Urmia

Richard Nelson Frye suggested Urartian origin for the name,[11] while T. Burrow connected the origin of the name Urmia to Indo-Iranian urmi- "wave" and urmya- "undulating, wavy".[12]

As of 1921, Urmia was also called, Urumia and Urmi.[13] During the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925–1979), the city was called Rezaiyeh[nb 3] (Persian: رضائیه‎) after Reza Shah, the dynasty's founder, whose name ultimately derives from the Islamic concept of rida via the Eighth Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, Ali al-Ridha.

The name could also derive from the combination of the Assyrian Aramaic words Ur(ܐܘܪ; a common name for cities around Mesopotamia; “city”) and Mia (ܡܝܐ, “water”), “City of Water” referring to the great Lake Urmia nearby.[14] Compare Urhay, Ur (of the Chaldees).

People of Urmia awaiting the Shah, 1911

Urmia fruit market, 1911

According to Vladimir Minorsky, there were villages in the Urmia Plain as early as 2000 BC, with their civilization under the influence of the Kingdom of Van. Excavations of the ancient ruins near Urmia led to the discovery of utensils that date to the 20th century BC. In ancient times, the west bank of Urmia Lake was called Gilzan, and in the 9th century BC an independent government ruled there, which later joined the Urartu or Manna empire; in the 8th century BC, the area was a vassal of the Asuzh government until it joined the Median Empire.

Assyrians who did survive the invasion of Baghdad by Timur fled through northern Iraq up into the Hakkari Mountains to the west of Lake Urmia and the area remained as their homeland until the 19th century.[15][16]

During the Safavid era, the neighboring Ottoman Turks, who were the archrivals of the Safavids,[17] made several incursions into the city and captured it on more than one occasion, but the Safavids successfully regained control over the area. When in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) Qasem Sultan Afshar was appointed governor of Mosul,[18][19] he was forced to leave his office shortly afterwards due to the outbreak of a plague.[19] He moved to the western part of Azerbaijan, and became the founder of the Afshar community of Urmia.[19] The city was the capital of the Urmia Khanate from 1747 to 1865. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795.

Due to the presence of a substantial Christian minority at the end of the 19th century, Urmia was also chosen as the site of the first American Christian mission in Iran in 1835. Another mission was soon underway in nearby Tabriz as well. During World War I the population was estimated by Dr. Caujole to be 30,000, a quarter of which (7,500) were Assyrians and 1,000 Jews.[10]

During the 19th century, the region became the center of a short-lived Assyrian renaissance with many books and newspapers being published in Syriac. Urmia was also the seat of a Chaldean diocese.[20][21]

At the beginning of the First World War tens of thousands of Assyrians and Armenians from the Ottoman Empire found refuge in Urmia. During the war, the city changed hands several times between the Russians and the Ottoman troops and their Kurdish allies in the following two years. [22] The influx of Christian refugees and their alliance with the Russians angered the Ottoman troops who attacked the Christian quarter in February 1918. The better armed Assyrians managed to capture the whole city following a brief battle.[22] The region descended into chaos again after the assassination of the Assyrian patriarch Shimun XIX Benyamin at the hands of Simko Shikak one month later. Ottomans and Simko managed to take and plunder the city in June/July 1918.[23] Thousands of Christians were massacred by Ottomans as part of the Assyrian and Armenian genocide; others found refuge under British protection in the neighboring Iraq.[23][24]

The tourist attractions of the city of Urmia include many parks and coastal villages lying on or near the shores of Lake Urmia. The oldest park in Urmia, called Park-e Saat, was established in the first Pahlavi era. Urmia's largest park is Ellar Bagi Park (Azerbaijani "People's Garden") along the Shahar Chayi, or the "City River".

