View source for Place:Qazvin

{{Short description|City in Qazvin province, Iran}}


{{Infobox settlement
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|official_name          = Qazvin
|native_name            = {{lang|fa|قزوین}} 
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|other_name             = Minoodar, Razhia, Arsas
|image_skyline          = Ghazvin logo3.tif
|image_caption    = '''Left''': Chahel Stoun Palace, Aminiha Hosseiniyeh, Anthropology Qajar Bath Musume, Tomb of Hamdollah Mostofi, '''Right''': Shazdeh Hosein Shrine, Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh, Qazvin Ghadim Gate, Qazvin Jameh Mosque, Al-Nabi Mosque of Qazvin (all items are from above to bottom)
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|motto                  = Mirror of History & Natural of Iran
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|subdivision_name1      = Qazvin
|subdivision_name2      = Qazvin
|subdivision_name3      = Central
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|government_type        = City Council
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|leader_name            = Mehdi Sabbaghi<ref>https://www.isna.ir/news/1400072517832</ref>
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|elevation_m            = 1278
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|population_as_of                = 2016
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|area_code              = 028
|website                = {{URL|www.qazvin.ir}}
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|timezone               = [[Iran Standard Time|IRST]]
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'''Qazvin''' ({{IPAc-en|k|æ|z|ˈ|v|iː|n}}; {{lang-fa|قزوین}}, {{IPA-fa|ɢæzˈviːn|IPA|Qazvin.ogg}}, also [[Social:Romanization|Romanized]] as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is a city in the Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, [[Religion:Iran|Iran]], serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district.<ref name="Zanjan Province">{{cite web |title = Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of elements and units of country divisions of Zanjan province, centered in Zanjan city |language = fa |website = Lamtakam |url = https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113027 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231216213100/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113027 |publisher = Ministry of Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council |last = Habibi |first = Hassan |archive-date = 16 December 2023 |date = 7 July 1369 |access-date = 16 December 2023}}</ref> It is the largest city in Qazvin province.

Qazvin was a capital of the Safavid dynasty for over forty years (1555–1598) and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran. It is famous for its traditional confectioneries (like baghlava), carpet patterns, poets, political newspaper and [[Social:Middle Persian|Pahlavi]] influence on its accent.

At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821 in 96,420 households.<ref name="2006 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006) | page = 26 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = AMAR | url = http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/26.xls | access-date = 25 September 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110920090740/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/26.xls | format = Excel | archive-date = 20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 381,598 people in 114,662 households.<ref name="2011 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011) | page = 26 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = Syracuse University | url = https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Qazvin.xls | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230119221156/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Qazvin.xls |archive-date = 19 January 2023| access-date = 19 December 2022 | format = Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census showed a population of 402,748 people in 127,154 households.<ref name="2016 census">{{cite web | title = Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016) | page = 26 | language = fa | publisher = The Statistical Center of Iran | website = AMAR | url = https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_26.xlsx | access-date = 19 December 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211130193527/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_26.xlsx | format = Excel | archive-date = 30 November 2021}}</ref>

Located in {{convert|150|km|abbr=on}} northwest of [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]], in the Qazvin Province, it is at an altitude of about {{convert|1800|m|-2|abbr=on}} above sea level. Due to its position at the south of the rugged Alborz range called KTS Atabakiyam, its climate is cold but dry.

==History==
Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at major moments of Iranian history. It was captured by invading Arabs (644 AD) and destroyed by Hulagu Khan (13th century). In 1555, after the Ottoman capture of [[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]], Shah Tahmasp (1524–1576) made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire, a status that Qazvin retained for half a century until Shah Abbas I moved the capital to Isfahan in 1598.<ref name="LPIran">''Iran'' (5th ed., 2008), by Andrew Burke and Mark Elliott, [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/previews/iran-5-history-preview.pdf p. 28] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607152838/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/previews/iran-5-history-preview.pdf |date=7 June 2011 }}, Lonely Planet Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-74104-293-1}}</ref> It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout its history.

Qazvin is located at a crossroad connecting [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]], [[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]], and the Caspian Sea region, which has historically been a major factor in its commercial importance.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> However, it never rivalled other major Iranian cities like Ray, Nishapur, or [[Place:Isfahan|Isfahan]] during the Middle Ages.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> One reason is that its growth is constrained by a lack of water.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Until fairly recently, the entire Qazvin plain was irrigated by just a single [[Engineering:Qanat|qanat]] and four small streams.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978">{{cite book |last1=Lambton |first1=Ann K.S. |last2=Hillenbrand |first2=R.M. |editor1-last=Van Donzel |editor1-first=E. |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=B. |editor3-last=Pellat |editor3-first=Ch. |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume IV (IRAN-KHA) |date=1978 |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-05745-5 |pages=857–63 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/volume-5/Volume%204/page/862/mode/2up |access-date=8 April 2022 |chapter=ḲAZWĪN}}</ref>

=== Prehistory ===
The earliest remains of prehistoric humans have been discovered in a cave called Qaleh Kurd where archaeologists discovered a Neanderthal tooth.<ref>https://irdb.nii.ac.jp/en/01249/0002908121 QALEH KURD CAVE: A MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC SITE ON THE WESTERN BORDERS OF THE IRANIAN CENTRAL PLATEAU</ref> Archaeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia.{{fact|date=December 2023}}

=== Sasanian era ===
Qazvin was founded by Shapur I ({{reign|240|270}}), the second ruler of the Sasanian Empire. It was refounded by Shapur II ({{reign|309|379}}),{{sfn|Lambton|Hillenbrand|2002|p=857}} who established a coin mint there.{{sfn|Badiyi|2020|p=211}} Under the Sasanians, Qazvin functioned as a frontier town against the neighbouring Daylamites, who made incursions into the place.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>{{sfn|Lambton|Hillenbrand|2002|p=858}}

