Mianeh, East Azerbaijan

Mianeh is situated in a valley, approximately 439 kilometres (273 mi) northwest of Tehran and approximately 187 kilometres (116 mi) southeast of East Azerbaijan's largest city and capital, Tabriz. The original name of the city was Miyana that after the Arab invasion to Iran, it was called Miyanej, and was often referred to as Garmrood. Mianeh is one of the region's oldest cities and its foundations date back to the pre-Islamic era of Iran and the emergence of the kingdom of Media. The city has been an economic and cultural crossroads for many years.

16th century map of Mianeh

Kiz bridge (Qız Körpüsü)

During ancient times, Mianeh passed through the hands of several dynasties and kingdoms, such as Media, the Achaemenid Empire, and Atropatene, and was home to a tribe called the Sagartians. With the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century, the Median residents were converted and the city of Mianeh became Muslim. Much of the architecture in the vicinity of Mianeh was built during the reign of the Mongols (13th-14th centuries), who at one point destroyed the entire city. Many of the residents in Mianeh fought the Mongols during their invasion of northern Iran.

Historical monuments in Mianeh include the Imamzadeh Esmail Tomb, The Kiz Castle, and Tark Stone Mosque. Another monument of Mianeh, Kiz Bridge (Qız Körpüsü)(pictured), was partly destroyed in December 1946 by communist separatists of the "Democrat Party of Azerbaijan" in a futile attempt to halt the advance of the Imperial Iranian Army.

Mianeh is East Azerbaijan's third largest city after Tabriz and Maragheh, and its population has continued to increase in each census. In the late 20th century many newly formed companies were established in the city, which became an economically strategic city for East Azerbaijan. The main, large-scale crop in the area is broomcorn, which is used to make traditional brooms.

Dairy, a type of broom, apples, honey, unleavened breads, rugs, and carpets.

Among famous people from Mianeh are:

• Afsar Asadi, actress
• Dariush Eghbali, singer
• Yossef Karami, Olympic medalist
• Behnam Mahmoudi, volleyball player
• Shahram Mahmoudi, volleyball player
• Jafar Panahi, director of the movies The Circle, The White Balloon and Crimson Gold
• Abbas Ali Panbei عباسعلی پنبه‌ای
• Maryam Sadeghi, computer scientist in the field of medical image analysis

• East Azerbaijan
• Tabriz