East Azerbaijan Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz.
The province borders Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil province, West Azerbaijan province, and Zanjan province. East Azerbaijan is in Region 3 of Iran, with its secretariat located in Tabriz.
History
East Azerbaijan is one of the most archaic territories in Iran. During the reign of Alexander III of Macedon in Iran (331 BCE), a warrior known as Attorpat led a revolt in this area, then a territory of the Medes, and thereafter it was called Attorpatkan. Since then this vicinity has been known as Azarabadegan, Azarbadgan, and Azarbayjan.
Islamic researchers proclaim that the birth of the prophet Zoroaster was in this area, in the vicinity of Lake Orumieh (Chichesht), Konzak City. The area was subject to numerous political and economical upheavals, attracting the interest of foreigners; the Russians in particular have tried to exert a lasting influence in the region over the past 300 years, occupying the area on numerous occasions. The constitutionalist movement of Iran began here in the late 19th century.
Ethnic tensions in Azerbaijan can legally trace their origins back to the colonialist policies of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. In a cable sent on 6 July 1945 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the local Soviet commander in Russian (northern) held Azerbaijan was instructed as such:
In 1945, the Soviet Union helped set up the Azerbaijan People's Government in what is now East Azerbaijan.
Demographics Language and ethnicity Most of the inhabitants are ethnic Azerbaijanis who speak a Turkic language related to Turkish.
In Qarajadaḡ (today Arasbaran), that is, the region between the Aras river and the Sabalan mountain range, there are six Shiʿite, Turkic-speaking tribes of Kurdish origin: Chalabianlu, Mohammadkhanlu, Hosaynkhanlu, Hajialilu, Hasanbeiglu and Qarachorlu.
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 3,527,267 in 911,241 households. The following census in 2011 counted 3,724,620 people in 1,085,455 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 3,909,652 in 1,223,028 households.
Administrative divisions
At the 1986 census, there were twelve counties in East Azerbaijan province. By the 1996 census, two additional counties had been formed: Jolfa (from part of Marand), and Malekan (from part of Bonab). Between 1996 and 2002, five new counties were formed: Ajabshir, Azarshahr, Charuymaq, Osku, and Varzaqan. The table below illustrates further changes since the 2006 census.
The cities of Ahar and Mianeh of East Azerbaijan Province, along with Parsabad and Meshginshahr from Ardabil province, and Piranshahr and Salmas from West Azerbaijan, are six cities in Azerbaijan region that have joined the group of large cities with populations of over 100,000 people due to population changes after the 2016 census.
The population history and structural changes of East Azerbaijan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
+ East Azerbaijan Province Counties 2006 2011 2016 Ahar 147,781 150,111 154,530 Ajab Shir 65,741 66,746 70,852 Azarshahr 99,286 107,579 110,311 Bonab 125,209 129,795 134,892 Bostanabad 96,555 94,985 94,769 Charuymaq 33,921 32,745 31,071 Hashtrud 64,611 60,822 57,199 Heris 67,626 67,820 69,093 Hurand — — — Jolfa 52,176 55,166 61,358 Kaleybar 87,259 48,837 46,125 Khoda Afarin — 34,977 32,995 Leylan — — — Malekan 100,366 106,118 111,319 Maragheh 227,635 247,681 262,604 Marand 229,215 239,209 244,971 Mianeh 187,870 185,806 182,848 Osku 84,061 98,988 158,270 Sarab 132,094 131,934 125,341 Shabestar 121,787 124,499 135,421 Tabriz 1,557,241 1,695,094 1,773,033 Torkamanchay — — — Varzaqan 46,833 45,708 52,650 Total 3,527,267 3,724,620 3,909,652
Cities According to the 2016 census, 2,809,424 people (over 71% of the population of East Azerbaijan Province) live in the following cities:
City Population Abish Ahmad 2,715 Achachi 3,647 Ahar 100,641 Ajab Shir 33,606 Aqkand 2,902 Azarshahr 44,887 Bakhshayesh 6,102 Basmenj 12,692 Benab-e Marand 4,311 Bonab 85,274 Bostanabad 21,734 Duzduzan 3,627 Gugan 11,742 Hadishahr 34,346 Hashtrud 20,572 Heris 10,515 Hurand 4,658 Ilkhchi 16,574 Javan Qaleh 700 Jolfa 8,810 Kaleybar 9,324 Khamaneh 3,056 Kharaju 1,824 Kharvana 3,353 Khomarlu 1,902 Khosrowshahr 21,972 Khvajeh 4,011 Kolvanaq 7,465 Koshksaray 8,060 Kuzeh Kanan 4,730 Leylan 6,356 Malekan 27,431 Mamqan 11,892 Maragheh 175,255 Marand 130,825 Mehraban 5,772 Mianeh 98,973 Mobarak Shahr 4,456 Nazarkahrizi 1,215 Osku 18,459 Qarah Aghaj 6,102 Sahand 82,494 Sarab 45,031 Sardrud 29,739 Shabestar 22,181 Sharabian 4,877 Sharafkhaneh 4,244 Shendabad 8,489 Siah Rud 1,548 Sis 6,106 Sufian 9,963 Tabriz 1,558,693 Tark 2,031 Tasuj 7,522 Tekmeh Dash 2,974 Teymurlu 5,375 Torkamanchay 7,443 Varzaqan 5,348 Vayqan 4,678 Yamchi 10,392 Zarnaq 5,343 Zonuz 2,465
Geography
The province covers an area of approximately 47,830 km2, it has a population of around four million people. The province has common borders with the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Autonomous Nakhchivan in the north, West Azerbaijan in the west, Zanjan in the south, and Ardabil in the east. A fine network of roads and railways connects East Azerbaijan to other parts of Iran and neighboring countries.
