003, p. 76.
  43. ^ Gaunt 2020, p. 78.
  44. ^ Hellot 2003, pp. 138–139.
  45. ^ Gaunt 2020, p. 80.
  46. Koohi-Kamali 2003, pp. 76–77.
  47. Gaunt 2020, p. 79.
  48. Naby 2017, p. 167.
  49. Hellot-Bellier 2020, 17.
  50. Kévorkian 2011, p. 744.
  51. Koohi-Kamali 2003, p. 77.
  52. "URMIYA", Encyclopaedia of Islam (edition 2)
  53. The Quarterly Review Volume 176. London: John Murray. 1893. p. 183. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  54. Report of the Fifty-ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September 1889. London: John Murray. 1890. p. 176. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
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  56. ^ "ASSYRIANS IN IRAN".
  57. Hovannisian, Richard G. (31 December 2011). The Armenian Genocide. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412835923.
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  62. دكتر م پناهايان، مجموعه اي در چهار جلد به نام " فرهنگ جغرافياي ملي تركان ايران زمين " سال 1351 Dr. M. Panahian, a four-volume collection entitled "National Geographical Culture of the Turks of Iran" in 1351
  63. سيري در تاريخ زبان ولهجه هاي تركي , دكتر جواد هئيت- چاپ سوم , سال1380,ص 307 A Journey in the History of Turkish Language and Dialects, Dr. Javad Hayat – Third Edition, 2001, p. 307
  64. Location of Nestorian Churches- https://www.google.com/maps/place/Holy+Mary+Church/@37.5441966,45.0678303,244m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x3a31bcdb0de639d3!6m1!1e1
  65. Location of Armenian and Chaldean churches- https://www.google.com/maps/place/37%C2%B033'04.3%22N+45%C2%B003'57.9%22E/@37.5511954,45.0653628,244m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
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  68. Hooglund (2008), pp. 100–101.
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  71. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): West Azerbaijan Province. irandataportal.syr.edu (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University.
  72. http://www.bari.ir/bari/en/tours/jazebeha/kaboodan/
  73. Modeling the exceptional south Foehn event (Garmij) over the Alborz Mountains during the extreme forest fire of December 2005 February 2014, Natural Hazards, Abbas Mofidi, Iman Soltanzadeh,Yadollah Yousefi, Azar Zarrin, MohsenSoltani, Jafar Masoompour Samakosh,Ghasem Azizi, et al. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  74. "World Meteorological Organization climate normals for 1991-2020: Orumiyeh-40712" (CSV). ncei.noaa.gov (Excel). National Oceanic and Atmosoheric Administration.
  75. "Oroomieh Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  76. Moosighi Asheghi Azarbaijan Sahrghi
  77. "معاون شهرسازی و معماری شهردار ارومیه خبر داد تخصیص بودجه 550 میلیارد تومانی شهرداری ارومیه" [The Deputy Mayor of Urmia for Urban Planning and Architecture announced the allocation of a budget of 550 billion Tomans for the Municipality of Urmia] (in Persian).
  78. ^ "پایگاه اطلاع رسانی صدا و سیمای مرکز آذربایجان غربی" [West Azerbaijan Central Broadcasting Information Center] (in Persian).
  79. "Urmia-Erbil direct flights to be established in near future". Mehr News Agency. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  80. "Direct Flights to Start Between Urmia and Erbil: Iranian Official". Basnews. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  81. "Arefian hospital".
  82. "Azerbaijan Hospital".
  83. "Imam Khomeini Hospital".
  84. "Milad hospital". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  85. "Motahari Hospital".
  86. "Omid Hospital".
  87. "Razi Hospital".
  88. "Taleghani Hospital".
  89. "Seyedoshohada Hospital".
  90. "Shafa Hospital".
  91. "Shams Hospital".
  92. "Solati Hospital".
  93. "Azərbaycan Güləş Federasiyasının iclası keçirilib". awf.az. 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  94. Urmia, Erzurum sign sisterhood agreement, retrieved 24 May 2015

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