* Qazvin *

Ghazvin, Caspian

قزوین ، کاسپین

Qazvin (/kæzˈviːn/; Persian: Qazwin‎, IPA:  ( listen)) (Azerbaijani: Qәzvin ,ﻗﺰﻭﻳﻦ ), also Romanized as Qazvīn, Caspin, Qazwin, or Ghazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was an ancient capital in the Persian Empire and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran. It is famous for its Baghlava, carpet patterns, poets, political newspaper and pahvali (Middle Persian) influence on its accent. At the 2011 census, its population was 381,598.

Located in 150 km (93 mi) northwest of Tehran, in the Qazvin Province, it is at an altitude of about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) above sea level. The climate is cold but dry, due to its position south of the rugged Alborz range called KTS Atabakiya.

• 1 History
• 2 People
• 3 Climate
• 4 Main sights
• 5 Economy
  • 5.1 Colleges and universities
  • 5.2 Qazvin modern towers
  • 5.3 Qazvin shopping complexes
  • 5.4 Bridges
  • 5.5 Famous hotels
  • 5.6 Famous parks
  • 5.7 Qazvin hypermarkets
• 6 Transportation
• 7 Sport
• 8 Notable Qazvinis
• 9 See also
• 10 References
• 11 External links

The city was a former capital of the Persian Empire under Safavids. It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout history.

Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages.

The city today known as Qazvin is thought to have been founded by Shapur II, King of Persia in 250 CE, under the name Shad Shahpur(shad can be read happy), when he built a fortification there to control regional tensions.

Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at important moments of Iranian history. Captured by invading Arabs (644 AD) and destroyed by Hulagu Khan (13th century), Shah Tahmasp (1524–1576) made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire (founded in 1501 AD), a status that Qazvin retained for half a century.

In 1920 Qazvin was used as a base for the British Norperforce. It was from here that the 1921 Persian coup d''etat that led to the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty was launched. And it became State in 2001

The majority of the people of the province and the city of Qazvin are Persians and the language of the people of Qazvin is Persian language with the Qazvini accent. Other languages include Tati (in Takestan), Romani, Luri, Azarbaijani.

Qazvin contains several archeological excavations. And in the middle of the city lie the ruins of Meimoon Ghal''eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area.

Qazvin contains few buildings from the Safavid era, dating to the period in which it was capital of Persia. Perhaps the most famous of the surviving edifices is the Chehelsotoon (Kolah Farangi) mansion, today a museum in central Qazvin.

After Islam, the popularity of mystics (tasawwuf), as well as the prominence of tradition (Hadith), religious jurisprudence (fiqh), and philosophy in Qazvin, led to the emergence of many mosques and religious schools. They include:

• Jame'' Atiq Mosque of Qazvin
• Heydarieh mosque
• Masjed Al-nabi (Soltani Mosque): With an area of 14000 m2, this mosque is one of the most glorious mosques of antiquity, built in the Safavieh''s monarchy era.
• Sanjideh Mosque: Another mosque of Qazvin dating back to pre-Islamic Iran; a former fire temple. Its present day form is attributed to the Seljukian era.
• Panjeh Ali Mosque: A former place of worship for royal harem members in the Safavid period.
• Peighambarieh School-Mosque: Founded 1644 according to inscription.
• Peighambarieh Shrine: Where four Jewish saints who foretold the coming of Christ, are buried.
• Molla Verdikhani School-Mosque: Founded in 1648.
• Salehieh Madrasa and Mosque: Founded in 1817 by Mulla Muhammad Salih Baraghani.
• Sheikhol Islam School-Mosque: Renovated in 1903.
• Eltefatieh School: Dating back to the Il-Khanid period.
• Sardar School- Mosque: Made by two brothers Hossein Khan and Hassan Khan Sardar in 1815, as a fulfillment of their promise if they came back victorious from a battle against the Russians.
• Shazdeh Hosein Shrine (location: 36°15′26″N 50°00′02″E / 36.257253°N 50.000678°E / 36.257253; 50.000678); a c.15C CE shrine to a c.9C CE Shiite saint.

About 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Qazvin are the tombs of two Saljuki era princes — Abu Saeed Bijar, son of Sa''d, and Abu Mansur Iltai, son of Takin — located in two separate towers known as the Kharraqan twin towers. Constructed in 1067 CE, these were the first monuments in Islamic architecture to include a non-conic two-layered dome. Both towers were severely damaged by a devastating earthquake in March 2003.

Qazvin has three buildings built by Russians in the late 19th/early 20th century. Among these is the current Mayor''s office (former Ballet Hall), a water reservoir, and the Cantor church, where a Russian pilot is buried.

Qazvin today is a center of textile trade, including cotton, silk and velvet, in addition to leather. It is on the railroad line and the highway between Tehran and Tabriz. Qazvin has one of the largest power plants feeding electricity into Iran''s national power grid, the Shahid Raja''i facility, which provides 7% of Iran''s electrical power.

