Salmas

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Salmas
سلماس
City
Salmas
Revolution Circle
Revolution Circle
Nickname(s): Shapur (historically)
Country Iran
Province West Azerbaijan
County Salmas
District Central
Earliest Recognition 224–242 AD
Rebuilt 1930
Government
 • Type Mayor–Council
 • Body Salmas
 • Mayor N/A
Area
 • Total 9.26 sq mi (24.0 km2)
 • Land 9.26 sq mi (24.0 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
 • Metro 4.75 sq mi (12.3 km2)
Elevation 4,532 ft (1,381 m)
Population (2016 Census)
 • Total 92,811 [1]
 • Rank TBA, Iran
Demonym(s) Salmasi, Salmassi
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+4:30)
ZIP code 58811 58XXX 58991
Area code(s) 44

Salmas (Persian: سلماس‎‎, Armenian: Սալմաստ, Azerbaijani: سلماس, Kurdish: سه‌لماس‎, Syriac: ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ‎, translit. Salamas[2]) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey.[3] According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,864.[4] The majority of the population is composed of Azerbaijanis and Kurds[5] with some Armenians, Assyrians, and Jews.[6]

History

Etymology and early history

File:Khan Takhti-Ardashir side view.JPG
Salmas "Khan Takhti Petroglyph": Ardashir I on horseback while receiving surrender of the Parthian personage

According to Encyclopædia Britannica the earliest historic recognition of Salmas could be found at the time of Ardashir I's reign (224–242 AD) via a petroglyph of him on horseback while receiving surrender of the Parthian personage.[7] In another contribution by Britannica, on an animated political map of Sassanid Empire at the time of Shapur I's reign (240–270 AD), Salmas is markedly acknowledged as one of the renown and apparently important cities of the empire with the same original name as now.[8] There is a speculation that the nickname of the city, Shapur, might be derived from the name of this king (of kings) of Persia.

Salmas was held by the Kurdish Rawadid dynasty and frequented by the Hadhabani tribe in the 10-11th centuries. Al-Maqdisi described it as a Kurdish town who had built a wall around the city.[9][3]

Another Mention of the city was made in 1281, when its Assyrian bishop made the trip to the consecration of the Assyrian Church of the East patriarch Yaballaha in Baghdad.[10]

In the Battle of Salmas on 17–18 September 1429, the Kara Koyunlu were defeated by Shah Rukh who was consolidating Timurid holdings west of Lake Urmia.[11] However, the area was retaken by the Kara Koyunlu in 1447 after the death of Shah Rukh.

Mar Shimun, the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East was murdered by the Kurdish chieftain Simko Shikak in Salmas in March 1918.[12][13][14]

Around the advent of the 1910s, Imperial Russia started to station infantry and Cossacks in Salmas.[15] The Russians retreated at the time of Enver Pasha's offensive in the Iran-Caucasus region, but returned in early 1916, and stayed up to the wake of the Russian Revolution.[15]

Geography

Salmas in early atlases

The atlases below are some of the earliest maps to have been ever sketched to show the territory and originality of the name of Salmas and are some of the strongest documents providing proofs to some basic facts about the city including its existence and identity.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, using the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm, Salmas features a continental climate (Dsa), and is thus the one of the few cities in the Middle East and one of the 6 in the country with this categorization.