=== Early Islamic dynasties ===
Qazvin came under the expanding [[Place:Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun Caliphate]] in 644, during the reign of Umar.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> It was taken by Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, who besieged the city and received a request for a ''[[Religion:Sulh|sulh]]'' (agreement) from its inhabitants.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> They were offered the same terms as Abhar had earlier, but the people of Qazvin did not want to pay [[Religion:Jizya|jizya]] and supposedly accepted [[Religion:Islam|Islam]] instead.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Al-Bara' then used Qazvin as a base for further campaigns into Daylam and Gilan.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Later, when Sa'id ibn al-'As was appointed governor of Persia under the [[Place:Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]], he built a new town called Hājjāj at Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Two more new cities were founded at Qazvin during the late 8th century.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The [[Place:Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] caliph Musa al-Hadi founded a new city called Mādina Mūsā next to Hājjāj.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He bought nearby Rustamābād and designated it as a [[Religion:Waqf|waqf]] for the benefit of the new town.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> His freedman Mubarak, a Turk, also founded a new town at Qazvin in 792/3 (176 AH), called Mubarakābād after himself.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Harun al-Rashid visited Qazvin while on his way to [[Place:Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and saw firsthand the locals' struggles as a result of the Daylamite raids.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> At the same time, he was impressed by their efforts to fend off the Daylamites.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Harun suspended Qazvin from having to pay the ''[[Religion:Kharaj|kharaj]]'' tax and instead ordered an annual payment of 10,000 silver [[Dirham|dirham]]s.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He had a wall constructed around the new cities of Mādina Mūsā and Mubarakābād and also built a congregational mosque in the city, and he endowed several buildings as a waqf to support the mosque.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The mosque no longer exists today.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Harun's wall was not completed until 868, over half a century after his death.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>{{refn|group=note|It was completed by Musa ibn Bugha al-Kabir.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>}} It had 206 towers and 12 gates and was built out of mud brick except for the battlements and gates.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> When it was finished, more people began to settle in Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Its population was heavily Arab during this time.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin remained an important frontier town during the wars between the Abbasid caliphate and the Alid rulers of the Caspian.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The caliph al-Mu'tasim appointed Fakhr al-Dawla Abu Mansur Kufi as governor of Qazvin around 838; he remained governor for the next 40 years.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> For a couple of years around 865/6, the Alids under Hasan ibn al-Bakir took control of Qazvin, and Fakhr al-Dawla continued to serve as governor under them.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin briefly came under Samanid rule in 905/6 (293 AH) when Ilyas ibn Ahmad became governor.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The next year, though, the governorship passed to Fakhr al-Dawla Abu Ali, an ancestor of Hamdallah Mustawfi, and he served as governor for the next 27 years.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 913/4 (301 AH) Qazvin was put under Ali ibn al-Muqtadir along with Ray, Dinavar, [[Place:Zanjan, Iran|Zanjan]], Abhar, and Tarom.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

In 916/7 (304 AH), Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He was defeated by Asfar ibn Shiruya, who made himself ruler of the whole region between [[Place:Tabaristan|Tabaristan]] and [[Place:Gorgan|Gorgan]] and [[Place:Qom|Qom]] and [[Place:Hamadan|Hamadan]].<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 927/8 (315 AH) Qazvin was the site of a battle between Asfar and an army sent by the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir against him.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The people of Qazvin assisted the Abbasid army, but Asfar won the battle.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> As punishment for siding against him, Asfar destroyed parts of the city, killed many of its inhabitants, and imposed monetary demands on the city.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

After Asfar's death, the Buyid ruler Rukn al-Dawla took control of Qazvin, and it remained part of Buyid territory for over a hundred years.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> There was rioting in the city in 968/9 (358 AH) and the Buyid vizier Abu'-Fath Ali ibn Muhammad was sent to restore order.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> When that was done, he imposed a fine of 1,200,000 dirhams on the city.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

=== Ghaznavids, Seljuks, and Khwarazmshahs ===
Qazvin came under Ghaznavid control in 1030 (421 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Around 1033/4 (424 AH), Abu Ali Muhammad Ja'fari became governor of Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He and his sons continued to hold power in Qazvin for almost 60 years.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The last of these sons, Fakhr ul-Ma'ali Sharafshah, died in 1091 or 1092 (484 AH) and was survived by one daughter.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/><ref name="Lambton 1939"/> He was extremely wealthy and he and his followers owned most of the land in the area.<ref name="Lambton 1939"/> The annual income from his landed estates was said to be 366,000 gold dinars.<ref name="Lambton 1939">{{cite book |last1=Lambton |first1=Ann K.S. |title=Contributions to the Study of Seljūq Institutions |date=1939 |pages=11, 21, 23, 137, 224, 234, 288, 299, 316, 379 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33716/1/11010488.pdf |access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref>

In 1038/9 (430 AH), along with an alliance of the Ghuzz, the Daylamite ruler Fanna Khusraw came to Qazvin after already sacking Ray the year before.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The locals bought them off for a sum of 7,000 dinars.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Later in 1042/3 (434 AH), the Seljuk sultan Tughril besieged Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton 1939"/> In 1046 Qazvin was visited by Nasir-i Khusraw, who left the following account:<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

[[File:Gonbad masjed jame.jpg|thumb|left|The dome chamber of the Jameh mosque is the oldest structure in Qazvin, dating from the early 1100s.]]
{{Blockquote
| text      = It had many gardens, without walls or thorn-hedges or any obstacle to prevent entry into them. I saw it to be a good city. It had a strong wall and embattlements. It had good bazaars, except that it only had a little water from one ''[[Engineering:Qanat|kariz]]''... The ''ra'is'' of the town was an 'Alid. Of all the crafts in the town, the shoe-makers (''kafshgar'') were the most numerous.
| author    = Nasir-i Khusraw
| title     = Safarnama
| source    = translation by C. Schefer<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>
| character =
| multiline =
| class     =
| style     =
}}

