Baneh ( fa, بانه, Bāneh, ku, بانە, translit=Bane) is a city and capital of

Baneh County Baneh County ( fa, شهرستان بانه) is in Kurdistan province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Baneh Baneh ( fa, بانه, Bāneh, ku, بانە, translit=Bane) is a city and capital of Baneh County, Kurdistan Province ...

, Kurdistan Province, in

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 ...

's western border. Baneh is bordered by

Saqqez Saqqez ( ; fa, سقز ; ), also known as Saghez, Saqez, Saqqiz, Saqiz, and Sakīz, is the capital city of Saqqez County in Kurdistan Province, in northwestern Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population was 165,258. Etymology The nam ...

to the east,

Marivan Mariwan ( fa, مريوان; ) also known as Qale Marīvān - "Fort Marivan"; formerly, Dezhe Shahpur (Persian: دِژ شاهپور), also Romanized as Dezhe Shāhpūr and Dezhe Shapoor) is a town in – and the capital of – Marivan Cou ...

to the south, Sardasht to the west, and is approximately 30 km (18 miles) from

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. According to the 2016

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, the city has a population of 115,325. After the cities of

Sanandaj Sanandaj (Persian: سنندج, ; ku, سنە, Sine, often romanized as Senneh, is the capital of Kurdistan Province in Iran. With a population of 414,069, Sanandaj is the twenty third largest city in Iran and the second largest Kurdish city. San ...

and

History

Historically, Baneh had a strategic and political importance due to its close proximity to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The city was part of the three Kurdish principalities;

Ardalan Ardalan ( ku, میرنشینی ئەردەڵان) was a hereditary Kurdish vassaldom in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The territory corresponded roughly to present-day Kurdistan Province ...

Baban Baban () was a Kurdish principality existing from the 16th century to 1850, centered around Sulaymaniyah. The Baban principality played an active role in the Ottoman- Safavid conflict and gave significant military support to the Ottomans. They wer ...

and

Mokryan Mukriyan () or 'Deryaz' was a Kurdish principality from the late 14th century to the 19th century centered around Mahabad. Mukriyan was a neighbor to the Emirate of Bradost. Geography and tribes Mukriyan encompassed the area south of Lake Ur ...

. The old city had two citadels and was generally ruled by the Eḵtīār-al-Dīn family who held both religious and secular power of the city. The family was held in high steem 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 ...

era and received the title 'sultan'. Moreover, rulers of Baneh had the responsibility of protecting the whole area from

Khoy Khoy (Persian and az, خوی; ; ; also Romanized as Khoi), is a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city ...

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

. In the 16th century, Mīrzā Beg b. Mīr Moḥammad became the first virtually independent ruler of Baneh and its surroundings. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was plagued with epidemics which killed a large portion of the population. In 1944, the city experienced turmoil as part of the

Hama Rashid revolt The Hama Rashid revolt () was a tribal uprising in Pahlavi Iran, during the Second World War, following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. The tribal revolt erupted in the general atmosphere of anarchy throughout Iran and its main faction was ...

and was also bombed by both parties during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

in the 1980s. Most locals fled to Iraq during the war and much of the region was destroyed.

Demographics

The population is mostly Shafiʽi

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

who speak

Sorani Central Kurdish (), also called Sorani (), is a Kurdish dialect or a language that is spoken in Iraq, mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan in western Iran. Sorani is one of the two o ...

People

Ebrahim Younesi Brayim Younisi (1926 - February 8, 2012, ku, ئیبراھیم یوونسی ,Îbrahîm Yûnisî, fa, ابراهیم یونسی, alternatively spelled Ibrahim Younisi or Ebrahim Younesi or Brayim Khan) was an Iranian Kurdish writer, novelist and ...

, writer and translator *

Bahman Ghobadi Bahman Ghobadi ( fa, بهمن قبادی; ; born 1 February 1969 in Baneh, Kurdistan province, Iran) is an Iranian Kurdish film director, producer and writer. He belongs to the " new wave" of Iranian cinema. Biography He was born in Baneh, a K ...

, director and writer * Ata Nahaei, novelist and translator * Ebrahim Alipour, photographer * Keywan Karimi, director

Gallery

File:City In Day.jpg, View of the city from Dokanan Park File:Baneh - Arbaba in winter.jpg, View of Arbaba on a winter's day File:Baneh city view.jpg, Baneh by day File:Baneh Spring.jpg, Shahr Park in spring File:Baneh Rainy Day Dusk.jpg, Rainy day, dusk view from Shahr Park File:Baneh Laleh 5 Star Hotel.jpg, Haleh International 5-Star hotel File:Baneh Behesht Shopping Center.jpg, Behesht Shopping Center File:Baneh - Aftabe Derakhshan Mall.jpg, Aftab Derakhshan shopping center File:Baneh Forrest 2.jpg, Sooren plain and forest File:Baneh Forrest.jpg, Arbaba forest File:Baneh Snow Kali Khan Mountain.jpg, Snow covered Kali Khan Baneh Nowroz Day Panorama

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in Baneh County Cities in Kurdistan Province Iranian Kurdistan Kurdish settlements in Kurdistan Province