Zanjan, Iran

History

According to the Nuzhat al-Qulub of the 14th-century Iranian geographer Hamdallah Mustawfi (died after 1339/40), Zanjan was said to have been founded by the first Sasanian ruler Ardashir I (), who named it "Shahin." During the Arab invasion of Iran, Zanjan was conquered in 645 by a force led by al-Barra ibn Azib. Medieval geographers generally agree that Zanjan was located in the region of Jibal/Persian Iraq, near the frontier of the neighbouring region of Azerbaijan. Some geographers also include Zanjan as part of Daylam or Ray.

After 833, the Abbasid Caliphate had a chain of forts constructed from Zanjan to Ardabil to counter the 817–837 rebellion of the Khurramite leader Babak Khorramdin (died 838). In the 10th-century, Zanjan was ruled by local Daylamite dynasties such as the Musafirids (919–1062). According to the 13th-century Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (died 1229), the Persians referred the city as "Zangan." During the Ilkhanate era (1256–1335), the inhabitants were reported by Hamdallah Mustawfi to have spoken "pure Pahlavi" (pahlavī-e rāst), a Median or northern form of Persian.

One important moment in the history of the city was in 1851 when the city became a center for the suppressed Babi religious movement, along with Neyriz and a fortress known as Shaykh Tabarsi. The forces of the central government captured the Babi fort in Zanjan after a long siege on the orders of Grand Vizier (Prime Minister of Iran) Amir Kabir and killed or expelled the Bab's followers.

Before becoming the capital of the namesake Zanjan province, Zanjan was a county of the Gilan province.

2025–2026 Iranian protests

During the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, protesters in Zanjan chanted "Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be toppled this year".

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The population of Zanjan consists mostly of Iranian Azeris who are bilingual in Azerbaijani and Persian.

Approximately half of the population of Zanjan province lives in Zanjan city. In a 2017 study, researchers concluded that Azerbaijani-speaking families in the city display language shift to Persian.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 341,801 in 89,829 households. The following census in 2011 counted 386,851 people in 110,943 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 430,871 people in 132,469 households, making it the 20th largest city in Iran.

The city lies 298 km northwest of Tehran on the main highway to Tabriz and Turkey, and approximately 125 km from the Caspian Sea. It is about 20 km south of the Qaflankuh Mountain Range.

Geography

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, rainfed agriculture makes up around 42% of Zanjan's land cover and grasslands account for another 37%. The remainder is bareland, irrigated agriculture, forest, orchard and riverbanks. Only 1.07% of the land is urban development.

Climate

Zanjan has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with hot, dry summers and cold, moist winters, often with snowfall. Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls between October and May. On February 13, 2020, a temperature of −21.0 °C was recorded.

|Jan record high C = 18.1 |Feb record high C = 22.0 |Mar record high C = 27.2 |Apr record high C = 32.0 |May record high C = 33.3 |Jun record high C = 40.0 |Jul record high C = 40.5 |Aug record high C = 43.0 |Sep record high C = 37.0 |Oct record high C = 30.0 |Nov record high C = 24.0 |Dec record high C = 22.5 |Jan record low C = -30.0 |Feb record low C = -28.6 |Mar record low C = -19.6 |Apr record low C = -11.0 |May record low C = -5.0 |Jun record low C = 1.6 |Jul record low C = 5.4 |Aug record low C = 4.5 |Sep record low C = 0.0 |Oct record low C = -6.0 |Nov record low C = -15.2 |Dec record low C = -24.8

| Jan dew point C =-6.8 | Feb dew point C =-5.6 | Mar dew point C =-3.5 | Apr dew point C =0.7 | May dew point C =4.2 | Jun dew point C =5.9 | Jul dew point C =8.7 | Aug dew point C =7.7 | Sep dew point C =4.4 | Oct dew point C =1.7 | Nov dew point C =-1.5 | Dec dew point C =-4.7

Main sights in the city of Zanjan

Zanjan bazaar

Zanjan's bazaar is a public marketplace that started in Agha Mohammadkhan Ghajar-era in 1784 CE, and completed in 1792 CE during the Fath-Ali Shah-era. Mosques and a bath were added later. This bazaar has 940 shops, which consist of two defined parts, namely Bazaar-e Bala (upper bazaar) and Bazaar-e Paieen (lower bazaar). Vendors are organized by their professions and commodities.

