Qazvīn

Qazvīn, city, capital of Qazvīn province, north-central Iran. The city sits in a wide, fertile plain at the southern foot of the Elburz Mountains.

Originally called Shad Shāhpūr, it was founded by the Sāsānian king Shāpūr I about 250 ce. It flourished in early Muslim times (7th century), serving as a base for Islamization, and was surrounded by strong fortifications by Hārūn al-Rashīd. Genghis Khan laid waste the city, but it revived under the Ṣafavids when Shāh Ṭahmāsp I (ruled 1524–1576) moved the capital from Tabrīz to Qazvīn. The city lost its eminence once again when ʿAbbās I (the Great; ruled 1588–1629) transferred the government to Eṣfahān in 1598. Nādir Shāh assumed the crown in Qazvīn shortly after his return from invading India in 1739 and before returning to Mashhad, then capital of Iran. Āghā Moḥammed Khān of the Qājār dynasty reestablished Qazvīn about 1796 as a major base for foreign trade with the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Asia Minor. Interference by Russia and Britain in the internal politics of Iran in the 19th century and the autocratic rule of the country resulted in unrest and the growth of a nationalist movement. The city fell to a nationalist force from Rasht in 1909. The British established a military headquarters in Qazvīn in the 1920s. A coup d’état was launched from Qazvīn in 1921 that led to Iran’s consolidation under Reza Shah Pahlavi. There were riots and fighting between the local people and the Iranian army during the Iranian Revolution in 1978–79.

Qazvīn is a regional communications centre, connected by road and rail with Tehrān and Tabrīz and by road with the Caspian Sea and Hamadan. Industries include cloth weaving, cotton ginning, wool carding, flour milling, food processing, and electrical equipment manufacturing. There is a thermoelectric plant, and a modern poultry-raising complex was developed with the help of the former Agricultural Development Bank of Iran. Buildings dating from the time of the Seljuq sultans include the Jāmiʿ Masjid (Friday Mosque); the Madrasah Haidariye, a square hall surmounted by a cupola; the tomb of Mostowfi, the Persian traveler; and the mosque of the shah. In the mountains about 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Qazvīn are the remains of a castle of the Assassins. Pop. (2006) 355,338.