Khalkhal ( fa, خلخال, ''Khalkhāl''; formerly and local, Herowabad, Azerbaijani:
, fa, هروآباد, also
Romanize
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...
d as Khalkhāl; formerly, Herowabad also Romanized as Herowābād, Harowabad, Herauabad, Heroābād, and Hirābād; also formerly, Herow, also Romanized as Harau and Herau)) is a city in and the capital of
Khalkhal County
Khalkhal County ( fa, شهرستان خلخال; az, شهرستان خلخالخالخال بؤلگهسی) is in Ardabil province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Khalkhal. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 92 ...
, in
Ardabil Province,
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 ...
. According to the country divisions determined by the Ministry of Interior of Iran the city of Khalkhal has 138 villages. Majority of population speak Azeri language. At the 2006 census, its population was 38,521, in 9,619 families.
Name and history
According to
Vladimir Minorsky
Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (russian: Владимир Фёдорович Минорский; – March 25, 1966) was a Russian Orientalist best known for his contributions to the study of Persian, Lurish and Kurdish history, geography, ...
, the name ''Khalkhāl'' may indicate a connection with the ancient
Kharkhar kingdom, which existed somewhere in the eastern
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوههای زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...
in
Neo-Assyrian
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...
times.
The 14th-century author
Hamdallah Mustawfi
Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and ...
listed Khalkhal in his ''
Nuzhat al-Qulub
The ''Nuzhat al-Qulub'' (also spelled ''Nozhat al-Qolub''; fa, نزهةالقلوب, "Hearts' Bliss") is a Persian geographical treatise written in the 1340s by Hamdallah Mustawfi. It is the earliest surviving work to have a map focused on Iran. ...
'' as forming part of the ''
tuman'' of
Ardabil
Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...
.
He described it as "formerly a fair-sized town" that had declined to a mere village by his time.
He wrote that Khalkhal had succeeded the earlier city of Firuzabad as the capital of its province after Firuzabad itself had declined.
Mustawfi wrote that the Khalkhal province comprised about 100 villages and had four districts: Khāmidah-Bīl, Sajasrūd, Anjīlābād, and Mīsjīn.
It was assessed for a tax value of 30,000
dinars.
Water from a spring on a nearby mountain powered two watermills, which provided enough irrigation for the surrounding fields.
Mustawfi said its pastures were "excellent" and hunting grounds were "numerous and well-stocked with game" and wrote that the district was known for producing
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
(''māst'') that was "so thick it has to be cut with a knife, as though it were cheese".
See also
*
Lerd Village
*
Khalkhal Khanate
References
Towns and villages in Khalkhal County
Cities in Ardabil Province
{{Khalkhal-geo-stub
