Miandoab () is a city in the Central District of Miandoab County,

West Azerbaijan West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the Azerbaijan (Iran), northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey (Ağrı Province, Ağrı, Hakkâri Pr ...

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 and ethnicity

Miandoab is largely populated by

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

, but also populated by

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 ...

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 112,933 in 29,207 households. The following census in 2011 counted 123,081 people in 35,066 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 134,425 people in 41,459 households.

History

Battle of Miandoab

In 1921, Miandoab was the site of a significant battle during the Kurdish uprising led by

Simko Shikak Ismail Agha Shikak (, ), also known as Simko (, ; 1887–1930), was a Kurds, Kurdish chieftain of the Shekak (tribe), Shekak tribe. He was a nationalist warlord who controlled significant land and led thousands of Kurdish rebels who defeated th ...

. His forces, numbering several thousand and reinforced by Turkish Kurds, defeated

Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...

troops and took control of the city. The battle marked the height of Simko's power during his revolt in northwestern Iran.

Geography

The city of Miandoab is on the Zarriné-Rūd river and located in the center of the

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

that slopes down to

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 ...

. It is above the sea level, at 46°6′ E

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and 36°58′ N

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

. The city is a transportation connection point between

West Azerbaijan province West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey ( Ağrı, Hakkâri, Iğdır and Van Provinces), Iraq ( Erbil and Sula ...

and

East Azerbaijan province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

. Thus, the city has been a transportation crossroads between the two large provinces, and has attracted political and economic interest from local and international governments. The area of Miandoab County is 2,694 square kilometers. Miandoab County is located between the Iranian counties of Bukan, Malekan, Mahabad, and Shahin Dezh.

Notes

References

{{Miandoab County, state=collapsed Populated places in Miandoab County Cities in West Azerbaijan province