Ahar
{{Short description|City in East Azerbaijan province, Iran}}
{{for-multi|the administrative division of East Azerbaijan province|Ahar County|other places with the same name|Ahar (disambiguation){{!}}Ahar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Ahar
|native_name = {{langx|fa|اهر}}
|native_name_lang = fa
|settlement_type = City
|image_skyline = فیروزه قره داغ.jpg
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|image_caption = Sheikh Shahab tomb in the city of Ahar
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|pushpin_map = Iran
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|coordinates = {{coord|38|28|47|N|47|04|01|E|dim:1km|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = {{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=38.479722&mlon=47.066944&zoom=15#map=15/38.47972/47.06694|website=OpenStreetMap |title=Ahar, Ahar County|date=1 September 2024|access-date=1 September 2024|lang=fa}}
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Iran
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = East Azerbaijan
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Ahar
|subdivision_type3 = District
|subdivision_name3 = Central
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|population_as_of = 2016
|population_total = 100641
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|timezone = IRST
|utc_offset = +3:30
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File:Aqdash June 2011.jpg was the resting place of muleteers who carried charcoal to Ahar.]]
Ahar ({{langx|fa|اهر}}){{efn|{{langx|az|اهر}}{{GEOnet3|-3051923}}}} is a city in the Central District of Ahar County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.{{cite report|title=Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of East Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Tabriz|language=fa|website=qavanin.ir|via=Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran|url=https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/98949|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023220800/https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/98949|publisher=Ministry of Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|archive-date=23 October 2021|orig-date=Approved 21 June 1369|id=Resolution 93808/T907|date=c. 2021|access-date=21 February 2024}} Ahar was the capital of Karadag Khanate in 18th and 19th centuries.
History
Ahar is one of the ancient cities of the Azerbaijan region, its name before Islam was "meimad".{{Cite web |url=http://www.e-ahar.ir/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=201 |title=شهرداری اهر :: Ahar Muiciple - فرهنگ و آداب و رسوم |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-date=2010-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410133342/http://www.e-ahar.ir/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=201 |url-status=dead }} In the 12th-13th centuries, Ahar was a minor and short-lived, but prosperous emirate ruled by the Pishteginid dynasty of Georgian origin (1155—1231).Minorsky, Vladimir (1951), "The Georgian Maliks of Ahar." BSOAS vol. 13/4, pp. 868-77. Yaqut al-Hamawi, writing in early thirteenth century, describes Ahar as very flourishing despite its small extent.Yaqut ibn 'Abd Allah al-Rumi al-Hamawi, Charles Adrien Casimir Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire géographique, historique et littéraire de la Perse et des contrees adjacentes, 1851, Paris, p. 57
The city lost most of its importance during the rule of Ilkhanate. Hamdallah Mustawfi, writing in mid fourteenth century, describes Ahar as a little town. He estimates the tax revenue of the town to be comparable to that of Mardanaqom, which presently is a medium-sized village.نزهةالقلوب ، حمداله مستوفی ، به کوشش محمد دبیر سیاقی ، انتشارات کتابخانه طهوری ، چاپ اول ، تهران ، ۱۳۳۶، ص. ۹۵.
Ahar was in the focus of Safavid's agenda for casting of Azerbaijan as a Safavid dominion. Thus, Shah Abbas I rebuilt the mausoleum of Sheikh Sheikh Shihab-al-din in Ahar.Kishwar Rizvi, The Safavid Dynastic Shrine: Architecture, Religion and Power in Early ..., 2011, I.B.Tauris, p. 161
Ahar suffered enormously during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828. Western travelers in 1837-1843 period had found Ahar, a city with around 700 households, in wretched condition. Their impression was that the Qajar princes, who were dispatched as the governors of Qaradagh hastened to collect as much wealth as possible before their removal.Richard Tappe, Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan, 1997, Cambridge University Press, p. 171
Ahar was one of the epicenters of Persian Constitutional Revolution due to the involvement of Arasbaran tribes in armed conflicts; the revolutionary and ati-revolutionary camps were headed, respectively, by Sattar Khan and Rahimkhan Chalabianloo, both from Qaradağ region. When in 1925 Rezā Shāh deposed Ahmad Shah Qajar and founded the Pahlavi dynasty, Ahar's gradual decline started. The new king insisted on ethnic nationalism and cultural unitarism and implemented his policies with forced detribalization and sedentarization. He renamed Qaradağ as Arasbaran to deny the Turkic identity of the inhabitants. This policy, in particular, resulted in suppression of ethnic Azeris.{{cite book|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|author-link=Ervand Abrahamian|title=Iran Between Two Revolutions|year=1982|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|pages=123–163|isbn=9780691053424|oclc=7975938}}
For further information on the history of Ahar and Arasbaran region one may consult the following scholarly books (all in Persian language):
- H. Bayburdi "The history of Arasbaran",سرهنگ حسین بایبوردی، "تاریخ ارسباران"، ابن سینا، تهران ۱۳۴۱
- Ḥusayn Dūstī, "The history and geography of Arasbaran",حسین دوستی، تاریخ و جغرافیای ارسباران,انتشارات احرار,تبریز,1373
- N. Sedqi, "The contemporary political and social history of Arasbaran",ناصر صدقی،تاریخ اجتماعى و سیاسى ارسباران (قره داغ) در دوره معاصر، ۱۳۸۸، تبریز، نشر اختر.
