Learn About History Of Urmia Before You Take A Trip To Iran
History of Urmia shows that it was a prominent town by 9th century
. Located on the Shahar Chay river, it accounts for a substantial population of Iran. Before you take a trip to Iran, you can find out that this city mainly consists of Azerbaijani and Kurdish people with Assyrian Christian and Armenian people among the minorities.
The town is a part of the fertile Urmia plain and shares its western border with Turkey. The place is well known for its abundance of fruits like apples and grapes with tobacco being a famous crop.
Christian Base
You can learn from history of Urmia that this city was won by the Seljuk Turks in 1184 with the Ottoman Turks also attacking it many times after that. The first US Christian mission in Iran had its center in this place in 1835. Christians dominated the population but by 1918, most of them had left the city. The town is known for its ancient heritage that traces back to the civilizations in the antiquity.
Excavations in the area have thrown up many interesting pieces of utensils which were mostly used in 2000 BC. Research has also confirmed that villages existed in this region in 2000 BC when this place was under the Van nation.
Ancient Mounds
Studies have revealed that in the olden times, the west side of Urmia lake was named Gilzan and it had its own administration in the 9th century BC. A century later, the place came under the Asuzh government which in turn came under the Median empire. Thus, this region was a prominent place in the prehistoric times as is obvious from history of Urmia. You can also find many ancient hills in this region like Gouy Tapeh which dates back to the same period as the hills in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau.
Birthplace of Zoroaster
History of Urmia also reveals that this place has been credited as being the birthplace of prophet Zoroaster. Some Zoroastrian priests have also been buried in this place. These priests are believed to have gone to Bethlehem for the birth of Christ. Thus, this area is a well known religious center of its times as will be obvious when you take a trip to Iran.