Baneh () is a city in the Central District of

Baneh County Baneh County () is in Kurdistan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Baneh is approximately 30 km (18 miles) from

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

History

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

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The city was part of the three Kurdish principalities;

Ardalan Ardalan also known as Ardalanids, house of Ardalan, Ardalind dynasty, () was a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary Kurds, Kurdish Emirate in western Iran from around the 14th century until 1865 or 1868 with Sanandaj as capital. The Ardalan state wa ...

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

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 Urm ...

. The old city had two

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

s 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 esteem during the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

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

Khoy Khoy (, ) is a city in the Central District (Khoy County), Central District of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan province, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Occupied since Medes, Median times, ...

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

. 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 and was also bombed by both parties during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

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

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The population is mostly Shafiʽi

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

who speak

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

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 69,635 in 15,857 households. The following census in 2011 counted 85,190 people in 22,149 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 110,218 people in 30,743 households. After the cities of

Sanandaj Sanandaj (; ) is a city in the Central District of Sanandaj County, in the Kurdistan province of Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. With a population of 414,069, it is the second largest Kurdish city a ...

Saqqez Saqqez (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Saqqez County), Central District of Saqqez County, Kurdistan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology The name Saqqez derives from the Scythian la ...

and

Marivan Marivan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Marivan County, Kurdistan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Language The city is populated by ethnic Kurds and the people of Marivan sp ...

, Baneh is the fourth most populous city in Kurdistan province.

Notable people

* Ebrahim Younesi, writer and translator *

Bahman Ghobadi Bahman Ghobadi (; ; born February 1, 1969) is an Kurds in Iran, Iranian Kurdish film director, producer and writer. He belongs to the "Iranian New Wave, new wave" of Iranian cinema. Biography He was born in Baneh, a Kurds, Kurdish city in Iran ...

, 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 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

Notes

References

{{Baneh County, state=collapsed Populated places in Baneh County Cities in Kurdistan province Iranian Kurdistan Kurdish settlements in Kurdistan province