- S.R. Alemohammad, "The book of Arasbaran".سیدرضا آلمحمد، نامه ارسباران، ۱۳۹۱، تهران، کتابخانه موزه و اسناد مجلس شورای اسلامی.
Two concise English language articles are the following:
- "The Tribes of Qarāca Dāġ: A Brief History" by P. Oberling.Oberling, Pierre. "The Tribes of Qarāca Dāġ: A Brief History." Oriens 17 (1964): 60-95
- The entry "AHAR", in Encyclopædia Iranica.{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahar-the-name-of-a-county-sahrestan-and-town-in-azerbaijan |title=Encyclopædia Iranica {{!}} Articles |website=www.iranicaonline.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429163027/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahar-the-name-of-a-county-sahrestan-and-town-in-azerbaijan |archive-date=2011-04-29}}
Demographics
=Population=
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 85,782 in 20,844 households.{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): East 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/03.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920092432/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/03.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}} The following census in 2011 counted 92,608 people in 24,810 households.{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): East Azerbaijan Province|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/East-Azerbaijan.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116202318/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/East-Azerbaijan.xls|archive-date=16 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}} The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 100,641 people in 30,129 households.{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): East 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_03.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113123618/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_03.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=13 November 2020}}
Overview
File:Sabalan02.JPG is in the proximity of Ahar]]
In the wake of the Russo-Persian War (1804–13) and with 3,500 inhabitants, Ahar was the only city of Qaradağ.Bibliothèque orientale Elzévirienne, Volume 52; Volume 55, 1887 p.224. Around the mid-1830s, the population was estimated to be from five to six thousand inhabitants in about 600 houses.Robert Mignan, A Winter Journey Through Russia, the Caucasian Alps, and Georgia: Thence ..., Vol. 1, 1839, London By 1956 the population had increased to 19,816.{{cite web|url=http://www.loghatnaameh.org/dehkhodaworddetail-52196a7ee26d4eae91e652a105bc26ee-fa.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221145252/http://www.loghatnaameh.org/dehkhodaworddetail-52196a7ee26d4eae91e652a105bc26ee-fa.html |archive-date=2014-02-21 }} At the 2016 census, its population had increased to over 100,000. Despite this population boom, the city has been losing its former importance to the much smaller neighboring Kaleybar, as the latter is gaining nationwide fame as a tourist destination.
Climate
{{Weather box
|width=auto |metric first=yes |single line = yes
|location = Ahar(normals and extremes 1991-2020) elevation:1391
| Jan record high C =17.4
| Feb record high C =21.0
| Mar record high C =26.4
| Apr record high C =31.0
| May record high C =33.6
| Jun record high C =39.0
| Jul record high C =39.4
| Aug record high C =40.0
| Sep record high C =35.4
| Oct record high C =30.3
| Nov record high C =23.2
| Dec record high C =20.5
| Jan high C =4.2
| Feb high C =5.8
| Mar high C =11.0
| Apr high C =16.6
| May high C =21.7
| Jun high C =26.5
| Jul high C =28.6
| Aug high C =28.7
| Sep high C =25.0
| Oct high C =19.5
| Nov high C =11.6
| Dec high C =6.5
| Jan mean C =-0.5
| Feb mean C =0.7
| Mar mean C =5.1
| Apr mean C =10.3
| May mean C =15.0
| Jun mean C =19.6
| Jul mean C =22.4
| Aug mean C =22.1
| Sep mean C =18.0
| Oct mean C =12.6
| Nov mean C =5.9
| Dec mean C =1.6
| Jan low C =-4.7
| Feb low C =-3.6
| Mar low C =0.1
| Apr low C =4.6
| May low C =8.6
| Jun low C =12.4
| Jul low C =15.7
| Aug low C =15.5
| Sep low C =11.8
| Oct low C =7.1
| Nov low C =1.4
| Dec low C =-2.4
| Jan record low C =-23.2
| Feb record low C =-20.5
| Mar record low C =-18.4
| Apr record low C =-15.8
| May record low C =-4.0
| Jun record low C =2.6
| Jul record low C =7.8
| Aug record low C =7.0
| Sep record low C =1.5
| Oct record low C =-3.5
| Nov record low C =-16.6
| Dec record low C =-19.2
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm =18.3
