Soltaniyeh (
Persian: سلطانيه), also
Romanized as Solţānīyeh, Solţāneyyeh, Sultaniye, and Sultānīyeh; also known as Sa‘īdīyeh,[3]) is a city in the
Central District of
Soltaniyeh County,
Zanjan province,
Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[4]
At the 2006 census, its population was 5,864 in 1,649 households, when it was in Soltaniyeh District of
Abhar County.[5] The following census in 2011 counted 7,116 people in 2,013 households.[6] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 7,638 people in 2,319 households,[2] by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment of Soltaniyeh County.[4]
History
Soltaniyeh, located some 240 kilometres (150 mi) to the north-west of
Tehran, was built as the capital of Mongol
Ilkhanid rulers of
Iran in the 14th century. Its name which refers to the
Islamic ruler title
sultan translates loosely as "the Regal". Soltaniyeh was visited by
Ruy González de Clavijo, who reported that the city was a hub of silk exportation.[7]
William Dalrymple notes that
Öljaitü intended Soltaniyeh to be "the largest and most magnificent city in the world" but that it "died with him" and is now "a deserted, crumbling spread of ruins."[8]
Guillaume Adam, O.P. (1322.10.06 – 1324.10.26); previously Archbishop of
Smirna (Smyrna) (Asian Turkey, now Izmir) (1318 – 1322.10.06); later Metropolitan Archbishop of
Bar (Montenegro) (1324.10.26 – death 1341)
Hatef Naiemie, Atri (2020). "The Ilkhanid City of Sultaniyya: Some Remarks on the Citadel and the Outer City". Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies: 1–30.
doi:
10.1080/05786967.2020.1744469.
^Soltaniyeh can be found at
GEOnet Names Server, at
this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3081931" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".