Khoy - WikiHQ

Khoy () is a city in the Central District of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Occupied since Median times, it shares a long history as an important Christian center.

History

Khoy was named in ancient times for the salt mines that made it an important spur of the Silk Route. In 714 BC, Sargon II passed the region of which Khoy is part of in a campaign against Urartu.

In 1210, the city was conquered by the forces of Kingdom of Georgia sent by Tamar the Great under the command of Zakaria and Ivane Mkhargrdzeli. This was a response to the sacking of Georgian-controlled Ani which occurred in 1208 and left 12,000 Christians dead.

The city was ruled over by Malika, wife of Jalal al-Din Mangburni after his conquest of the city in the late 1220s.

Modern period

thumb|right|Gold coin of [[Karim Khan Zand, struck at the Khoy mint, dated 1779]]

In the wake of the demise of the Safavids, the Ottomans took Khoy on 6 May 1724, a territorial gain which was confirmed with Imperial Russia through the Treaty of Constantinople (1724).

Until 1828, Khoy had a large number of Armenians; however, the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), gave the Russians the right to encourage Armenians to immigrate into the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, a small Armenian population remained living in Khoy. This was noted by an American missionary in 1834. He noted further that in the villages around Khoy there were a few more, but the vast majority had migrated to the North of the Aras river following Russia's victory over Persia in 1828 and the encouraged settling in the newly incorporated Russian regions of Eastern Armenia. The following census in 2011 counted 200,958 people in 57,149 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 198,845 people in 59,964 households.

Geography

Location

Khoy is north of the province's capital and largest city Urmia, and 807 km north-west to Tehran. The region's economy is based on agriculture, particularly the production of fruit, grain, and timber. Khoy is nicknamed as the Sunflower city of Iran. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 178,708, with an estimated 2012 population of 200,985. Khoy is largely populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, except for the residents of the western edge of Khoy, who are mostly Kurds; The majority of the population (more than 90%) subscribes to the Shiite sect of Islam. The Kurds of this less, who live mostly in a nomadic way as opposed to the mostly settled Azerbaijanis, are largely Sunni and are composed of two independent tribes, Shakkak and Jalali.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as cold semi-arid (BSk).

Highest recorded temperature: on 26 July 2020<br>Lowest recorded temperature: on 24 January 1964 (snow and sleet days 1981-2010)

| source 2 = IRIMO(extremes 1959-2010) Meteomanz(since 2021)

Sights

Khoy is well known for the tomb of Shams Tabrizi, renowned Iranian poet and mystic.

thumb|[[Ghotour Bridge - railway bridge Khoy]]

thumb|Tomb of Shams Tabrizi 9

File:Khoy city.iran.jpg|

File:Khoy city center in iran country.jpg|city center square

File:Iran bazar khoy.jpg|Khoy bazaar

File:Khaneh_kabiri_khoy4.jpg|historical Kabiri House in Khoy

File:Plane & airport of khoy.JPG|Khoy Airport

Image:Darvazeh sangi khoy.jpg|Stone gate of Khoy

Image:Khaneh kabiri khoy.jpg|Kabiri House

Image:Khaneh kabiri khoy2.jpg|Kabiri House

Image:Khaneh kabiri khoy3.jpg|Kabiri House

Image:Khoybridge.jpg|Ghotour Bridge

Image:Khoybridge2.jpg|Ghotour Bridge

Image:Mahlezan church.jpg|Mahlezan church

Image:Serkis Khoy.jpg|Serkis

Image:Shamseddine tabrizi tower khoy.jpg|Tomb of Shams Tabrizi

Image:Shamstower.jpg|Tomb of Shams Tabrizi

File:Stone gate of Khoy.JPG|Stone gate of Khoy

</gallery>

Notable places

Tomb of Shams Tabrizi, Shams Tabrizi Tower
Bastam and Bolourabad Castles
Khatoon Bridge
Old Stone Gate
Old Bazaar
Motallebkhan Mosque
Mount Avrin
Ghotour Iron Bridge
Surp Sarkis Church
Pourya-ye Vali

Notable natives

For a complete list see: :Category:People from Khoy

File:Nasreddin (17th-century miniature).jpg|Mullah Nasreddin, satirical Sufi.

File:JahanShah1.JPG|Jahan Shah, was the leader of the Kara Koyunlu oghuz Turks tribal federation in Azerbaijan and Arran.

File:Jaleh Amouzgar.JPG|Jaleh Amouzgar, is an Iranologist and a university professor.

File:Behrouz Vossoughi.jpg|Behrouz Vossoughi, is an Iranian actor.

File:Shahindokht Molaverdi 2018.jpg|Shahindokht Molaverdi is an academic, feminist, jurist, scholar, and former vice president of Iran and aide to the President of Iran.