Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and the capital of Ardabil

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic

Iranian Azerbaijanis Iranian Azerbaijanis (; az, ایران آذربایجانلیلاری, italics=no ), also known as Iranian Azeris, Iranian Turks, Persian Turks or Persian Azerbaijanis, are Iranians of Azerbaijani ethnicity who may speak the Azerbaijani lang ...

and the primary language of the people is

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

. Ardabil is known for its trade in

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

and

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

s. Ardabil rugs are renowned and the ancient Ardabil carpets are considered among the best of classical Persian carpets. Ardabil is also home to a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, the Ardabil Shrine, the sanctuary and tomb of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn,

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous founder of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...

. The population of Ardabil is about 650,000 with the majority of them being

Shia Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

Etymology

The name Ardabil comes from the

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

''artavil'' or ''artawila'' which means "holy place".

Location

Ardabil is located on the Baliqly Chay River, about from the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, and from the city of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. It has an average altitude of and total area of . Neighboring on the

and the Republic of Azerbaijan, it has been of great political and economic significance throughout history, especially within the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

region. It is located on an open plain above sea level, just east of Mount Sabalan (4,811 m), where cold spells occur until late spring.

History

Ardebil int coninckryck van Persien - Peeters Jacob - 1690

The pre-Islamic history of Ardabil is vague. Muslim historians attribute the foundation of Ardabil to the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

Peroz I (), who named it Shad Peroz or Shahram Peroz. The city may have corresponded to the Sasanian mint city known in

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

as ATRA, albeit this remains uncertain. During the

Arab conquest of Iran The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...

, Ardabil was the seat of a '' marzban'' (

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

), who agreed to surrender to the Arabs in return for permitting the people of Ardabil to continue their religious observances at the

fire temple A fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh ( fa, آتشکده), Atashgah () or Dar-e Mehr () is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see ''atar''), together wi ...

of Shiz (present-day Takht-e Solayman). Due to being near the

, Ardabil was always susceptible to attacks by the Caucasian hill peoples as well as by the steppe inhabitants of

South Russia South Russia may refer: * Southern Russia * South Russia (1919–1920), a territory that existed during the Russian Civil War ** South Russian Government ** Government of South Russia See also

* South Russian Ovcharka, a breed of sheepdog * Sou ...

past the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

. In 730–731, the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

passed through the Alan Gates, and defeated and killed the Arab governor of Armenia, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah. The clash took place on the plain outside the town of Ardabil, which was subsequently captured by the Khazars, who made incursions as far as

Diyar Bakr Diyar Bakr ( ar, دِيَارُ بَكرٍ, Diyār Bakr, abode of Bakr) is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the m ...

and

al-Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira ( ...

before they were repelled by the Umayyad prince

Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik Maslama ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ( ar, مسلمة بن عبد الملك, in Greek sources , ''Masalmas''; – 24 December 738) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading severa ...

(d. 738). According to the Arab geographer al-Maqdisi (d. 991), "seventy languages" were spoken around Ardabil, which most likely refers to various variations of the Adhari language. Incursions of Mongols and subsequently the

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

, who, under

Tamar the Great Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...

, captured and sacked the city with some 12,000 citizens reputedly killed, devastated the city. The city however recovered and was in a more blossoming state than before, though by this time the principal city in the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

region had become Tabriz, and under the later

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

, it had become Soltaniyeh. Safavid king Ismail I, born in Ardabil, started his campaign to nationalize Iran's government and land from there, but consequently announced Tabriz as his capital in 1501. Yet Ardabil remained an important city both politically and economically until modern times. During the frequent Ottoman-Persian Wars, being close to the borders, it was often sacked by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

between 1514 and 1722 as well as in 1915 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when the former invaded neighboring Iran. In the early Qajar period, crown prince

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...

, son of then incumbent king (

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

)

Fath Ali Shah Qajar Fath-Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, فتحعلى‌شاه قاجار, Fatḥ-ʻAli Šâh Qâjâr; May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irr ...

(r. 1797–1834) was the governor of Ardabil. With Ardabil already once being sacked by the Russians during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, and this being the era of the Russians steadily advancing into the Iranian possessions in the Caucasus, Abbas Mirza ordered the Napoleonic general Gardane, who served the Qajars at the time, to strengthen and fortify the town with

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

s. During the next and final war, the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28, the ramparts were stormed by the Russian troops, who then temporarily occupied the town. The town's extensive and noted library, known as the library of Safi-ad-din Ardabili, was taken to St. Petersburg by General Ivan Paskevich with the promise that its holdings would be brought to the Russian capital for safekeeping until they could be returned, a promise never fulfilled. After the Russo-Persian Wars, Iran ceded its territories in the Caucasus to Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828). As a result, Ardabil was situated only 40 kilometers from the newly drawn border, becoming even more important economically as a stop on a major caravan route along which European goods entered Iran from Russia. After he visited Ardabil in 1872, German diplomat Max von Thielmann noted, in his book published in 1875, the extensive activity in the town's bazaar, as well as the presence of many foreigners, and estimated its population at 20,000. During the early Iranian Constitutional Revolution, Russia occupied Ardabil together with the rest of

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

until the eventual collapse of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1917.