Under the Seljuks, Qazvin appears to have formed part of the central territory around the capital in [[Place:Isfahan|Isfahan]] that was more or less directly ruled by the sultans, who were able to levy taxes and appoint governors here.<ref name="Lambton 1939"/> However, despite Qazvin's position close to the Isma'ili strongholds like Alamut, the Seljuks do not seem to have considered it an important governorship to be given to an important amir.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> After the death of the last Ja'fari ruler of Qazvin, Malikshah appointed Imad ud-Dawla Turan ibn Alfaqash as governor of Qazvin and instructed him to transfer his household and possessions there so that he would be more invested in its governance.<ref name="Lambton 1939"/> Later, in 1118/9 (512 AH), Sanjar assigned Qazvin to the future Tughril II along with other territories.<ref name="Lambton 1939"/> In terms of religion, Seljuk-era Qazvin was mostly Sunni, although it did have a Shi'i quarter.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

The oldest known structure in Qazvin that still exists is the dome chamber of the city's Jameh mosque, which according to its inscription was built from 1106 to 1114 (500-508 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Its patron was the amir Abu Mansur Khumartash ibn Abd Allah al-'Imadi.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> It was built adjoining an earlier [[Engineering:Madrasa|madrasa]] that was itself built in the 10th century by the ''sahib'' Isma'il ibn Abbad.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The 13th-century writer Zakariya Qazvini wrote that the dome was "unparalleled anywhere" in size; he wrote that "the masons despaired of vaulting such a huge space until a passing boy suggested that they fill the interior with straw".<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> According to Hamdallah Mustawfi, two iwans were added to the mosque in 1153 (548 AH); the present-day north iwan is Seljuk in style and may be one of them.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The present-day mosque mostly dates from the Safavid and Qajar periods; it is one of the largest mosques in Iran.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Another early monument is the Heydariyeh Mosque, which was probably built a few years after the Jameh mosque.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Its original function is unclear; it could have been either a mosque or a madrasa.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> It features a very early use of glazed ornamentation.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> A unique architectural style emerged in Seljuk-era Qazvin that influenced architecture in surrounding regions, such as the mosques at Sojas and Ghorveh.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Not long after the Isma'ilis established themselves at Alamut, Abu'l-Mahasin Ruyani persuaded the Qazvinis to have anyone coming from the direction of Alamut to be out to death, to prevent people from developing sympathies for the enemy after spending time with them.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1129 (423 AH) the Isma'ilis killed about 400 people in Qazvin in retaliation for their envoy being killed in Isfahan.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Under the grandmaster Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid (1138–62) the Isma'ilis conducted raids against Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1165 (560 AH) the Isma'ilis of Rudbar built a fortress very close to Qazvin, which threatened the city.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1176 (572 AH), the city's walls were rebuilt by the Seljuk vizier Sadr al-Din al-Maraghi.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin later came under the Khwarazmshahs.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Isma'ili raids continued during this period.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> When Jalal al-Din Hasan III succeeded as Isma'ili imam in 1210 (607 AH) he claimed to have converted to Sunni Islam and took the name "Naw-Musalmān" meaning "New Muslim".<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The people of Qazvin were skeptical and demanded proof, and he obliged by inviting some of Qazvin's leading men to Alamut Castle where he publicly burned Isma'ili texts for them to see.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Also in 1210, the city was damaged by the forces of [[History:Kingdom of Georgia|Kingdom of Georgia]] sent by Tamar the Great, as per the retribution for destroying Georgian-controlled Ani by the Muslim forces that left 12,000 Christians dead.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mikaberidze |first=Alexander |date=2011 |title=Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjQfo3a1eVMC |location=Santa Barbara, California, USA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=196 |isbn=978-1598843361}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=L. Baker |first1=Patricia |last2=Smith |first2=Hilary |last3=Oleynik |first3=Maria |date=2014 |title=Iran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0bAgAAQBAJ |location=London, United Kingdom |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |page=158 |isbn=978-1841624020}}</ref>

=== The Mongols ===
Meanwhile, a new threat was looming – the Mongols.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin changed hands several times during their wars with the Khwarazmshahs, and in 1220 (617 AH) the Mongols massacred the city's inhabitants.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

It was under the Mongols that there was large-scale Turkic migration into the Qazvin area.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Although at least some must have settled there during Seljuk times, it was during the Mongols that they started coming in larger numbers.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Several prominent Turkic families established themselves in Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> One of them was the Būlātmūriyān, who first came during the rule of Ögedei when their member Amir Takash was appointed ''[[Religion:Shihna|shihna]]'' or military governor of Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Another was the Qarāvulān, who acquired large landed estates but had already lost their prominence by the time of Hamdallah Mustawfi.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> However, most of the main families at his time still traced their roots back to an Arab founder.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The religion was mostly Sunni of the Shafi'i ''[[Religion:Madhhab|madhhab]]'', although there were Shi'i and Hanafi Sunni minorities.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

[[File:M.qazvin6.jpg|thumb|left|Tomb of Hamdallah Mustawfi, built in the 14th century]]
Mangu Qa'an appointed Iftikhar al-Din Muhammad al-Bukhari as governor of Qazvin in 1253/4 (651 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Iftikhar al-Din learned Mongolian and translated the ''Kalila wa-Dimna'' into Mongolian.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He and his brother Imam al-Din Yahya remained in office until 1278/9 (677 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin suffered during the tumultuous period preceding Ghazan Khan's rise to power in 1295.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Many people left the town, to the point that Hamdallah Mustawfi wrote that Friday prayers could not be performed.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He also mentioned Mongol reappropriation of waqf land in nearby Pishkildarra.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

