Saveh ( fa, ساوه, translit=Sāveh, also transliterated as ''Sāwa'') is a city in
Markazi Province of
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 ...
. It is located about southwest of
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
.
As of 2011, the city had a population of 259,030 people.
History
In the 7th century BC it was a stronghold of the
Medes
The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...
. During the
Parthian rule of Persia, it was called Saavakineh, and was one of the main hubs of the empire.
In the 11th century, it was a residence of the
Daylamites
The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; fa, دیلمیان ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprisin ...
and of the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. It was severely damaged by the Mongol invasion in the 13th century; it was restored during the
Ilkhanids
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 ...
. Saveh was again sacked by the
Timurids
The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...
, but later grew under the
Safavids
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 ...
. In the summer of 1725 the city was besieged and captured by the
Afghans
Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...
after a battle with Tahmasp Mirza. It eventually lost much of its importance when
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
became the official capital of Persia and, in the mid-19th century, many of the inhabitants moved to Tehran.
Climate
Saveh has a
hot semi-arid climate (BSh) in
Köppen-Geiger classification system.
Its summers are very hot and dry, while its winters are cool to cold and somewhat rainy.
Main sights
*
Jameh Mosque of Saveh
The Jameh Mosque of Saveh ( fa, مسجد جامع ساوه – ''Masjed-e-Jāmeh Sāveh'') is a Seljuk-era mosque, located in Saveh, Iran. This monument was built in the 12th century, coinciding with the establishment of the city itself.
Hist ...
, built by the Seljuks during the 11th century. It includes a courtyard, porch, a 14 m tall minaret, nocturnal areas, a tiled dome (14 m tall, with a diameter of 16 m) and two altars with inscription in Kufic script.
*Red Mosque of Saveh, also known as Enqelab Mosque. Dating to the
Seljuk-era, it has a brickwork dome, an 11th-century minaret, three porticoes, and internally houses an altar with plasterwork and inscriptions.
*Imamzadeh Soltan Seyed Eshaq Mausoleum
*Sorkhdeh Bridge, south of the city
*Khamseh-Abad caravansarai
Outside the city are the fortresses of Esmaeilieh (35 km), Alvir and Ardemin (56 km, on the road to
Hamadan
Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...
), as well as the archaeological sites of Aveh and Alishar.
Economy
Saveh produces large amounts of wheat and cotton. It is also well known for its pomegranates and melons. Kaveh Industrial City, the largest industrial city in Iran, is located in Saveh.
Legends
According to Iranian tradition, the
Magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...
who visited the infant
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
traveled from Saveh, and are buried among its ruins.
Marco Polo described the tombs of the Magi in his travel book, ''
Il Milione'':
Saveh is said to have possessed one of the greatest libraries in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, until its destruction by the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
during their first invasion of Iran.
Another legend about Saveh is the Lake of Saveh. It is a lake which is said to have been located near the city. According to the legend mentioned in historical Persian texts, this lake dried out on the night of the birth of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. A recent investigation in the Zarand area between Tehran and Saveh has revealed some evidence of the existence of this lake in
Zarand Plain.
[Okhravi, R. and Djamali, M. (2003). "The missing ancient lake of Saveh: a historical review". ''Iranica Antiqua'', 38, 327-344.]
Politics
In 2004, Saveh became only the second city in the history of the
Islamic Republic to appoint a woman as mayor.
People
*
Yusuf Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah (1450–1510), referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries. As the founder of the newly formed Bijapur dynasty (as t ...
(former
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
and founder of the
Bijapur Sultanate
The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's T ...
)
Gallery
Harold f Weston - Iran10.jpg, Saveh Gate, 1920s
Saveh Bazaar.jpg, Saveh Bazaar
Saveh Mosque 8.jpg, Jameh Mosque of Saveh
The Jameh Mosque of Saveh ( fa, مسجد جامع ساوه – ''Masjed-e-Jāmeh Sāveh'') is a Seljuk-era mosque, located in Saveh, Iran. This monument was built in the 12th century, coinciding with the establishment of the city itself.
Hist ...
Menareh masjed saveh2.jpg, Minaret of Jameh Mosque of Saveh
Saveh Bazaar Mosque.jpg, Saveh Bazaar Mosque
Sardaran square in Saveh.jpg, Sardaran square
References
External links
Official website
{{Saveh County
Cities in Markazi Province