Bazaars

In the heart of the city, stands the ancient

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

, described by historians of the 4th century CE as cruciform, with simply designed domes extending in four directions. Most sections of the bazaar were constructed and renovated during the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

and Zand periods. Produce Bazar, Ardabil and vicinity Located at the

Meshkin Shahr Meshgin Shahr ( fa, مشگين شهر, also Romanized as Meshgīn Shahr; also known as Meshkīn Shahr or simply Mishgin; formerly Khiav ( fa, خياو), also Romanized as Kheyāv, Khīāv, Khiov, Khīyāv, and Khiyov) is a city and capital of Mes ...

gate is a market where farmers directly sell their produce to the public.

Shrine

One of the main sights in the city of Ardabil in north-west Iran is the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili, who died in 1334. The Shaykh was a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

leader, who trained his followers in Islamic mystic practices. After his death, his followers remained loyal to his family, who became increasingly powerful. In 1501, one of his descendants, Shah Isma'il, seized political power. He united Iran for the first time in several centuries and established the Shi'i form of Islam as the state religion. Isma'il was the founder of the

dynasty, named after Shaykh Safi al-Din. The Safavids, who ruled without a break until 1722, and then intermittently until 1757, promoted the shrine of the Shaykh as a place of pilgrimage.

Ardabil carpet

In the late 1530s, Isma'il's son, Shah Tahmasp, enlarged the shrine, and it was at this time, that the carpet was made as one of a matching pair. The completion of the carpets was marked by a four-line inscription placed at one end. The first two lines are a poetic quotation that refers to the shrine as a place of refuge: 'Except for thy threshold, there is no refuge for me in all the world. Except for this door there is no resting-place for my head.' The third line is a signature, 'The work of the slave of the portal, Maqsud Kashani.' Maqsud was probably the court official charged with producing the carpets. He was not necessarily a slave in the literal sense but called himself one to express humility, while the word for 'portal' can be used for a royal court or a shrine. Perhaps Maqsud meant both, as in this case the court was the patron of the shrine. The fourth line contains the date 946 in the Muslim calendar, which is equivalent to 1539–1540 CE.

The Ardabil Carpet and the V&A

The two Ardabil carpets were still in the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in 1843, when one was seen by two British visitors. Thirty years or more later, the shrine suffered an earthquake, and the carpets were sold off, perhaps to raise funds for repairs. The damaged carpets were purchased in Iran by Ziegler & Co., a Manchester firm involved in the carpet trade. Parts of one carpet were used to patch the other. The result was one 'complete' carpet and one with no border. In 1892, the larger carpet was put on sale by Vincent Robinson & Co. of London. The designer

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

went to inspect it on behalf of this museum. Reporting that the carpet was 'of singular perfection ... logically and consistently beautiful', he urged the museum to buy it. The money was raised, and in March 1893 the Museum acquired the carpet for £2000. The second, smaller carpet was sold secretly to an American collector, and in 1953 it was given to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Ardabil carpet hung on the wall in this gallery for many years. In 2006, the museum created the case in the centre of the gallery so that the carpet could be seen as intended, on the floor. To preserve its colours, it is lit for ten minutes on the hour and half-hour.

Earthquakes

Ardabil is associated with historical confusion between the

893 Dvin earthquake The 893 Dvin earthquake occurred on 28 December at around midnight. It had a magnitude of approximately 6 and a maximum intensity of approximately IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. It destroyed the city of Dvin in Armenia, causi ...

which was often wrongly documented as the

893 Ardabil earthquake Several earthquake catalogues and historical sources describe the 893 Ardabil earthquake as a destructive earthquake that struck the city of Ardabil, Iran, on 23 March 893. The magnitude is unknown, but the death toll was reported to be very larg ...

due to the similarity of the Arabic name for city of

Dvin Dvin may refer to: *Dvin (ancient city), an ancient city and one of the historic capitals of Armenia *Dvin, Armenia, a modern village in Armenia named after the nearby ancient city of Dvin *Verin Dvin, a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia *FC ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, 'Dabil' to Ardabil. On 28 February 1997, a destructive earthquake hit the Ardabil area. At least 965 people were killed, 2,600 injured, 36,000 homeless, 12,000 houses damaged or destroyed and 160,000 livestock were killed. Severe damage was observed to roads, electrical power lines, communications and water distribution systems around Ardabil.