At the end of Uljaytu's reign Qazvin became administered by Husam al-Din Amir Umar Shirazi and the mustawfi Hajji Fakhr al-Din Ahmad.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> When Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan took over in 1316, he assigned the income from Qazvin to cover the expenses of his mother's household.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

After the fall of the Ilkhanate, Qazvin had an uneventful history until the beginning of the Safavid Empire.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

=== Safavid rule ===
[[File:Tahmasb-1.jpg|thumb|right|Shah Tahmasp I (1524–1576) made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire.]]
From its beginnings under Ismail I, the Safavid state had key frontiers in [[Place:Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]], with the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]], and in Khorasan with the Uzbek tribes led by the Shaybanids.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Because of Qazvin's central location on the road between these two regions, its strategic importance increased under the Safavids.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1555, after temporarily losing his original capital of [[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]] to the Ottomans, Tahmasp I moved his capital to the more secure location of Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin remained capital until Abbas I moved the capital to Isfahan about half a century later.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> While it was the capital, Qazvin bore the title ''dār al-salṭana''.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Like many other cities in Iran, Qazvin became divided into Haydari and Ne'mati factions during the Safavid period.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The Italian traveller Vicento d'Alessandri visited Qazvin during the reign of Tahmasp I and reported that 4 of Qazvin's districts belonged to one group and 5 belonged to the other, and the two had been hostile to one another for at least 30 years by that point with frequent conflicts between the two.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Widespread public conversion to Twelver Shi'ism probably took place during the early Safavid period, but many people probably secretly remained Sunnis for some time.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The Nuqqawi heresy spread to Qazvin during the reign of Tahmasp I.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The local leader was Darvīsh Khusrāw, who came from a family of ''muqanni''s (qanat builders) and had associated with the Nuqqawis for a while before returning to Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The [[Religion:Ulama|ulama]], concerned with his growing popularity, charged him with heresy and banned him from the mosque where he had been living at.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> After Tahmasp's death, he returned to preaching, but he was eventually charged with heresy again and executed in 1593/4 (1002 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin was also a mercantile center during this period.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> There was an increase in European merchants coming through southern Russia, and in 1561 Anthony Jenkinson noted the presence of merchants from India as well.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The English merchant Arthur Edwards made several trips to Qazvin for the Muscovy Company; he wrote in 1567 that it was a producer of velvet and other goods but not as high in quality as elsewhere, and in 1569 he wrote that there were many spices sold in its markets but again they were not as good as elsewhere, and they went for such a high price that buying them here would be unprofitable.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

After Tahmasp's death, Turkoman rebels seized Qazvin and installed his son Tahmasp Mirza as a puppet ruler in the city for a while.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In the spring of 1596, Hamza Mirza marched on Qazvin and overthrew the Turkomans.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin appears to have emerged relatively unscathed from this drama – Don Juan of Persia, who visited the city soon after, described it as large and prosperous.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He wrote that it had over 100,000 heads of households, or upwards of 450,000 people in total, with over 500 mosques and a "sumptuous" palace quarter.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> A member of Anthony Shirley's entourage, which arrived in Qazvin in December 1598, was less enthusiastic and wrote that it was an unremarkable city except for a few mosques and the palace gate; he estimated its population as a somewhat smaller than [[Place:London|London]]'s.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

In 1607, the Catholic priest Paul Simon wrote that Qazvin, though no longer the capital, was still a large city rivalling Isfahan in size.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He said it was an important commercial destination for silks, carpets, and brocades.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Pietro della Valle, who visited Qazvin in 1618, was not very impressed with the city and wrote that it had "nothing to satisfy the expectations of a royal residence".<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Thomas Herbert, writing in 1627, said Qazvin was "equal for grandeur to any other city in the Persian Empire", except for Isfahan, and estimated its population at 200,000.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> About a  decade later, Adam Olearius offered a lower estimate of 100,000 people.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1674, Jean Chardin visited Qazvin, and he wrote that its walls were in ruins by that time and it had lost its grandeur.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He estimated that it had 12,000 houses and 100,000 people.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> He wrote that there were "a great many merchants in Qazvin, but not many rich ones" and commented on its shoe-makers, who he said made "the best shoes in the whole country" out of shagreen and coming in green, white, and other colors.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> There were also artisans who made gilded horse saddles and bows.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

[[File:چهل ستون، قزوین.jpg|thumb|left|The Chehel Sotun pavilion formed part of the Safavid palace complex in Qazvin.]]
There was an outbreak of [[Medicine:Plague (disease)|plague]] in Qazvin in 1635/6 (1045 AH).<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

The original Safavid palace complex is located at what is now the city's maidan or central square.<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> Two parts of this now survive: the Chehel Sotun pavilion, which now hosts the Qazvin museum, and the monumental Ali Qapu portal which now serves as the city's police headquarters.<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> The palace complex was probably originally at the northern end of the city - earlier monuments are all to the south and west - but over time the city expanded to the north and the palace precinct ended up in the center of the later Safavid city.<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> This probably happened after the royal court moved to Isfahan under Abbas I in 1596/7 (1005 AH).<ref name="Kleiss 1990">{{cite web |last1=Kleiss |first1=Wolfram |title=ČEHEL SOTŪN, QAZVIN |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cehel-sotun-qazvin-a-safavid-pavilion-that-stands-amid-gardens-in-the-central-meydan-square-of-the-old-city-and-in-w |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref>

The Chehel Sotun pavilion is typically attributed to Tahmasp I, although this is not confirmed because there is no inscription.<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> Shah Ismail II was enthroned here in 1576, with a grand reception held in its main hall on 22 August of that year.<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> Mohammad Khodabandeh was probably also enthroned here, and Abbas I was also enthroned here in 1587/8 (996 AH).<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/>

