Urmia
BW
Urmia (Persian ارومیه, Orūmīyeh; Azerbaijani Urmu, Urumiyə, Urmiye, worm ); ( kurd.: Wirme, Urmiya; Syriac: ܐ ܘ ܪ ܡ ܝ ܐ ) meanwhile also Rezaieh or Rezaiyeh ( رضائیه ) called, is a city in northwestern Iran. The capital of West Azerbaijan province is located on the western shore of Lake Urmia about 800 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital Tehran.
In the 1996 census, Urmia had 435 200 inhabitants. In 2006, the population was estimated at 623 143 and reproduced by calculation with 667 499 2010. The population considered themselves mostly as Azerbaijanis. There are also Kurds, Persians and Christian Armenians and Assyrians Chaldo (also called Aram ), belonging to different Syrian churches, especially the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.
The name Urmia is derived from the Syriac -Aramaic words for for " city " and mia for " water " and means city on the water.
Urmia is a university location of the Islamic Azad University, the Institute is internationally known for agriculture. The city lies in a fertile area, are grown in the fruit such as apples or tobacco. 15 km north is the Urmia Airport.
Many centuries belonged Urmia the various Iranian dynasties until the Oghuz conquered the area in the 11th century. 1184 the Seljuk Turks conquered the city. The Ottomans controlled the city several times.
Churches and religious history
The birthplace of Zoroaster, the founder of the ancient Persian Zoroastrian religion, was, according to some reports in the near Urmia; but this is controversial.
At least since the 12th century seat of Christian Urmia ( arch) bishops of the " Church of the East ". 1835 Christian- Protestant mission was established by Americans, and later a Catholic of the Vincentians. With their help, the regional re -Syrian dialect became the literary language.
The city was attacked in 1880 by the Kurdish leader Sheikh Ubeydallah.
The Christians of various confessions made in 1900 over 40 % of the city population. During the First World War troops committed from the Ottoman Empire with Kurdish and Iranian support massacres of Christian civilians. The Bishop of Rome working for the independent " Church of the East " in Urmia Mar Dinkha Tis lost his life on 23 February 1915. In July 1918, the Chaldean Bishop Thomas Audo, the papal delegate Jacques -Emile Sontag and many more were killed, abducted or forced to flee. Just returned or were added, so that Christians today form a religious minority. The Archdiocese of Urmia Salamas the Chaldean Catholic Church exists to the present day (about 4,500 believers ). The bishopric of Urmia united with the Russian Orthodox Church Assyrians perished.