Climate

Ardebil has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

( Köppen: ''BSk''), bordering a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

( Köppen: ''Dfb'',

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Trew ...

: ''Dc''), with cool, relatively dry summers and freezing, relatively wet winters. many tourists come to the region for its cool climate during the hot summer months. The winters are long and bitterly cold, with record low temperature of −33 °C. The annual rainfall is around .

Attractions

In addition to these, in many villages of Ardabil, relics of ancient monuments, including tombs have been found. Being a city of great antiquity, the origins of Ardabil go back 4,000 to 6,000 years (according to historical research in this city). This city was the capital of Azerbaijan province in different times, but its golden age was in the

period.

Geology

The hot springs and natural landscapes in the Ardabil area attract tourists. The mineral springs of Ardabil (Beele-Darreh, Sar'eyn, Sardabeh and Booshloo) are notable throughout Iran for their medicinal qualities. Of the many lakes in the area, the largest include Ne'or, Shorabil, ShoorGel, NouShahr and Aloocheh that are the habitats of some species of water birds. The Lake Ne'or is located in a mountainous area 48 km south-east of the city of Ardabil. It covers an area of 2.1 km² and has an average depth of 3 metres. It is fed by springs in the lake bed. } ''Sabalân''; also called ''Sāvālān'') is an inactive

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

Meshkinshahr Meshgin Shahr ( fa, مشگين شهر, also Romanized as Meshgīn Shahr; also known as Meshkīn Shahr or simply Mishgin; formerly Khiav ( fa, خياو), also Romanized as Kheyāv, Khīāv, Khiov, Khīyāv, and Khiyov) is a city and capital of Mes ...

Ardabil province of north-western

about 20 miles west of Arbadil. Sabalan is the third highest mountain in Iran and a permanent crater lake has formed at the summit. Sabalan has a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

(Alvares) and different tourist areas such as the Sarein spa. The mountain is known for its vistas, including the Shirvan gorge, where few climbers ever venture. Savalan bali

Colleges and universities

Mohaghegh Ardabili University The University of Mohaghegh Ardabili (UMA) (also written "Ardebili"), and known as Mohaghegh Ardabili University, is a public university in Ardabil province, Iran. It is named in honor of Allama Mohaghegh Arbabili (). The university was estab ...

With Architecture and Mechanical Engineering as the most popular department *

Ardabil University of Medical Sciences Ardabil University of Medical Sciences is a medical university in Ardabil Province of Iran established in 1993. This university has over than 3400 students are studying in six Schools in Ardabil city including Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nur ...

* Islamic Azad University of Ardabil * Payam Noor University of Ardabil * Soureh University of Ardabil * University of Applied Science of Ardabil * Islamic Azad University of Khalkhal

Economy

The economy of Ardabil is partially agricultural, partially tourist-based, with some industries in operation. The Iranian government in 2006 announced plans to build "the largest textile factory of its kind in the Middle East" in Ardabil.

Arta Industrial Group The Arta Industrial Group is a multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Tehran, Iran. In terms of market capitalization and revenues, Arta Group is one of the largest private corporate group in Iran. The Arta Group has operations in ...

(AIG) has one of the largest textile conglomerates in Iran, which is located in the provinces called

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

and Ardabil. The group has received numerous awards for being one of the top 20 exporters and industrial groups in Iran since 1998. It is the first company to produce

high-density fiberboard Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry. Description Hardboard is similar to particle board and medium-densit ...

(HDF), medium-density fiberboard (MDF),

laminate Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...

flooring Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface ...

and multi-layer films in Iran. AIG has the first private industrial site in

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

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Sports

Football

Ardabil is host to several football teams. The most popular team in Ardabil is Shahrdari Ardabil, promoted in 2014 to the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

, the second tier of Iranian football. The city is renowned for producing great forwards, namely former

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

player and record international goal scorer Ali Daei.

Volleyball

Some International Volleyball Competitions was held in Ardabil:

2017 Asian Men's U23 Volleyball Championship The 2017 Asian Men's U23 Volleyball Championship was the second edition of the Asian Men's U23 Volleyball Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Islamic Republic of ...

, 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship AVC Qualification and 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League (Preliminary Round).