After Shah Abbas moved the capital to Isfahan in 1596/7 (1005 AH),<ref name="Kleiss 1990"/> Qazvin did not become a provincial capital.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Instead, it was governed by a ''wazir'', ''darugha'', kalantar, and ''mustawfi'' appointed directly by the central government.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin only became a provincial capital during the latter part of Shah Soltan Hosayn's rule in the early 1700s.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Based on the small contingent assigned to its governor - 300 soldiers - it does not seem to have been considered an important province.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

The tumultuous final years of the Safavid dynasty had a negative impact on Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Its population decreased, which was at least partly because of a decline in commerce.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In 1722, Qazvin surrendered to an Afghan force of 6,000 soldiers under Aman Allah Khan, but in January 1723 there was a popular uprising (or ''lūṭibāzār'') against them in all quarters of the city, led by the kalantars.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The Afghans lost 2,000 men and were forced to retreat to Isfahan.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Then in 1726, Qazvin surrendered to the Ottomans on the condition that the Ottomans would not send troops to the city - which the Ottomans promptly disregarded and sent 12,000 troops along with their appointed governor Ali Pasha.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The troops were soon driven out of Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Writing in 1744, the English travller Jonas Hanway wrote that a Persian merchant had told him that there had formerly been 12,000 houses in Qazvin, but by then there were only 1,100.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

=== Qajar era ===
[[File:Caravanserai-i-Shah , Qazvin by Eugène Flandin.jpg|thumb|Caravanserai-i-Shah, Qazvin by Eugène Flandin]]
By the beginning of the 19th century, Qazvin was again starting to flourish as a center of trade.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Commercial traffic on the Caspian Sea was growing, and Qazvin was one of the main centers of activity – in the words of one traveller in 1801, it was "the mart of all the commerce of the Caspian".<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin's importance as a commercial ''entrepôt'' was helped by the fact that it lay at a three-way crossroads: it connected [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]], the new Qajar capital; Tabriz, "the second city of the empire", and the important Caspian port of Anzali.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Qazvin was manufacturing velvets, brocades, and cotton cloth.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> In an 1841 report, the British diplomat Keith Edward Abbott wrote that Qazvin was commercially as important as Tehran.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Mirza Husayn Farahani, who visited Qazvin in 1884, wrote that it was divided into 17 districts and had 600 shops, 8 caravanserais, 40 mosques, 9 madrasas, and 12 yakhchals.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Its walls were in ruins but 12 gates were still standing.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

This increase in commercial importance does not seem to have been accompanied by an increase in population, although it's hard to tell for sure because contemporary estimates were not necessarily based on the same criteria.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> James Justinian Morier and William Ouseley in the early 1800s both gave an estimate of 25,000 people.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> The census taken from 1880 to 1882 gave a population of 64,362 for Qazvin.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Farahani in 1884 wrote that Qazvin had 30,000 people in about 7,000 households.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> George Curzon wrote that Qazvin's population was said to be 40,000 in 1889, but he wrote that its actual population was probably no more than 2/3 of that.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>
[[File:سر_در_آستان_مقدس_چهار_انبیا_در_قزوین.jpg|thumb|left|Peighambariyeh, burial place of four Jewish saints: Salam, Solum, al-Qiya, and Sohuli.]]

In the middle of the century, the Babi movement had one of its centers here and the first massacre of Babis occurred in Qazvin in 1847.<ref>[http://www.momen.org/relstud/qazvin.htm Baha'i History of Qazvin<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In the second half of the 19th century Qazvin was one of the centers of Russian presence in northern Iran. A detachment of the Persian Cossack Brigade under Russian officers was stationed here. From 1893 this was the headquarters of the Russian Company for Road construction in Persia which connected Qazvin by roads to Tehran and Hamadan. The company built a hospital and the St. Nicolas Church.

=== 20th century to present ===
[[File:Qazvin tejarat tower.jpg|thumb|right|Tejarat Tower]]
In 1920 Qazvin was used as a base for the [[Place:British Empire|British]] Norperforce.<ref name="Haldane">{{Citation |publisher = The Imperial War Museum in association with The Battery Press |isbn = 1904897169 |ol = 22727753M |location = London |title = The insurrection in Mesopotamia, 1920 |author = Haldane, J. Aylmer L. Sir |date = 2005 |oclc = 60688896 |id = 1904897169}}</ref> The 1921 Persian coup d'état that led to the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty was launched from Qazvin.

During the reign of [[Biography:Reza Shah|Reza Shah]], Qazvin declined in importance as a commercial center as communications improved.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/> Many merchants and other residents moved to Tehran.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

On 1 September 1962, an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale struck Qazvin, killing more than 12,000 people.<ref>M. Berberian, ‘The 1962 Earthquake and Earlier Deformations among the Ipak Earthquake Fault’, Geological Survey of Iran 39 (1976): 419–27</ref> The earthquake occurred shortly before Israeli Minister of Agriculture, Moshe Dayan, was scheduled to visit Iran in mid-September for meetings with the Shah and with his Iranian counterpart, in order to discuss Israel's possible role in the White Revolution, a plan for land reform and the modernization of rural Iran.<ref>Ervand Abrahamian, Iran between Two Revolutions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982), 424–25.</ref> Shortly after the earthquake, two planning experts were sent from Israel to assist with Iranian relief activities. After touring the region and meeting with the Iranian minister in charge of relief efforts, they were assigned to rebuild the village of Khuznin, located in the center of the Qazvin region. Other teams, both Iranian and foreign, had also arrived in the region to offer assistance and expertise in the reconstruction activities. Each team was assigned one or more villages for planning and rebuilding. Over the course of three months, the Israeli team built hundreds of houses in the village that they had been allocated.<ref>Feniger, N. and Kallus, R. (2016), ‘Expertise in the Name of Diplomacy: The Israeli Plan for Rebuilding the Qazvin Region, Iran’, International Journal of Islamic Architecture, 5: 1, pp. 103–134, doi: 10.1386/ijia.5.1.103_1</ref>