| Feb precipitation mm =21.1
| Mar precipitation mm =33.8
| Apr precipitation mm =45.0
| May precipitation mm =48.3
| Jun precipitation mm =22.6
| Jul precipitation mm =8.6
| Aug precipitation mm =6.2
| Sep precipitation mm =11.0
| Oct precipitation mm =24.5
| Nov precipitation mm =27.5
| Dec precipitation mm =19.5
| Jan precipitation days =4.1
| Feb precipitation days =4.8
| Mar precipitation days =6.5
| Apr precipitation days =8.2
| May precipitation days =8.9
| Jun precipitation days =3.8
| Jul precipitation days =1.9
| Aug precipitation days =1.2
| Sep precipitation days =2
| Oct precipitation days =3.8
| Nov precipitation days =4.7
| Dec precipitation days =4
| Jan humidity =65
| Feb humidity =64
| Mar humidity =61
| Apr humidity =61
| May humidity =61
| Jun humidity =53
| Jul humidity =49
| Aug humidity =49
| Sep humidity =57
| Oct humidity =59
| Nov humidity =64
| Dec humidity =64
| Jan dew point C =-6.9
| Feb dew point C =-6.0
| Mar dew point C =-2.9
| Apr dew point C =1.7
| May dew point C =6.2
| Jun dew point C =8.6
| Jul dew point C =10.2
| Aug dew point C =9.9
| Sep dew point C =8.1
| Oct dew point C =3.6
| Nov dew point C =-1.4
| Dec dew point C =-5.2
| Jan sun =168
| Feb sun =164
| Mar sun =179
| Apr sun =188
| May sun =248
| Jun sun =301
| Jul sun =312
| Aug sun =304
| Sep sun =256
| Oct sun =211
| Nov sun =167
| Dec sun =162
|source = NOAA NCEI{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Iran/CSV/Ahar_40704.csv |title=World Meteorological Organization climate normals for 1991-2020: Ahar |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |publisher=NOAA |format=CSV}}
}}
{{Weather box |collapsed=y
|width=auto |metric first=yes |single line = yes
|location = Ahar(1986-2010 normals)
| Jan high C =3.3
| Feb high C =4.9
| Mar high C =10.0
| Apr high C =16.3
| May high C =21.0
| Jun high C =25.9
| Jul high C =28.1
| Aug high C =28.3
| Sep high C =24.8
| Oct high C =19.0
| Nov high C =11.6
| Dec high C =6.1
| Jan mean C =-0.8
| Feb mean C =0.4
| Mar mean C =4.8
| Apr mean C =10.4
| May mean C =14.6
| Jun mean C =19.0
| Jul mean C =21.8
| Aug mean C =21.9
| Sep mean C =18.1
| Oct mean C =13.1
| Nov mean C =6.6
| Dec mean C =1.9
| Jan low C =-4.9
| Feb low C =-4.0
| Mar low C =-0.3
| Apr low C =4.5
| May low C =8.2
| Jun low C =12.1
| Jul low C =15.4
| Aug low C =15.4
| Sep low C =11.5
| Oct low C =7.1
| Nov low C =1.6
| Dec low C =-2.4
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm =16.8
| Feb precipitation mm =19.1
| Mar precipitation mm =32.9
| Apr precipitation mm =45.2
| May precipitation mm =48.9
| Jun precipitation mm =23.8
| Jul precipitation mm =6.7
| Aug precipitation mm =6.2
| Sep precipitation mm =12.7
| Oct precipitation mm =26.9
| Nov precipitation mm =26.4
| Dec precipitation mm =19.6
| Jan snow days =8.0
| Feb snow days =8.2
| Mar snow days =7.6
| Apr snow days =2.0
| May snow days =0.2
| Jun snow days =0
| Jul snow days =0
| Aug snow days =0
| Sep snow days =0
| Oct snow days =0.7
| Nov snow days =3.1
| Dec snow days =6.8
| Jan dew point C =-7.0
| Feb dew point C =-6.7
| Mar dew point C =-3.4
| Apr dew point C =1.5
| May dew point C =5.7
| Jun dew point C =8.6
| Jul dew point C =10.5
| Aug dew point C =11.0
| Sep dew point C =7.7
| Oct dew point C =3.4
| Nov dew point C =-1.4
| Dec dew point C =-5.0
| Jan sun =158.6
| Feb sun =162.9
| Mar sun =173.3
| Apr sun =179.3
| May sun =246.7
| Jun sun =292.7
| Jul sun =311.6
| Aug sun =298.5
| Sep sun =252.6
| Oct sun =204.1
| Nov sun =161.5
| Dec sun =155.8
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/2.asp |title=AVERAGE OF MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IN C. STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=Chaharmahalmet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906102212/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/2.asp |archive-date=2014-09-06 |url-status=unfit |publisher=IRIMO}}
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/3.asp |title=AVERAGE OF MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN C.STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=Chaharmahalmet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917184237/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir:80/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/3.asp |archive-date=2014-09-17 |url-status=unfit |publisher=IRIMO}}(Precipitation){{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/25.asp |title=MONTHLY TOTAL OF PRECIPITATION IN MM. STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319141908/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/25.asp |archive-date=2016-03-19 |url-status=unfit |publisher=IRIMO}}