Notable people

''For a complete list see: :People from Ardabil'' File:Shah Ismail I.jpg, Ismail I, was Shah of Iran and the founder of the

. File:Zadeh, L.A. 2005.jpg,

Lotfi A. Zadeh Lotfi Aliasker Zadeh (; az, Lütfi Rəhim oğlu Ələsgərzadə; fa, لطفی علی‌عسکرزاده; 4 February 1921 – 6 September 2017) was a mathematician, computer scientist, electrical engineer, artificial intelligence researcher, an ...

, mathematician, computer scientist, electrical engineer, artificial intelligence researcher and professor emeritus of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. File:Rahim aliabadi.jpg,

Rahim Aliabadi Rahim Aliabadi ( fa, رحیم علی‌آبادی, born 22 March 1943) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler from Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It ...

, is former Iranian wrestler and winner of silver medal in

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. File:Ali Salimi01.jpg,

Ali Salimi Ali Salimi ( fa, علي سليمي, az, Əli Səlimi; 1922 in Baku – 22 April 1997 in Tabriz) was an Iranian Azerbaijani musician, composer and tar player. He had been based in Tehran for the last few decades where he made significant contribu ...

(Right) &

Farhad Ebrahimi Farhad Ebrahimi ( fa, فرهاد ابراهیمی کورعباسلو, born Rajab Ebrahimi fa, رجب ابراهیمی کورعباسلو, 1935 – 9 February 2019) was an Iranian poet, writer, and songwriter of Azerbaijani music. His most impor ...

(Left), were Iranian musician, composer and tar player. File:Ali Daei 2016.jpg, Ali Daei, is a soccer coach, a former soccer player and soccer coach. File:Nasrolah Nasehpour.jpg, Nasrollah Nasehpour, is an Iranian master musician in the Radif instrument. File:Ghafour Jeddi in USA.jpg,

Ghafour Jeddi Ghafour Jeddi Ardabili ( fa, غفور جدی اردبیلی) was an Iranian McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter pilot in the Air Force of Iran. He played a significant role in the early months of the Iran–Iraq War by halting the advancement ...

KIA Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

, late IRIAF pilot and a war hero. File:Javad alizadeh.jpg, Javad Alizadeh, is an Iranian cartoonist. File:Hossein Rezazadeh by Mardetanha 4014.JPG, Hossein Rezazadeh, is a former Iranian Olympic weightlifter, winner of two gold medals in summer Olympics. File:Nasser CheshmAzar.jpg,

Naser Cheshmazar Naser Cheshmazar (31 December 1950 – 4 May 2018) was an Iranian musician and composer. He was an acknowledged master in classical music, musical theater, blues, folk music, jazz, and popular music. He composed many songs for well-known Iranian ...

, musician, composer, and arranger File:Iran and Spain match at the FIFA World Cup (13) (cropped).jpg, Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer who plays as a forward for the Iranian national team. File:Sheikh Safi.jpg, Safi-ad-din Ardabili, Muslim eponym of the Safavid dynasty. File:Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili (5).jpg,

Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili Sayyid Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili ( fa, سید عبدالکریم موسوی اردبیلی, 28 January 1926 – 23 November 2016) was an Iranian reformist politician and Twelver shi'a marja. Political career Ardebili was a supporter of Ayatoll ...

, Iranian reformist politician and Twelver shia marja. File:Papak Xorramdin.jpg, '' Bābak-e Khorramdin'' was one of the main

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

revolutionary leaders .

Twin towns and sister cities

Tiszavasvári Tiszavasvári is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. History The settlement of Tiszavasvári was created in 1941 by merging the former independent settlements of Tiszabűd and Szentm ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

(since 2011) * Volgograd,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(since 2015)

Photo gallery

File:Ardabil skyline1.jpg, skyline photo File:Sheikh-safi tomb.JPG,

Sheikh Safi Safi-ad-din Ardabili ( fa, شیخ صفی‌الدین اردبیلی ''Ṣāfī ad-Dīn Isḥāq Ardabīlī''; 1252/3 – 1334) was a poet, mystic, teacher and Sufi master. He was the son-in-law and spiritual heir of the Sufi master Zahed Gilan ...

's tomb File:Ardabil Anthropology Museum.jpg, Ardabil Anthropology Museum File:Sheikh jabraeil.jpg, Sheikh Jabraeil's tomb File:Shaheid gah.jpg, Shahedgah File:Janbazan sq.jpg, Janbazan square File:Sheykh safi01.jpg,

's tomb File:Ardabil-Meusume.jpg, Ardabil Museum File:7 goz.JPG, Yeddi goz bridge (Seven Eyes bridge) File:Heyran ardabil.jpg, Heyran road

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Ardabil County Cities in Ardabil Province Iranian provincial capitals Populated places along the Silk Road Populated places established in the 4th century BC Sasanian cities Peroz I