In 1963, the Qazvin Development Authority was established to develop the agriculture and water resources of Qazvin and its surroundings.<ref name="Lambton Hillebrand 1978"/>

Qazvin became a state in 1996. On 15 July 2009 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashed near Qazvin.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|date=|title=ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154M EP-CPG Qazvin|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20090715-0|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-04|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref> In Autumn 2015 portions of Qazvin were struck by a [[Astronomy:Meteorite|meteorite]].<ref>[http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/08/02/large-meteorite-impacts-iran-causing-serious-damage-to-qazvin-numerous-towns-affected/ Large meteorite impacts Iran causing serious damage to Qazvin, numerous towns affected<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==People==

The majority of the people of the city of Qazvin are Persians. The majority language is [[Social:Persian language|Persian]] with a Qazvini accent.<ref name="qazvin.irib.ir">[http://qazvin.irib.ir/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=83 The official Media from Qazvin- 10 February-2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102164256/http://qazvin.irib.ir/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=83 |date=2 November 2013 }}</ref> Azerbaijanis and Tats are the other ethnic groups of the city of Qazvin.<ref>Tats of Iran and Caucasus, Ali Abdoli, 2010.</ref> They speak [[Social:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] and [[Social:Tati language (Iran)|Tati]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.iranbotschaft.com/ger/Iran_prov_Qazvin.htm |title=Qazvin |access-date=7 January 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103203/http://www.iranbotschaft.com/ger/Iran_prov_Qazvin.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> And most of the villages of Qazvin are Azerbaijani and speak [[Social:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani language]].<ref>[https://qazvin.ostan-qz.ir/content/ostan/farmandari/2988/14609 Qazvin Governorate]</ref><ref>[https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alamut-valley-alborz-northeast-of-qazvin- iranicaonline: On the Qazvīn plain, most of the villages are Turkish]</ref>

==Climate==
Qazvin has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ([[Earth:Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate classification]] ''Csa'').
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Ghazvin (1959-2010)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y

|Jan high C = 5.8
|Feb high C = 8.4
|Mar high C = 14.1
|Apr high C = 20.2
|May high C = 26.0
|Jun high C = 32.4
|Jul high C = 35.5
|Aug high C = 34.9
|Sep high C = 30.9
|Oct high C = 23.5
|Nov high C = 15.2
|Dec high C = 8.5

|Jan mean C =  0.7
|Feb mean C =  2.9
|Mar mean C =  7.9
|Apr mean C = 13.4
|May mean C = 18.2
|Jun mean C = 23.5
|Jul mean C = 26.5
|Aug mean C = 26.0
|Sep mean C = 21.9
|Oct mean C = 15.8
|Nov mean C =  9.0
|Dec mean C =  3.4

|Jan low C = −4.3
|Feb low C = −2.6
|Mar low C =  1.6
|Apr low C =  6.5
|May low C = 10.4
|Jun low C = 14.6
|Jul low C = 17.6
|Aug low C = 17.1
|Sep low C = 12.9
|Oct low C = 8.1
|Nov low C = 2.8
|Dec low C = −1.6

|Jan record low C = -24.0
|Feb record low C = -19.0
|Mar record low C = -13.0
|Apr record low C = -7.0
|May record low C = -0.2
|Jun record low C = 6.0
|Jul record low C = 9.0
|Aug record low C = 8.0
|Sep record low C = 3.0
|Oct record low C = -3.0
|Nov record low C = -10.3
|Dec record low C = -19.0

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 40.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 40.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 51.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 48.6
|May precipitation mm = 32.7
|Jun precipitation mm =  5.1
|Jul precipitation mm =  2.0
|Aug precipitation mm =  1.6
|Sep precipitation mm =  1.1
|Oct precipitation mm = 18.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 31.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 41.3

|Jan precipitation days = 10.5
|Feb precipitation days = 10.1
|Mar precipitation days = 13.3
|Apr precipitation days = 13.3
|May precipitation days = 12.7
|Jun precipitation days =  4.5
|Jul precipitation days =  2.4
|Aug precipitation days =  2.3
|Sep precipitation days =  2.0
|Oct precipitation days =  7.7
|Nov precipitation days =  7.9
|Dec precipitation days =  9.7

|source 1 =[https://irimo.ir]
}}

==Main sights==
Qazvin contains several archeological excavations. In the middle of the city lie the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

