Description : Qazvin (Persian: قزوین, also Romanized as Qazvīn, Caspin, Qazwin or Ghazvin) 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 (1555-1598) and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran. It is famous for its Baghlava, carpet patterns, poets, political newspaper and Pahlavi influence on its accent. At the 2011 census, its population was 381,598. The city was a capital of the Persian Empire under Safavids in 1548–1598. It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout history. The earliest remains of prehistoric humans have been discovered in a cave called Qaleh Kurd where archaeologists discovered a Neanderthal tooth. Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages. The city today known as Qazvin is thought to have been founded by Shapur II, King of Persia in 350 CE, under the name Shad Shahpur (shad can be read as 'happy'), when he built a fortification there to control regional tensions. Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at major moments of Iranian history. It was captured by invading Arabs (644 AD) and destroyed by Hulagu Khan (13th century). After the Ottoman capture of Tabriz, Shah Tahmasp (1524–1576) made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire (founded in 1501 AD), a status that Qazvin retained for half a century until Shah Abbas I moved the capital to Isfahan. In 1210 the city was damaged by the forces of Kingdom of Georgia sent by Tamar the Great, as per the retribution for destroying Georgian-controlled Ani by the Muslim forces that left 12,000 Christians dead.
See on map »