Qazvin has several institutes of higher education:

• Imam Khomeini International University
• Islamic Azad University of Qazvin
• Payam-e-Nur University of Qazvin
• Qazvin University of Medical Sciences
• Raja University
• Shahid Babaee Technical Institute
• Kar University
• University of Qazvin

Some famous residential towers are: Punak (536 units), Aseman, Elahieh, Bademestan (440 units in 17 floors) and Tejarat tower with 28 floors.

• City Star in Khayam Street
• Ferdowsi in Ferdowsi Street
• Iranian in Adl Street
• Narvan in Ferdowsi Street

• Naderi
• Molasadra
• Ertebatat
• Persian Gulf (Khalij Fars)
• Abotorabi
• Nasr
• Motahari
• Imam Ali
• Rajaei

• Alborz
• Iran
• Marmar
• Ghods
• Grand Hotel, Qazvin
• Noizar

• Shohada
• Dehkhoda
• Beheshti
• Fadak (Barajin)
• Mellat
• Al-Ghadir
• Afarinesh

• Proma Hypermarket
• Refah Chain Stores Co.

Qazvin is served by Qazvin railway station.

Qazvin is a well-known city because of its famous athletes. The city has highly focused on athletic teams along recent years. Techmash is a basketball team which entered Iranian Basketball Super League in 2013.

There have been an abundance of scientists and mystics who lived in Qazvin, or came from Qazvin, whose tombs are scattered throughout the cities and villages of the province. These include:

• Pre-Modern time:
  • Ibn Majah, author of the last of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims.
  • Hamdollah Mostowfi, the great Il-Khanid historian and writer.
  • Ubayd Zakani, famous 14th-century poet noted for his satire and obscene verses.

• Modern time:
  • Yousef Alikhani: contemporary fiction writer and researcher.
  • Azizi family: a well-known family that originates from Qazvin such as Sheikh Ahmad Azizi, his tomb is in Peighambariyeh, his great-grandson Mr Hadi Azizi, Dr Sadegh Pirooz AZIZI, Mr Ahmad Azizi former Minister of Foreign Affairs 1997- 2005 and Abolghasem Azizi.
  • Ali Akbar Dehkhoda: prominent linguist and author of Iran''s first modern Persian dictionary.
  • Jamal Karimi-Rad, former Minister of Justice (2005–06).
  • Abdul Hossein Darki, doctor.
  • Hadi Mirmiran: architect.
  • Mojabi family: a prominent family that originates from Qazvin including Javad Mojabi and Zohreh Mojabi.
  • Molla Khalil Ibn Ghazi Qazvini: famous faqih (religious jurist) and commentator of the Qur''an in the Safavid period (d. 1678).
  • Aref Qazvini: poet, lyricist, and musician.
  • Ra''ees ol-Mojahedin: The late Mirza Hassan Sheikh al-Islam, son of Mirza Masoud Sheikh al-Islam, leader of the liberals and constitutionalists of Qazvin.
  • Shahid-Saless, killed in 1846. The third religious leader after Imam Ali who was murdered during prayer.
  • Kázim-i-Samandar: a famous follower of Bahaullah.
  • Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Famous Iranian artist and collector of folk art.
  • Táhirih: influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith.
  • Nasser Takmil Homayoun: a contemporary historian.
  • Nasser Yeganeh: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1975–79).

• Notable people buried in Qazvin:
  • Uwais Qarni, a celebrity of early Islam, thought to have been killed here while fighting against an army of Deilamian origin.
  • Ahmad Ghazali, famous Iranian sufi who died in 1126 CE and was buried beside Shahzadeh Hossein.
  • Ali Ibn Shäzän.
  • Shahzadeh Hossein, a c9C CE Shiite saint.

Tags:Abu Saeed, Alborz, Anatolia, Arabic, Aref Qazvini, Asia, Asia Minor, Azad, Beheshti, Bijar, British, Caspian, Caspian Sea, Chehelsotoon, Christ, Dating, Dehkhoda, Fars, Fatemeh, Ferdowsi, Hossein Khan, Hulagu, Ibn, Imam, Imam Ali, Imam Khomeini, Iran, Iranian, Iranian architecture, Iran–Iraq War, Iraq, Isfahan, Islam, Islamic, Islamic Azad University, Jame, Jewish, Khan, Khomeini, Madrasa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, Mirza, Mojahedin, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Muslim, Pahlavi, Persia, Persian, Persian Empire, Persian Gulf, Qajar, Qazvin, Reza Shah, Russian, Safavid, Sassanid, Shah, Shah Tahmasp, Sheikh, Shiite, Sunni, Tabriz, Tahmasp, Tehran, Website, Wikipedia

See Also:Caspian