32 Facts About Qazvin

Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran.

Qazvin was a capital of the Safavid dynasty for over forty years and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran.

Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at major moments of Iranian history.

Qazvin is located at a crossroads connecting Tehran, Tabriz, and the Caspian Sea region, which has historically been a major factor in its commercial importance.

Until fairly recently, the entire Qazvin plain was irrigated by just a single qanat and four small streams.

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Archaeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia.

Qazvin was founded by Shapur I, the second ruler of the Sasanian Empire.

Under the Sasanians, Qazvin functioned as a frontier town against the neighbouring Daylamites, who made incursions into the place.

Qazvin came under the expanding Rashidun Caliphate in 644, during the reign of Umar.

Qazvin bought nearby Rustamabad and designated it as a waqf for the benefit of the new town.

Qazvin had a wall constructed around the new cities of Madina Musa and Mubarakabad and built a congregational mosque in the city, and he endowed several buildings as a waqf to support the mosque.

Qazvin remained an important frontier town during the wars between the Abbasid caliphate and the Alid rulers of the Caspian.

Qazvin was defeated by Asfar ibn Shiruya, who made himself ruler of the whole region between Tabaristan and Gorgan and Qom and Hamadan.

The people of Qazvin assisted the Abbasid army, but Asfar won the battle.

Qazvin was extremely wealthy and he and his followers owned most of the land in the area.

In 1046 Qazvin was visited by Nasir-i Khusraw, who left the following account:.

Under the Seljuks, Qazvin appears to have formed part of the central territory around the capital in Isfahan that was more or less directly ruled by the sultans, who were able to levy taxes and appoint governors here.

In terms of religion, Seljuk-era Qazvin was mostly Sunni, although it did have a Shi'i quarter.

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.

Qazvin changed hands several times during their wars with the Khwarazmshahs, and in 1220 the Mongols massacred the city's inhabitants.

Qazvin suffered during the tumultuous period preceding Ghazan Khan's rise to power in 1295.

Qazvin mentioned Mongol reappropriation of waqf land in nearby Pishkildarra.

Qazvin remained capital until Abbas I moved the capital to Isfahan about half a century later.

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.

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.

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Qazvin said it was an important commercial destination for silks, carpets, and brocades.

Qazvin 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.

Qazvin only became a provincial capital during the latter part of Shah Soltan Hosayn's rule in the early 1700s.

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".

Qazvin contains several buildings from the Safavid era, dating to the period in which it was capital of Persia.

Qazvin today is a center of textile trade, including cotton, silk and velvet, in addition to leather.

Qazvin is a well-known city because of its famous athletes.