The highest point in East Azerbaijan is the volcanic peak of Sahand Mountain at of elevation, lying south of Tabriz, whereas the lower-lying areas are around Garmadooz (Ahar). The hills and mountains of the province are divided into three ranges: the Qara Daq Mountains, the Sahand and Bozqoosh Mountains, and the Qaflan Kooh Mountains.
Climate The climate of East Azerbaijan is affected by Mediterranean Continental as well as the cold semi-arid climate. Gentle breezes off the Caspian Sea have some influence on the climate of the low-lying areas. Temperatures run up to 8.9 °C in Tabriz, and 20 °C in Maraqeh, in the winter dropping to −10 to −15 °C at least (depending on how cold the overall year is). The ideal seasons to visit this province are the spring and summer months. + Average monthly precipitation (in mm) for selected cities in East Azerbaijan City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Ref. Tabriz 283.8 Maragheh 309.9 Ahar 285.2 Sarab 241.5 Mianeh 278.0 Jolfa 206.2 Kaleybar 386.8 Sahand 202.7 Bonab 250.9 Marand 338.3
Culture
From a cultural point of view, the most outstanding features are the language, Azerbaijani, and folklore of this region. The language of Azerbaijan is originally "a branch of the Iranian languages known as Azari" (see Ancient Azari language).Paul, Ludwig (1998a). "The position of Zazaki among West Iranian languages" in , p. 496. However, the modern Azeri language is a Turkic language very closely related to the language of Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkey.See also Ahmad Kasravi, Azari or The Ancient Language of Azerbaijan (Āzari yā Zabān-e Bāstān-e Āzar'bāi'jān), in Persian, third edition (Tehran, 1325 AH/1946). This text can be downloaded free of charge from the bibliography section (Ketāb Shenāsi) of: Ahmad Kasravi, 1891-1946. Apart from this, the province also boasts numerous learned scholars, gnostics, several national poets such as Mowlana Baba Mazeed, Khajeh Abdol Raheem Aj Abadi, Sheikh Hassan Bolqari, and Abdolqader Nakhjavani, to name a few, and the contemporary poet Ostad Mohammad Hossein Shahriyar. The current leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, also originally comes from this region.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization has registered 936 sites of historical significance in the province. Some are contemporary, and some are from the antiquity of ancient Persia. "Zahak Citadel", for example, is the name of an ancient ruin in East Azerbaijan, which according to various experts, was inhabited from the second millennium BC until the Timurid era. First excavated in the 1800s by British archeologists, Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization has been studying the structure in 6 phases.
East Azerbaijan has many Azeri traditions. Many local dances and folk songs continue to survive among the various peoples of the province. As a longstanding province of Iran, Azerbaijan is mentioned on many occasions in Persian literature by Iran's authors and poets.
East Azerbaijan today
East Azerbaijan province is an industrial centre of Iran. East Azerbaijan province has over 5000 manufacturing units (6% percent of national total). The value of product from these units in 1997 was US$374 million (373 billion rials = 4.07% of the national total). Total investments were valued at US$2.7 billion (2.4513 trillion rials) in 1997.According to the information released by the office of the provincial governor.
Some of the major industries in East Azerbaijan are glass industries, paper manufacturing, steel, copper and nepheline syenite, oil refinery, petrochemical processing facilities, chemical products, pharmaceutical processing, foundries, vehicle and auto-parts industries, industrial machines, agricultural machines, food industries, leather, and shoe industries.
East Azerbaijan has an excellent position in the handicraft industry of Iran, which has a large share in the exports of the province. Tabriz carpets are widely known around the world and in international markets for their vibrant designs and colors. At present there are about 66,000 carpet production units in the province, employing some 200,000 people. The annual production of these carpets is roughly 792,000 m2, which comprises more than 70% of Iran's carpet exports. 35% of all Iranian carpets are produced in East Azerbaijan. East Azerbaijan province is also one of the richest regions of Iran in natural minerals, with 180 mines in 1997, of which 121 units are currently in operation, and the rest are being planned.
UNESCO has two Biosphere reserves in East Azerbaijan province. One in Lake Urmia and the other at Arasbaran.
Colleges and universities East Azerbaijan also has some of Iran's prestigious universities including: Sahand University of Technology Tabriz University of Medical Sciences University of Tabriz Azerbaijan University of Tarbiat Moallem Tabriz Islamic Arts University University of Maragheh Engineering and Technical College of Bonab Islamic Azad University of Bonab Islamic Azad University of Tabriz Islamic Azad University of Shabestar Islamic Azad University of Maragheh Islamic Azad University of Miyaneh University College of Nabi Akram, Tabriz
Notable people Qatran Tabrizi, poet Ahmad Kasravi, historian Samad Behrangi Sattar Khan, revolutionary leader Bagher Khan, revolutionary leader Gayk Bzhishkyan Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh Parvin E'tesami, poet Karim Bagheri, soccer star Iraj Mirza, poet and politician Maqsud Ali Tabrizi Ivan Galamian Hassan Roshdieh Shams Tabrizi, mystic Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation Ali Salimi Ali Soheili, Prime Minister of Iran Ebrahim Hakimi, Prime Minister of Iran Mahmud Jam, Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Hossein Shahriar Asadi Tusi is buried here
See also Aras Free Zone List of East Azarbaijan cities and towns by population
Notes
References
External links Official website Cultural Heritage Organization of East Azerbaijan The Union for Handwoven Carpets of East Azerbaijan Recent Photos from Azerbaijan Arasbaran UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Lake Urmia UNESCO Biosphere Reserve East Azerbaijan Research Park net portal entries in the Bahram Moshiri's brief talk on Azerbaijan.