Qazvin contains several buildings from the Safavid era, dating to the period in which it was capital of Persia. A well known of the surviving edifices is the Chehel sotoun, Qazvin,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.isna.ir/news/97032712432/Architecture-of-water-supply-to-Chehel-Sotoun-studied|title=Architecture of water supply to Chehel Sotoun studied|date=2018-06-17|website=ISNA|language=en|access-date=2020-03-14}}</ref> today a museum in central Qazvin.
[[File:Nabi_Mosque_in_QAZVIN.jpg|thumb|right|Entrance of Masjed al-Nabi, Qazvin]]
[[File:Exterior_of_Imamzade_Hoseyn_Shrine_-_Qazvin_-_Northwestern_Iran_(7418393126).jpg|thumb|Salaamgaah, Qazvin]]
[[File:Irán (RPS 12-10-2019) rezando en la mezquita de Qazvin.jpg|thumb|Woman praying in a mosque in Qazvin]]
In the Islamic era, the popularity of mystics (tasawwuf), as well as the prominence of tradition ([[Religion:Hadith|Hadith]]), religious jurisprudence ([[Religion:Fiqh|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&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>, 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nooraghayee.com/en/ |title=Arash Nooraghayee |access-date=2010-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213141036/http://nooraghayee.com/en/ |archive-date=2010-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2005/October/Qazvin/4.html iranian.com: Nima Kasraie, Qazvin water reservoirs]</ref><ref>[http://payvand.com/news/05/sep/1056.html Peighambarieh Mausoleum in Qazvin: Burial place of Israeli prophets]</ref>
*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; a {{Circa|15th century}} shrine to a {{Circa|9th century}} Shiite saint.
*Aminiha Hosseiniyeh
[[File:Caravanserai_of_Sa'd_al-Saltaneh_1.jpg|thumb|The Qajar-era Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh]]
[[File:Kantur_Church_Qazvin.jpg|thumb|The Russian Church of Qazvin today sits adjacent to the campus of Islamic Azad University of Qazvin.]]
[[File:40 stoun 3.jpg|thumb|Chehel sotoun, Qazvin]]
[[File:Chaldean Catholic Church of Hazrat Maryam in Qazvin.jpg|thumb|Chaldean Catholic Church of Hazrat-e Maryam]]
[[File:سردرعالی قاپو.jpg|thumb|Qazvin monumental Ali Qapu gate to the Safavid palace complex]]
About {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} 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, 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.

Sepah Street (خیابان سپه , pronounced "Cepah" referring to ancient Persian army and not the revolutionary guards pronounced "Sepaah") is known as the first modern street in Iran. This street entirely is carpeted with carved gray stone and is surrounded by craftsmen gift shops (used to be bars or bygone liquorshops, called May'kadeh) and hosts historical places such as Qazvin's Ali Qapu gate, entrance of Jame' Atiq mosque and historical schools.

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) and a water reservoir. St. Nicholas church was built in 1904 by the Russian Company for Roads in Persia which had its headquarter here. The church was in use until being decommissioned in 1984 because the community of Russian emigres in Qazvin did not exist any more. The iconostasis and bell was removed to Tehran and the building handed over to the Iranian government which keeps it available to the public as a historic monument. In front of the church is a 1906 memorial to a Russian road engineer.<ref>[http://rus-church.ae/Pictures/Iran/russkaya-cerkov-iran.pdf РУССКАЯ ПРАВОСЛАВНАЯ ЦЕРКОВЬ В ПЕРСИИ – ИРАНЕ (1597–2001 гг.) Игумен Александр (Заркешев) Санкт-Петербург 2002 – Russian Orthodox Church in Persia-Iran 1597–2001, by abbot Alexander Zarkeshev, St Peterburg 2002, pp 70f and 110] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210115906/http://rus-church.ae/Pictures/Iran/russkaya-cerkov-iran.pdf |date=10 December 2014 }}; the church is sometimes referred to as "Kantur" church from the name of the area where it stands</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Hamame_qajar.jpg|thumb|right|Qajar Bathhouse]]
[[File:Qazvinjangtahmili.jpg|thumb|right|A memorial of the many Qazvinis who died during the revolution of Iran and during the Iran–Iraq War.]]
Qazvin today is a center of textile trade, including [[Biology:Cotton|cotton]], [[Chemistry:Silk|silk]] and velvet, in addition to leather. It is on the railroad line and the [[Engineering:Highway|highway]] between Tehran and [[Place:Tabriz|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.

===Colleges and universities===
Qazvin has several institutes of higher education:

*[[Organization:Imam Khomeini International University|Imam Khomeini International University]]
*Islamic Azad University of Qazvin<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.qiau.ac.ir/ |title=qiau.ac.ir |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=8 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908033018/http://www.qiau.ac.ir/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Payam-e-Nur University of Qazvin
*[[Organization:Qazvin University of Medical Sciences|Qazvin University of Medical Sciences]]
*Raja University<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://raja.ac.ir/ |title=Raja University |access-date=2020-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006170310/http://www.raja.ac.ir/ |archive-date=2017-10-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Shahid Babaee Technical Institute<ref>[http://www.afshbq.ac.ir afshbq.ac.ir]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212190233/http://www.afshbq.ac.ir/ |date=12 December 2004 }}</ref>
*Kar University<ref>[http://www.kar.ac.ir kar.ac.ir]</ref>
*Parsian Higher Education Institute
*Dehkhoda University<ref>[http://www.adi.ac.ir/index.php/contact-us adi.ac.ir]</ref>
*Ghazali University<ref>[http://www.ghazali.ac.ir/ ghazali.ac.ir]</ref>
*Mir-Emad Higher Education Institute
*Darolfonoun University
*Allameh Ghazvini University<ref>[http://www.allamehghazvini.ac.ir/ allamehghazvini.ac.ir]</ref>

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

===Shopping complexes===
*City Star in Khayam Street
*Ferdowsi in Ferdowsi Street
*Iranian in Adl Street
*Narvan in Ferdowsi Street
*Noor in Felestin Street
*Meh ro mah Bouali Street
*Alghadir on South Khayam Street
*Alavi on Taleghani Street

===Bridges===
* Naderi
* Molasadra
* Ertebatat
* Persian Gulf (Khalij Fars)
* Abotorabi
* Nasr
* Motahari
* Imam Ali
* Rajaei

===Famous hotels===
* Alborz
*Safir
*Mir Emad
*Iranian
*behrouzi historical house
* Iran
* Marmar
* Razhia
* Ghods(closed)
* Grand Hotel, Qazvin
* Noizar
* Minno
*Sina (new)

===Major parks===
* Shohada
* Dehkhoda
* Beheshti
* Fadak (Barajin)
* Mellat
* Al-Ghadir
* Afarinesh
*Molla Khalila