Lakes and ponds

• Urmia Lake Natural Park
• Hasanloo Lake
• Marmisho lake
• Shahrchay ِDam
• Urmia Lake Islands

Lagoons

• Haft Abad
• Soole Dokel
• Dana Boğan
• Ali Pancesi
• Isti Sou

Parks

• Park-e Saat (Clock Park)
• Park-e Jangali (Jungle Park)
• Ellar Bagi (People's Garden)
• Park-e Shahr (City Park)
• Park-e Saheli (Riverside Park)
• Park-e Shaghayegh
• Alghadir Park
• Tokhmemorghi (Oval) Park
• Ghaem Park

Scenic coastal villages:

• Chichest
• Bari
• Fanoos
• Sier
• Band
• Khoshako

Landscape attractions:

• Qasimlu Valley
• Kazem Dashi Islet in Lake Urmia
• Kashtiban Village
• Imamzada Village
• Silvana Region
• Rashekan to Dash Aghol
• Nazloo
• Dalamper
• Kaboodan Island[36]

Sports are an important part of Urmia's culture. The most popular sport in Urmia is volleyball. Urmia is considered Iran's volleyball capital, and that is because of the ranks that Shahrdari Urmia VC got in Iranian Volleyball Super League and for the great volleyball players who play on the Iran men's national volleyball team (such as Saed Marouf, Abdolreza Alizadeh, and Milad Ebadipour) and first-class coaches in Iran. Recently, Urmia has also been called "the city of volleyball lovers" by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (International Volleyball Federation, FIVB) official website.

The 2010 Asian Men's Cup Volleyball Championship was held in Ghadir Arena in Urmia, 2012 WAFF Futsal Championship, and the 2012 Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship was also held in Urmia. It is also one of the venues of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.

An Ashik music group

Jameh Mosque of Urmia

Azerbaijanis hold festivals and ceremonies such as Nowruz and Eid al-Adha like other Iranian ethnic groups with small differences.[39] Ashik music is one of the features of the Turkish speaking people of the world. It has different versions in Iran. Meanwhile, as many experts of this art testify the Urmia Ashik, is the most original and oldest version in the world, which has preserved its origin until the present day. Ashik music has its unique styles. As a piece of the culture of Azerbaijan, Urmia Ashik music has been registered in Iran's national heritage.

A School in Urmia (1910)

The first modern style school established in Urmia in 1834.[40]

Urmia University's hall

During its history Urmia was the origin for many Iranian illumination and modernization movements. The city was the hometown of numerous figures including politicians, revolutionaries, artists, and military leaders. Following is a partial list of some of the people who was born or lived in Urmia.

For a complete list see: Category:People from Urmia

• 
  Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, was a renowned musician and writer on the theory of music.
• 
  Haydar Khan e Amo-oghli, was a leftist revolutionary during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and among the founders of the Communist Party of Iran.
• 
  Fatma Mukhtarova, was a Soviet opera singer.
• 
  Gholamreza Hassani, is the previous Friday prayer, First imam of Masjid-e-Jamé mosque of the city of Urmia.
• 
  Saeid Marouf, is an Iranian volleyball player who plays as a setter for the Iranian national team which he captains.

• 
  Davood Azad, is an Iranian classical and folk music singer.

• Erzurum, Turkey (since 2015)[56]

• Urmia County
• Assyrian homeland
• Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia
• Urmia Orthodokseta
• 64th Infantry Division of Urmia
• Teppe Hasanlu
• Emirate of Bradost

• Nasiri, Ali Naqi; Floor, Willem M. (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration. Mage Publishers. p. 309. ISBN 978-1933823232.
• Oberling, P. (1984). "AFŠĀR". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 6. pp. 582–586. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011.
• Rothman, E. Nathalie (2015). Brokering Empire: Trans-Imperial Subjects between Venice and Istanbul. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801463129.
• Hooglund, Eric (2008). "The Society and Its Environment" (PDF). In Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric (eds.). Iran: A Country Study. Area Handbook Series. United States Library of Congress, Federal Research Division (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 81–142. ISBN 978-0-8444-1187-3. Retrieved 13 October 2013.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Urmia.

• Official website
• The Governor of West Azerbaijan Province
• Urmia Branch of Ministry of Internal Affairs