(Snow and Sleet days){{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/32.asp |title=NO. OF DAYS WITH SNOW OR SLEET STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901035957/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/32.asp |archive-date=2014-09-01 |url-status=unfit |publisher=IRIMO}}(Sun){{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/42.asp |title=MONTHLY TOTAL OF SUNSHINE HOURS STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907083501/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/42.asp |archive-date=2014-09-07 |url-status=unfit |publisher=IRIMO}}(Dew Point 1986-2005){{Cite web |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/10.asp |title=AVERAGE OF DEW POINT TEMPERATURE IN C. STATION AHAR (40704) |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514015127/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir:80/stat/archive/iran/azs/AHAR/10.asp |archive-date=2013-05-14 |url-status=dead |publisher=IRIMO}}
}}
Economy
File:Balan (Kaleybar) Rug 2.jpg Rug; An example of carpets which used to be sold in Ahar's bazar.]]
Until the early 1960s Ahar was the economic hub of Arasbaran region. Arasbaran nomadic tribes bartered their produce in Ahar's bazaar. The charcoal produced in villages adjacent to Arasbaran forests was carried by muleteers to Ahar and from there was transported to Tabriz. In addition, Ahar was a distribution center for the Arasbaran rug. The gradual settlement of nomads, widespread use of fossil fuels, changing life-styles, and establishment of new marketplaces such as Kaleybar through facilitated transportation, have diminished Ahar's economical importance.
Tourism
The main tourist site in the city is the mausoleum of Sheikh Shaabe-deen, who was the teacher of Safi-ad-din Ardabili, the founder of the family of Safavid dynasty. The monument has been described by James Morier in early nineteenth century as the following, "The mausoleum is of brick, with a foundation of stone, and faced by an elevated portico, flanked by two minors or pillars encrusted with green tiles. A little wooden door was opened for us in the back of the building, which introduced us into the spot that contained the tomb of the Sheikh, which was enclosed by a stone railing, carved into open work, and surrounded by a sculptured arabesque ornament, of very good taste. The tomb is distinguished by a marble cover, on which is an Arabic inscription in relieve.".James Morier, A second journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, to Constantinople ..., 1818, p. 234
Notable people
- Sattar Khan, leader of the constitutionalist rebels, considered the national hero of IranErvand Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions, Princeton University Press, 1982 p.97اسماعيل اميرخيزى، قيام آذربايجان و ستار خان، ۱۹۶۰، كتابفروشى تهرانحسین دوستى، "حماسه ها و حماسه سازان انقلاب مشروطيت: با تاءکید بر نقش مردم ارسباران (قره داغ)"، باران، ۲۰۰۶نصرت الله فتحى،"ديدار همرزم ستارخان" ،گوتنبرگ ۱۹۷۳پناهى سمنانى، "ستار خان: سردار ملى ونهضت مشروطه"، ۱۹۹۷، کتاب نمونه.رحيم رئيسنيا، عبد الحسين ناهيد،"دو مبارز جنبش مشروطه: ستار خان، محمد خيابانى", ۱۹۷۰، انتشارات آگاه.
- Amir Arshad, military commander and leader of the Haji-Alilu tribe{{Cite web |url=http://www.aharri.com/?p=77 |title=امیر ارشد کوتاه در باره امیر ارشد قره داغی | قره داغ تورکلری – سایت سرگرمی تفریحی اهر |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309030143/http://www.aharri.com/?p=77 |archive-date=2014-03-09 |url-status=dead }}Stephanie Cronin, 'The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society Under Riza Shah, 1921-1941', 2007, p. 207
- Vahid Najafi Nakhjevanlou (born 1988), writer, researcher and environmental activist{{Cite web |last=آسیا |first=روزنامه |title=وحید نجفی نخجوانلو، پژوهشگر و نویسنده برتر جغرافیای سیاسی ایران |url=https://www.asianews.ir/fa/newsagency/24014/%D9%88%D8%AD%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%81%DB%8C-%D9%86%D8%AE%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D9%88 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=روزنامه آسیا |language=fa}}
Gallery
See also
{{Portal-inline|Iran}}
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Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{East Azerbaijan Province|state=collapsed}}
{{Ahar County|state=collapsed}}