Urmia - History

History

Urmia is one of the historic ancient cities in Iran with Assyrian origins. Urmia is an Assyrian word which means Town of Water or Cradle of Water. The excavations of the ancient ruins near Urmia led to the discovery of utensils that date back to 2000 years B.C.. According to Vladimir Minorsky, there have been villages in the Urmia plain some 2000 years B.C., with their civilization under the influence of Van nation.

In the ancient times, the west bank of Urmia lake was called Gilzan, and in the ninth century B.C. an independent government ruled there which later joined the Urartu or Mana empire; in the eighth century B.C., the area was a vassal of the Asuzh government until it joined the Median Empire after its formation.

All and all, according to historical documents, the western part of the Urmia Lake has been a center of attention of the prehistoric nations, the evidence of which are the numerous ancient hills in the area, such as Gouy Tapeh, 6 kilometers southeast of the lake which competes with the oldest hills of Mesopotamia, Asia the Minor, and the Iranian Plateau.

The claim that the area was the birthplace of Zoroaster (this is disputed because most experts agree Zoroaster was most likely born in the eastern part of Greater Iran), or even the burial site of one or two of the Zoroastrian priests who allegedly traveled to Bethlehem for Christ’s birth indicate that the city has been one of the largest religious and scientific centers of the ancient times.

Some historians claimed that Urmia was a birthplace of Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrian religion. The Columbia Encyclopedia mentions that Urmia was an important town in the region during the 9th century.

The Ottoman Turks made several incursions into the city, but the Safavids were soon able to regain control over the area. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795.

Due to the presence of substantial Christian minority at the end of the 19th century, Urmia was also chosen as a site of the first American Christian mission in Iran in 1835. Another mission soon became operational in nearby Tabriz as well.

During the 19th century, the region became the center of a short lived Assyrian renaissance with many books and newspapers being published in Syriac. Urmia was also the seat of a Chaldean diocese. Most of Urmia's Christian population was however massacred by the Ottomans during the First World War. The survivors have mostly settled in the United States.