Climate data for Salmas (Weather Station Located in Khoy Airport) [1987-2017]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 49
(9)
61
(16)
73
(23)
90
(32)
92
(33)
99
(37)
106
(41)
109
(43)
102
(39)
93
(34)
74
(23)
67
(19)
109
(43)
Average high °F (°C) 30.6
(−0.8)
34
(1.1)
45.3
(7.4)
58.1
(14.5)
68.4
(20.2)
78.4
(25.8)
86.9
(30.5)
86.4
(30.2)
79
(26.1)
64.8
(18.2)
50.9
(10.5)
37
(2.8)
59.98
(15.54)
Daily mean °F (°C) 21.6
(−5.8)
24.6
(−4.1)
36.1
(2.3)
48
(8.9)
56.8
(13.8)
65.1
(18.4)
73
(22.8)
72.1
(22.3)
64.6
(18.1)
52.7
(11.5)
40.6
(4.8)
28.4
(−2.0)
48.63
(9.25)
Average low °F (°C) 12.7
(−10.7)
14.9
(−9.5)
26.6
(−3.0)
37.4
(3.0)
44.8
(7.1)
51.1
(10.6)
58.6
(14.8)
57.6
(14.2)
49.1
(9.5)
40.3
(4.6)
30.4
(−0.9)
20.1
(−6.6)
36.97
(2.76)
Record low °F (°C) −18
(−28)
−21
(−29)
−17
(−27)
−8
(−22)
13
(−11)
40
(4)
52
(11)
47
(8)
37
(3)
20
(−7)
−7
(−22)
−17
(−27)
−21
(−29)
Average rainfall inches (mm) 1.22
(31)
1.45
(36.8)
2.07
(52.6)
3.54
(89.9)
6.47
(164.3)
4.84
(122.9)
2.44
(62)
1.71
(43.4)
2.13
(54.1)
2.2
(56)
1.54
(39.1)
1.22
(31)
30.83
(783.1)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 3.45
(8.76)
2.35
(5.97)
2.32
(5.89)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1.96
(4.98)
10.08
(25.6)
Average rainy days 7.9 9.1 11.8 12 13.1 8.4 3.9 3.3 5.3 5.9 6.5 7.3 94.5
Average snowy days 2.75 2.25 1.75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.25 9
Average relative humidity (%) 75.0 64.3 55.8 48.6 43.3 38.4 37.0 36.0 39.8 47.0 52.9 66.4 50.38
Mean monthly sunshine hours 147.6 202.8 239.8 311.2 352.6 343.4 356.3 355.6 276.9 202.6 150.8 153.2 3,092.8
Source: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[17] Weatherbase[18] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[19]
Salmas Historical Population
Year Population ±%
1930 ~8000 —    
1934 ~7000 —    
1956 13,161 —    
1966 21,703 +64.9%
1976 27,638 +27.3%
1986 50,573 +83.0%
1996 65,416 +29.3%
2006 89,617 +37.0%
2011 97,060 +8.3%
2016 101,441 +4.5%
2021 N/A —    
Note: The data presented of 1976 and earlier (1956–1976) are from the censuses before Iranian Revolution and the data of 1986 and later (1986–2016) are from the censuses after it. The data for the years 1920 and 1924 are not of any censuses. Sources: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (used for censuses of 2006 and later), Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (used for censuses of 1996 and earlier; the amounts are obtained from the data given in "Real Population" columns!), Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[permanent dead link] (used for data of the years 1920 and 1924)

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

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  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. http://thegraduatesocietyla.org/images/author-padia-others.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. https://www.britannica.com/media/full/851961/2031[dead link]
  9. Potts, D.T. Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
  10. Houtsma, M. Th. et al. (1993 reprint) "Salmas" E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 Volume 4, E.J. Brill, New York, page 118, ISBN 90-04-09796-1
  11. Houtsma, M. Th. et al. (1993 reprint) "Tabrīz" E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 Volume 4, E.J. Brill, New York, page 588, ISBN 90-04-09796-1
  12. Houtsma, M. Th. et al. (1993 reprint) "Shakāk" E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 Volume 4, E.J. Brill, New York, page 290, ISBN 90-04-09796-1
  13. O'Shea, Maria T. (2004) "Trapped Between the Map and Reality: Geography and Perceptions of Kurdistan Routledge, New York, page 100, ISBN 0-415-94766-9
  14. Nisan, Mordechai (2002) Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression (2nd edition) McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, page 187, ISBN 0-7864-1375-1
  15. 15.0 15.1 Atabaki 2006, p. 70.
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

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External links