Information AboutQazvin (city) |
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Qazvin ( in Iran with an estimated population of 331,409 in 2005. {Link without Title} INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY Qazvin (historically also rendered as '''Kazvin''', '''Kasvin''', and '''Casbin''' in the West) is a City in Iran , some 90 km (60 miles) northwest of Tehran , in Qazvin Province . It is at an altitude of about 1800 meters above Sea Level , and is a city with a cool but dry climate being south of the rugged Alborz range. The city was the location of a former capital of the Persian Empire and contains over 2000 architectural and archeological sites. It is a provincial capital today that has been a cultural center of mass throughout history. Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. The name “Qazvin” or “Kasbin” is derived from Cas, an ancient tribe which lived south of the Caspian Sea a thousand years ago. The Caspian Sea itself in fact derives its name from the same origin. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor , hence its strategic location throughout the ages. However the city today known as Qazvin is thought to have been probably founded by Shapur II , King of Persia in 250 CE, under the name Shad Shahpur, when he built a fortification there to control regional tensions. Qazvin has been a hotbed of historical developments in Iranian history: Captured by invading Arabs ( 644 AD) and destroyed by Genghis Khan ( 13th Century ), the Safavid monarchs made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire in 1548 only to have it moved to Isfahan in 1598 . Hasan-i Sabbah established the headquarters of the Hashshashin at the nearby fortress of Alamut about 1090 . Bombed and occupied by Russia n forces in both World Wars, Qazvin is also where the famous coup d’etat was launched from that led to the rise of the first Pahlavi Dynasty in 1921 . QAZVINI ARCHITECTURE Qazvin contains several archeological excavations dating back 9000 years ago. There are also 23 castles from the Ismaili Assassins nearby as well. And in the middle of the city, there lies the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh , one of several Sassanide edifices in the area. Qazvin contains few buildings from the Safavid era when it was capital of Persia. Perhaps the most famous of the surviving edifices is the ''Ali Qapu mansion'', today a museum in central Qazvin. After Islam, the abundant attendance of mystics ( Tasawwuf ), as well as the prevalence of tradition ( Hadith ), religious jurisprudence ( Fiqh ), and philosophy in Qazvin, led to the emergence of many mosques and religious schools among which the most magnificent ones are:
Qazvin actually contains three buildings built by The Russians in the late 19th/early 20th century. Among these is the current Mayor's office (former Ballet Hall), a water reservoir, and the Cantor church where a Russian pilot is buried. According to explorers Pietro Della Valle (1588-1713), Jean Baptist Tavenier (1605-1689), Johannes Chardin (1643-1713), and others, there have been many Christians of various sects living in Qazvin for centuries. Qazvin is where The Saint Hripsime Church is located, and it is also where four Jewish prophets gave tidings of the arrival of Jesus Christ. Their tomb is now a popular shrine called ''Peighambariyeh''. Another attraction near Qazvin, is the tombs of two Saljuki era princes, ''Aboo Saeed Bijar'' son of Sad and ''Aboo Mansoor Iltai'' son of Takin, that are located in two separate towers known as the Kharaghan twin towers. Constructed in 1067, these are the first monuments in Islamic Architecture which include a non-conic two-layered dome. Unfortunately, both towers were severely damaged by a devastating earthquake on March 2003. |
Image:KharaghanjpgThe Kharaghan Twin Towers, Built In
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/1067" class="copylinks">1067 CE, Qazvin province |
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Image:Qazvin4JPGThe
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Jame'_Atiq_Mosque_of_Qazvin" class="copylinks">Qazvin Congregational ''Jame' Atiq'' Mosque dates back to 807CE, first built by Harun Al-Rashid |
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