===Hypermarkets===
* Proma Hypermarket (closed) HyperKeeper is new Brand.
* Refah Chain Stores Co 
* Kourosh chain stores in several city blocks
* Janbo chain stores
* Ferdowsi supermarket in Adl sq.
* Haft (7) Chain stores
* Talaei’yeh Minoudar Supermarket
** noor shopping mall hyper market * easy to access near city center

==Transportation==
* Qazvin railway station
* Qazvin Airport
* Qazvin Eastern Bus terminal
* [https://terminali.ir سامانه هوشمند اجاره اتوبوس و مینی بوس] https://terminali.ir
* Qazvin southwestern terminal (Takestan & Hamedan)

==Sport==
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. Shams Azar is the local football team, playing in the Persian Gulf Pro League (First division).{{cn|date=January 2023}}

==Notable people==
[[File:بنای_امامزاده_شاهزاده_حسین.jpg|thumb|right|Shazdeh Hosein Shrine]]
[[File:Shazdeh_Hosein_shrine,_Qazvin_(28466375537).jpg|thumb|right|Interior of Shazdeh Hosein Shrine]]

===Pre-modern times===
*Ibn Majah, author of the last of the six canonical ''[[Religion:Hadith|hadith]]'' collections recognized by Sunni Muslims
*Hamdollah Mostowfi: the great Il-Khanid historian and writer
*Zakariya Qazvini: 13th-century writer, cosmographer, and geographer
*[[Biography:Ubayd Zakani|Ubayd Zakani]]: famous 8th-century poet noted for his satire and obscene verses
*Mir Emad Hassani: famous Nasta'liq calligrapher
*Darvish Ablulmajid: famous Shekaste Nasta'liq calligrapher
*Mirza Mohammad-Reza Qazvini: Persian envoy of the Franco-Persian alliance

===Modern times===
*Yousef Alikhani: contemporary fiction writer and researcher
*Azizi family: a well-known family that originates from Qazvin includes |Sheikh Ahmad Azizi] who is buried in Peighambariyeh shrine, known research and medical doctor Dr. Sadegh Pirooz Azizi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2005 Mr. Ahmad Azizi, hadi Azizi and Abolghasem Azizi.
*Ali Akbar Dehkhoda: prominent linguist and author of Iran's first modern [[Social:Persian language|Persian]] dictionary
*Abdul Hossein Darki: doctor
*Goharshad Ghazvini, Persian calligrapher
*Jamal Karimi-Rad: former Minister of Justice (2005–2006).
*Hadi Mirmiran: architect
*Shirin Neshat: Famous contemporary Iranian artist
*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 [[Biography:Baháʼu'lláh|Baháʼu'lláh]], The Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith
*Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Famous contemporary Iranian artist
*Táhirih: influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith
*Nasser Takmil Homayoun: contemporary historian
*Nasser Yeganeh: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1975–79)
*Haj seyed Javadi: politician in the early 1980s
*Abbas Babaei:  Brigadier General in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
*Alireza Jahanbakhsh: professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Feyenoord and the Iranian national team.
*Varoujan Hakhbandian: Armenian-Iranian composer

===Buried in Qazvin===
*Uwais Qarni: celebrity of early Islam, thought to have been killed here while fighting against an army of Deilamian origin{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
*Ahmad Ghazali: famous Iranian sufi who died in 1126 CE and was buried beside Shahzadeh Hossein
*Ali Ibn Shazan: great scholar of the fifth century
*Shahzadeh Hossein: Shiite saint
*Abbas Babaei

==Twin towns and cities==
[[File:MesjedKoucheekKazvin.jpg|thumb|Mesjed Koucheek, Qazvin, in 1921; nowadays Shazdeh Hosein Shrine]]
*{{flagicon|PRT}} Évora, Portugal (2016)
*{{flagicon|LBN}} [[Place:Baalbek|Baalbek]], Lebanon (2015)
*{{flagicon|KGZ}} [[Place:Bishkek|Bishkek]], Kyrgyzstan (2011)
*{{flagicon|TUR}} Denizli, Turkey (2012)
*{{flagicon|MYS}} [[Place:Shah Alam|Shah Alam]], Malaysia (2011)

==See also==
*Caspians
*List of famous ab anbars of Qazvin
*Qazwini (disambiguation), a personal name meaning "from Qazwin"
*List of governors of Qazvin

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite journal |last1=Badiyi|first1=Bahram| title=Cities and Mint Centers Founded by the Sasanians |journal= Ancient Iranian Numismatics |date=2020|pages=203–233|url=https://www.academia.edu/42852764|url-access=registration}}
* {{EI2|last=Lambton|first=A.K.S.|last2=Hillenbrand|first2=R.|volume=11|title=Zand̲j̲ān|pages=446–447|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/zandjan-SIM_8117}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Qazvin}}
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.2622,50.0169&spn=0.048061,0.112850&t=k&iwloc=A Satellite Picture by Google Maps]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090625224619/http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IR/27/Qazvin.html FallingRain Map – elevation = 1285 m (Red dots are railways)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160308230202/http://qazvin.ir/web/guest/229=qazvin towers profile]
*[http://www.irantaste.com/go-qazvin-tehran-bus-taxi-train/ How to go to Qazvin from Tehran? (Bus, Taxi or Train)]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=Capital of Iran (Persia)| before=[[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]]|after=[[Place:Isfahan|Isfahan]]|years=1555–1598}}
{{Succession box|title=Capital of Safavid dynasty| before=[[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]]|after=[[Place:Isfahan|Isfahan]]|years=1555–1598}}
{{S-end}}









[[Category:Iranian provincial capitals]]




{{Sourceattribution|Qazvin}}