Marivan (; ) is a city in the
Central District of
Marivan County,
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.
Demographics
Language
The city is populated by ethnic
Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
and the people of Marivan speak
Kurdish.
The linguistic composition of the city:
In 2023, the Marivan Cultural and Literacy Council and other institutions began updating entrance signs of the city and its countryside to include Kurdish. As of 2025, 200 village signs have been updated.
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 91,664 in 22,440 households.
The following census in 2011 counted 110,464 people in 29,743 households.
The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 136,654 people in 39,368 households.
Climate
Archaeology
The archaeological site of Tepe Qaleh Naneh is located in the Marivan plain near the city of Marivan. It is a large site that extends to the south and around the modern city.
Lake Zaribar is roughly at the centre of the Marivan plain. The settlement of Qaleh Naneh goes back to the Late
Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
period. During that time, this already became a complex society, and had extensive cultural and commercial links with the neighbouring regions.
A joint Italo-Iranian project, ‘Qaleh Naneh: Text Excavations and Survey in the Marivan Valley’ (QaNaTES), is now conducting the scientific investigations in this region of Marivan. It is focusing on the area of the Lake Zarībār and the valley of Marivan, and their development during the Bronze and Iron Ages (ca. 3000-600 BCE).
The region of Qaleh Naneh is mentioned in cuneiform texts from the time of
Amar-Sin (c. 2046–2037 BC), the third ruler of the
Ur III Dynasty. A series of ancient place-names is known, that referred to journeys along the mountain roads between Qaleh Naneh area and the
Tanjero river valley in
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 ...
.
So this area has long time cultural and trade connections to the
Diyala valley in Iraq. Especially the area around the modern Iraqi city of
Halabja is relevant. That's where the Tanjero river joins Sirwan river and together they form the Diyala valley. Traditionally, the Diyala valley provided an important trade route between Iran and Iraq.
At the time of
Ashurnasirpal II
Ashur-nasir-pal II (transliteration: ''Aššur-nāṣir-apli'', meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir") was the third king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 883 to 859 BC. Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II. His son and s ...
(883-859 BC), the plain of Marivan belonged to 'the region of Zamua', that was probably politically autonomous. The region served as the western frontier of the
Medes
The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...
during the reign of
Diyako. The region continued as a major trade post during the reign of
Dariush III.
Some ancient texts also refer to 'a sea of Zamua'. There has been considerable confusion in past scholarship about this location. Although Assyriologist
Adolf Billerbeck (1834-1908) identified it with Lake Zaribar as early as 1898, other scholars also preferred to identify it with the much bigger
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...
, that is also located in Iran, but a very considerable distance (about 250km) directly to the north of Zaribar.
QaNaTES: historical background
/ref>
See also
* Shahrizor plain
Notes
References
External links
Government of Marivan
Marivan News
Cities in Kurdistan province
Populated places in Marivan County
Iran–Iraq border crossings
Kurdish settlements in Kurdistan province
{{Marivan-geo-stub