Soltaniyeh () is a city in the Central District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan province province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[ ]
History
Soltaniyeh, located some to the north-west of
Tehran, was built as the capital of Mongol
rulers of
Iran in the 14th century. Its name which refers to the
ruler title
sultan translates loosely as "the Regal". Soltaniyeh was visited by Ruy González de Clavijo, who reported that the city was a hub of silk exportation.
In 2005, UNESCO listed Soltaniyeh as one of the World Heritage Sites. The road from Zanjan to Soltaniyeh extends until it reaches to the Katale khor cave.
William Dalrymple notes that Öljaitü intended Soltaniyeh to be "the largest and most magnificent city in the world" but that it "died with him" and is now "a deserted, crumbling spread of ruins."
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 5,864 in 1,649 households,
[ ] when it was capital of the former Soltaniyeh District of
Abhar County.
[ ] The following census in 2011 counted 7,116 people in 2,013 households.
[ ] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 7,638 people in 2,319 households,
[ ] by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment of Soltaniyeh County. Soltaniyeh was transferred to the new Central District as the county's capital.
Ecclesiastical history
On 1 April 1318, due to the progress of the Persian missions of the
Dominican Order and
Franciscans, pope John XII established the
archdiocese of Soltania and separated it from the archdiocese of Khanbalik.
In 1329, the Latin Diocese of Samarcanda became its
suffragan for the
Chagatai Khanate, at least until
Tamerlane (founder of the Timurids) swept its see
Samarkand. The archdiocese was suppressed as residential see around 1450.
Residential archbishops
- Metropolitan Archbishops of Soltania
-
Francesco da Perugia, Dominican Order O.P. (1318.08.01 – ?)
-
Guillaume Adam, O.P. (1322.10.06 – 1324.10.26); previously Archbishop of Smirna (Smyrna) (Asian Turkey, now İzmir) (1318 – 1322.10.06); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Bar (Montenegro) (1324.10.26 – death 1341)
-
Giovanni di Cori, O.P. (1329.08.09 – ?)
-
Guglielmo, O.P. (? – ?)
-
Giovanni di Piacenza, O.P. (1349.01.09 – ?)
-
Tommaso, O.P. (1368.02.28 – ?)
-
Domenico Manfredi, O.P. (1388.08.18 – ?)
-
Giovanni di Gallofonte, O.P. (1398.08.26 – ?)
-
Nicolò Roberti (1401.01.24 – ?); previously Bishop of Ferrara (Italy) (1393.02.04 – 1401.01.24)
-
Thomas Abaraner, O.P. (1425.12.19 – ?)
-
Giovanni, O.P. (1425.12.19 – ?)
Titular see
Transformed at its suppression as residential see in 1450 into a Latin Titular archbishopric, which was itself suppressed in 1926:
-
Titular Bishop Francisco Salazar, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1548.09.12 – ?)
-
Titular Bishop: Bishop-elect Bernardino de Carmona (1551.07.10 – ?)
-
Titular Archbishop Alberto Bitter (1922.10.09 – 1926.12.19)
See also
-
Dome of Soltaniyeh
-
Ab Anbar
-
List of Catholic dioceses in Central Asia
-
Yakhchal
-
Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity, Iran]]
Notes
Sources and external links
http://sultaniyya.org/
Further reading
Notes
