"Zanjan" Zanjan by Behi

Zanjan is the capital of Zanjan Province in northwestern Iran. It lies 298 km northwest of Tehran on the main highway to Tabriz.

Zanjan is known for its beautiful handcrafts such as knives, traditional sandals called charoogh and malileh. Malileh is a handcraft made with silver wires.

Zanjan is Arabicized form of Zangan & means "People of Zand (=Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrian)

Rakhtshoi Khane

Existing evidences reveal human settlement in Zanjan province from the pre-historic period (7th mill. BC. till early 3rd mill. BC.)

The distinctive elements in this region portraying a thriving and progressive civilization in this central plateau of Iran(2nd & 3rd mill. BC.)

The evaluation of the black colored engravings on the buff or cream colored earthenware, reveals connections among the civilizations of the Damqan Hessar Hill, Sialk Hill & the Ijrud (Zanjan) civilizations.

In Assyrian documents, this region was called Andya in the 9th cent. BC.

In Ptolemy's Geography, the city is referred to as Aganzana.

It is said that the Sassanid king Ardashir I of Persia, reconstructed the city and called it Shahin. 3rd Cent.

It later was renamed to Zangan means "People of Zand (=Avesta) of which the present name is the arabicized form of Zangan.

This region thrived from economic, cultural and artistic point of view from the 11th to 14th Cent.

This territory was disheveled and ruined during the Mongol attack. 13th Cent.

Soltaniyeh was founded in this region as capital of Ilkhanid rulers of Persia in the 14th century.

During the invasion of Timur the Lame the Zanjan region fell to ruins 14th Cent.

It was only during the reigns of Shah Tahmasb Safavid in 16th Cent. & earlier in the reign of Mohammad Shah Qajar in 19th Cent., that this territory made relative advancement both culturally and economically.

Zanjan became the center of Babism along with Neyriz and other cities. The federal forces captured the babi's fort in Zanjan after a long siege in 1851.

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