Qazvin Province (, Ostān-e Qazvīn) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the northwest of the country, with the city of Qazvin as its capital. The province was created in 1993 out of part of Tehran province. At the time of the National Census of 2006, the population of the province was 1,127,734 in 294,305 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1,201,565 inhabitants living in 352,472 households, of whom 68.05% lived in cities and 31.95% in villages. By the time of the most recent census in 2016, the population had risen to 1,273,761 people in 397,165 households.
The province was made a part of Region 1 upon the division of the provinces into 5 regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014.
The majority of people in the northeast of the province, in Alamut, are Mazandarani or Gilaks who speak a dialect of the Mazandarani or Gilaki language. However, other sources claim that the majority of people in Alamut are ‘Tats’.
History
Qazvin was the location of a former capital of the Persian Empire and contains over 2000 architectural and archeological sites. It is a provincial capital today that has been a cultural center of mass throughout history.
Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal the existence of urban agricultural settlements as far back as 7000 BC. The name “Qazvin” or “Kasbin” is derived from Cas, an ancient tribe that lived south of the Caspian Sea millennia ago. The Caspian Sea itself in fact derives its name from the same origin. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages.
Qazvin has been a hotbed of historical developments in Iranian history. In the early years of the Islamic era Qazvin served as a base for the Arab forces. Destroyed by Genghis Khan (13th century), the Safavid monarchs made Qazvin the capital of the Safavid empire in 1548 only to have it moved to Isfahan in 1598. During the Qajar dynasty and contemporary period, Qazvin has always been one of the most important governmental centers due to its proximity to Tehran. Abbas Mirza, a Crown Prince and Minister of Commerce, was also the governor of Qazvin.
Qazvin is situated close to Alamut, where the famous Hasan-i Sabbah, founder of the secret Ismaili order of the Assassins, operated from.
Qazvin is where the coup d'état of General Reza Khan, with his Russian-trained Cossack brigade, was launched from – which led to the founding of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1921.
1962 Buin Zahra earthquake killed 12.225 people.
Geography
The province covers 15821 km2 between 48–45 to 50–50 east of Greenwich Meridian of longitude and 35–37 to 36–45 north latitude of the equator. The province is bounded on the north by Mazandaran and Gilan, on the west by Hamedan and Zanjan, on the south by Markazi and on the east by Tehran Provinces.
The famous mountains of the province are those of Siälän, Shäh Alborz, Khashchäl, Sephidkouh, Shojä e din, Alehtareh, Rämand, Ägh dägh, Kharaghän, Saridagh, Soltan pïr, and Siähkouh, in which Siälän with a height of 4175m and Shäh Alborz which is 4056m are the highest. All are part of the central chain of Alborz. The lowest point of the province is in Tärom e Soflä.
Climate
The climate of the province in the northern parts is cold and snowy in winters and temperate in summers. In the southern parts the climate is mild with comparatively cold winters and warm summers.
Administrative divisions
Cities
According to the 2016 census, 952,149 people (nearly 75% of the population of Qazvin province) live in the following cities: Abgarm 6,336, Abyek 60,107, Alvand 93,836, Ardak 5,043, Avaj 5,142, Bidestan 18,060, Buin Zahra 20,823, Danesfahan 9,434, Eqbaliyeh 55,066, Esfarvarin 12,371, Khak-e Ali 3,148, Khorramdasht 6,554, Kuhin 1,411, Mahmudabad Nemuneh 21,982, Moallem Kalayeh 2,223, Mohammadiyeh 90,513, Narjeh 5,604, Qazvin 402,748, Razmian 1,253, Sagzabad 5,492, Shal 15,290, Sharifiyeh 20,347, Sirdan 805, Takestan 80,299, and Ziaabad 8,262.
Main sights
Qazvin contains several archeological excavations dating back 9000 years ago. There are also 23 castles from the Ismaili Assassins nearby as well. And in the middle of the city, there lies the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area.
Qazvin contains few buildings from the Safavi era when it was capital of Persia. Perhaps the most famous of the surviving edifices is the Ali Qapu mansion, today a museum in central Qazvin.