Jameh Mosque of Zanjan

The central mosque of Zanjan is Jameh Mosque of Zanjan, also known as the Seyyed Mosque (Masjid-e-Seyyed), this was constructed in 1826 during the Qajar-era, by one of Fath-Ali Shah's sons. This mosque was built in the old area of the city and it's the religious center of Zajan.

Saltmen museum at Zolfaghari House

It's built on Imam Street. This building holds six naturally preserved human remains called saltmen or “namaki”, which had been discovered in 1993 in the Chehrabad salt mines. These remains are originally from Achaemenian-era.

Tofighi’s building

Tofighi's building is related to last parts of Qajar-era and Pahlavi-era. It's built on Imam Street. It was a house of the greatest man of Zanjan that was mayor of city. This building has 2 floors and consists of a symmetrical form.

Match company

The Match company (3 stars match company) is related to Pahlavi-era and located on Safa street. It is the second company of city and constructed by Mahmud Shalchi, before the World War II. It has a brick chimney.

Dadamaan Hotel Zanjan

The old abbey was constructed 200 years ago in the area of Enghelab square which is the most central and oldest part of Zanjan. It initially served as a caravanserai and then for approx. 80 years it was the house of one of Zanjan's scholars, Sheikh Jalal Ashabi.

It had been uninhabited for 20 years after the passing of the Seikh from 1997. It began to be renovated in 2017 and now serves as a traditional hotel.

Sangi Caravanserai

The Sangi Caravanserai (stone caravanserai) is an ancient roadside inn, constructed in Safavi-era and was converted into a restaurant in the 1990s. It's a single story stone building that has four iwans (porches) and a ceiling that is arcuate.

Rakhtshooy Khaneh Edifice

The Rakhtshooy Khaneh Edifice is a historical wash-house and Iranian national heritage site, that is currently being used as Zanjan anthropological museum.

Industries

• Lead
• Zinc
• Pasteurized milk
• Chemical productions
• Weaving
• Cotton
• Food productions
• Transformer
• Electrical productions

Handicrafts

The most famous handicrafts are knives, charuq (a local style of women's shoes, similar to clodhopper shoes), filigree and gilding. Gilding is the one important art for decoration the books and calligraphies. Other handicrafts include coppersmithing, rug weaving and carpet weaving (including Kilim and Jajim style).

Colleges and universities

Zanjan is also home to several universities such as:

• University of Zanjan
• Zanjan University of Medical Sciences
• Islamic Azad University of Zanjan
• Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)

Sports

Zanjan is known for having one of the best indoor sport climbing walls in the Middle East, located in Enghelab sports complex. The facility also includes standard speed climbing walls. The city's football team is Shahrdari Zanjan F.C., who play in the 2nd Division.

Notable people

For a complete list see: :Category:People from Zanjan, Iran

• Syed Miran Hussain Zanjani, 11th century Sayyid Sufi mystic, who travelled to and settled in Lahore to preach Islam
• Shahab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi, Persian philosopher and founder of the Iranian school of Illuminationism, an important school in Islamic philosophy that drew upon Zoroastrian and Platonic ideas
• Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani, Iranian theologian, Islamic philosopher, writer and Grand marja of Islam
• Hujjat, early leader of the Bábí movement of 19th-century Persia
• Reza Mirkarimi, contemporary film writer, director, and producer
• Mousa Shubairi Zanjani, Iranian shia Marja
• Yousef Sobouti, contemporary Iranian theoretical physicist
• Mehdi Sohrabi, Iranian professional racing cyclist
• Amir Hatami, Iranian regular army (Artesh) officer with the rank of Brigadier general and the current minister of defense of Iran
• Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani, Iranian politician and cleric
• Saeid Mahdioun, Iranian fighter pilot
• Majid Shahriari, nuclear scientist and engineer who worked with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
• Jamileh Sheykhi, Iranian actress
• Said Matinpour, Iranian activist, journalist and ex-political prisoner
• Mirza Abutaleb Zanjani, Iranian jurist and Shia scholar
• Mohammad Ezodin Hosseini Zanjani, Iranian shia Marja
• Farah Ossouli, Iranian painter
• Jamshid Ansari, Iranian reformist politician
• Abdulkarim Zanjani, Shiite teacher
• Mohammad Yeganeh, Iranian economist who was the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran from 1973 to 1975
• Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Zanjani, Iranian shia Marja
• Reza Zanjani, Shia Iranian cleric
• Masoud Roghani Zanjani, Iranian academic, economist, scholar
• Fatemeh Rakeei, Iranian politician, linguist, poet
• Ali Shakouri-Rad, Iranian physician and reformist politician
• Mahsa Javar, Iranian competitive rower
• Mohsen Mohammadseifi, Iranian wushu athlete
• Abdul Karim Kho'ini Zanjani, Iranian scholar and cleric
• Ali Akbar Saremi, Iranian architect
• Mohammad Kiavash, Iranian politician
• Meisam Nassiri, Iranian freestyle wrestler
• Ebadollah S. Mahmoodian, retired professor of mathematics
• Hossein Monzavi, prominent Iranian poet
• Hossein Abedini, Iranian actor
• Ahmad Hakimipour, Iranian reformist politician
• Davoud Maleki, Iranian featherweight weightlifter
• Seyed Esmaeil Mousavi Zanjani, Iranian politician
• Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, university professor
• Narges Mohammadi, human rights activist and Nobel laureate File:Bayatzanjani2.jpg|Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani File:Grand Ayatollah Mousa Zanjani 5 (cropped).jpg|Mousa Shubairi Zanjani File:Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi 2019-04-25.jpg|Reza Mirkarimi File:Ali Akbar Saremi 2013 IAUCTB.jpg|Ali Akbar Saremi File:Prof.Yousef Sobouti by Mardetanha.jpg|Yousef Sobouti File:Mehdi-Sohrabi.jpg|Mehdi Sohrabi

Sister cities

• Turkey Trabzon, Turkey
• Malaysia Malacca, Malaysia

Gallery

File:Zanjan archaeology museum.jpg|Archaeology museum of Zanjan Image:Jame'h Mosque of Zanjan.jpg|Jeme'h Mosque of Zanjan Image:Bazaar zanjan01.jpg|Bazaar of Zanjan Image:Rakhtshurkahneh.jpg|Rakhtshur khaneh, (traditional laundry house of Qajar era, Zanjan's Museum of Anthropology) Image:Sakhteman markazi01.jpg|University of Zanjan Image:Soltaniyeh interiors.jpg|Soltaniyeh's tiles (interior designs)

Notes

References

Sources

References

1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)). (9 April 2025). "Zanjan, بخش مرکزی [Central District], Zanjan County, Zanjan Province, Iran".
2. "MFJX+6HC Zanjan, Zanjan Province, Iran".
3. {{GEOnet3. -3088976
4. Hassan. Habibi. fa. تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369/06/21 (Iranian Jalali calendar). (12 September 1990 ). link. fa. لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam]. {{lang. fa. ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. fa. کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board]. fa. شناسه [ID] 965C7B0D-32D4-4BC6-A126-65D28CD02436. {{lang. fa. شماره دوره [Course number] 69, {{lang. fa. شماره جلد [Volume number] 3.
5. "ایسنا - شادترين استانهاي ايران كدامند؟". isna.ir.
6. Abdu'l-Bahá, Edward Granville. "A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb", Published by Kalimat Press, 2004, {{ISBN. 1-890688-37-1, {{ISBN. 978-1-890688-37-0
7. (29 December 2025). "Nighttime chants against Khamenei in southern and northern Iran".
8. (2017). "Family language policy in the City of Zanjan: a city for the forlorn Azerbaijani". International Journal of Multilingualism.
9. fa. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. link
10. link. fa. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]
11. fa. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. link
12. "Zanjan Province - Land Cover Map".
13. . (February 13, 2020). ["40729: Zanjan (Iran)"](http://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=40729&ano=2020&mes=2&day=13&hora=0&min=0&ndays=30). *OGIMET*.
14. "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020: Zanjan". [[NOAA]].
15. (2015-05-04). "Zanjan Bazaar".
16. Rasaneh, Sirang. "Zanjan Jame' (Seyed) Mosque in Zanjan, Travel to IRAN".
17. (1998-12-01). "Caravanserai Sangi Registered as National Monument".
18. "Canning Town Caravanserai".
19. (2018-07-28). "Rakhtshooy Khaneh Historical Edifice in Iran's Zanjan".
20. Rasaneh, Sirang. "Handicrafts and Souvenirs of Zanjan in Zanjan, Travel to IRAN".
21. "تیم فوتبال"شهرداری زنجان"پیدا شد".
22. (2015-08-27). ""Cənubi Azərbaycanın Mandelası"". BBC Azərbaycanca.
23. (2013-09-29). "Zanjan sister Malacca, Malaysia".