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Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq.
The city lies at an altitude of above sea level along the Shahar River on the Urmia Plain. Lake Urmia, one of the world's largest , lies to the east of the city, and the border with Turkey lies to the west.
The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits (especially and ) and tobacco are grown. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.
An important town by the 9th century, the city has had a diverse population which has at times included Muslims ( and Sunni Islam), Christians (Catholics, Protestantism, Nestorians, and Orthodox), Jews, Baháʼís and Sufism. Around 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, in the next decades most of the Christians were either killed by the advancing Ottoman troops or in raids by Kurdish tribes or fled shortly after the end of the war.E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, M.ThHoutsma, p.1035, 1987
Urmia, Takab and Piranshahr respectively have the highest number of registered provincial sites in the list of national sites.
The name could also derive from the combination of the Syriac language words Ur (ܐܘܪ; a common name for cities around Mesopotamia, meaning "city") and Mia (), "City of Water" referring to the great Lake Urmia nearby. Compare Edessa, Ur of the Chaldees.
In his seyahatname, Evliya Çelebi referred to the city as Rûmiyye (), also mentioning that the Mongols called the city Urumiye (), Persians Rûmiyye-i Kübrâ (), and some historians Türkistân-ı İrân (), which he justified by the considerable amount of Turkoman awliya in the city.
Due to the city's contact with many ethnic groups and cultures throughout its history, the name of the city has many linguistic variants:
Assyrian people who did survive the invasion of Baghdad by Timur fled through northern Iraq up into the Hakkari Mountains to the west of Lake Urmia and the area remained as their homeland until the 19th century.
During the Safavid dynasty era, the neighboring Ottoman Turks, who were the archrivals of the Safavids, made several incursions into the city and captured it on more than one occasion, but the Safavids successfully regained control over the area. When in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king AbbasI (1588–1629) Qasem Sultan Afshar was appointed governor of Mosul, he was forced to leave his office shortly afterwards due to the outbreak of a plague. He moved to the western part of Azerbaijan, and became the founder of the Afshar people community of Urmia. The city was the capital of the Urmia Khanate from 1747 to 1865. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795.
Due to the presence of a substantial Christians minority at the end of the 19thcentury, Urmia was also chosen as the site of the first Christian missionaries from the United States in Iran in 1835 led by Justin Perkins (1805–1869) with Asahel Grant (1807–1844); and followed by (1816–1864), Joseph Gallup Cochran (1817–1871), and Joseph Cochran (1855–1905). Another mission was soon underway in nearby Tabriz as well. During World War I, the population was estimated by Dr.Caujole to be 30,000 people, a quarter of which (7,500) were Assyrians and 1,000 Jews.
During the 19th century, the region became the center of a short-lived Assyrian renaissance with many books and newspapers being published in Syriac language. Urmia was also the seat of a Chaldean diocese.
During late 1914 Ottoman forces under the command of Enver Pasha stepped up clandestine activity in the region with the aim of committing the Ottoman Empire to war. During World War I, the city changed hands several times between the Imperial Russia and the Ottoman troops and their Kurdish allies in the following two years. In 1914, before the declaration of war against Russia, Ottoman forces crossed the border into Persia and destroyed Christian villages. Large-scale attacks in late September and October 1914 targeted many Assyrian villages, and the attackers neared Urmia. Due to Ottoman attacks, thousands of Christians living along the border fled to Urmia.
Many Christians fled during the Russian withdrawal from Azerbaijan at the beginning of January 1915, and 20,000 to 25,000 refugees were left stranded in Urmia. Nearly 18,000 Christians sought shelter in the city's Presbyterian and Lazarist missions. Although there was reluctance to attack the missionary compounds, many died of disease. Between February and May (when the Ottoman forces pulled out), there was a campaign of mass execution, looting, kidnapping, and extortion against Christians in Urmia. More than 100 men were arrested at the Lazarist compound, and dozens (including Mar Dinkha, bishop of Tergawer) were executed on 23 and 24 February.
The Russian army advanced later in 1915. After Russia's withdrawal as a result of the 1917 Russian Revolution, about 5,000 Assyrian and Armenian militia policed the area, but they frequently abused their power and killed Muslims without provocation. From February to July 1918, the region was engulfed by ethnic violence. On 22 February, local Muslims and the Persian governor began an uprising against the Christian militias in Urmia. The better-organized Christians, led by Agha Petros, brutally crushed the uprising; hundreds (possibly thousands) were killed. On 16 March, Mar Shimun and many of his bodyguards were killed by the Kurdish chieftain Simko Shikak, probably at the instigation of Persian officials fearing Assyrian separatism, after they met to discuss an alliance. Assyrians went on a killing and looting spree; unable to find Simko, they murdered Persian officials and inhabitants. The Kurds responded by massacring Christians, regardless of denomination or ethnicity. Christians were massacred in Salmas in June and in Urmia in early July, and many Assyrian women were abducted.
Christian militias in Azerbaijan were no match for the Ottoman army when it invaded in July 1918. Tens of thousands of Ottoman and Persian Assyrians fled south to Hamadan, where the British Dunsterforce was garrisoned, on 18 July to escape Ottoman forces approaching Urmia under Ali İhsan Sâbis. The Ottoman invasion was followed by killings of Christians, including Chaldean archbishop Toma Audo, and the sacking of Urmia.
On March 22, 2025, large-scale demonstrations were held in the city. Slogans against Kurdistan were chanted during the demonstrations. Anadolu Agency reported that there was ethnic tension between Turks and Kurds in the city and that Turks were protesting the Nowruz celebrations held by Kurds living in the city a few days ago. Some protesters stated that the Iranian government was trying to change the demographics by bringing Kurds to the city. It was reported that those who participated in the demonstration chanted Turkish slogans such as "Urumiyah is Turkish and will remain Turkish" and "Urumiyah's Turkish identity is not negotiable". 2 days after the protest, 22 people were arrested.
Until the Iran crisis of 1946 and the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1947, several thousand Jews also lived Urmia, and their language (Lishán Didán) is still spoken by an ageing community in Israel.
According to the Federal Research Division of Library of Congress, ethnic Azeris form around 40% of the population of Urmia region.Glenn E. Curtis (2025). 9780844411873, Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. . ISBN 9780844411873 The majority of the city's residents are Azerbaijanis, with a large minority of Kurds, and a smaller number of Assyrians, and Armenians, as well as Persian-speakers who moved to the city mostly for employment.
The majority of the population can speak the official language of Iran, Persian language, in addition to their own native tongue.دكتر م پناهايان، مجموعه اي در چهار جلد به نام " فرهنگ جغرافياي ملي تركان ايران زمين " سال 1351 Dr. M. Panahian, a four-volume collection entitled "National Geographical Culture of the Turks of Iran" in 1351سيري در تاريخ زبان ولهجه هاي تركي , دكتر جواد هئيت- چاپ سوم , سال1380,ص 307 A Journey in the History of Turkish Language and Dialects, Dr. Javad Hayat – Third Edition, 2001, p. 307
When 17th-century explorer Evliya Çelebi visited the region, the city's Muslim population was mostly Sunni and not yet converted to Shia Islam. Around 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, most of the Christians were either killed when the Ottoman Empire invaded Qajar Iran and committed genocide against Urmia's Assyrian and Armenian population or fled shortly after the end of the war. Approximately 15,000 Assyrians reside in northern Iran, in Urmia and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area. The Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.
Lakes and ponds
Lagoons
Parks
Scenic coastal villages:
Landscape attractions:
Being on the downwind and rain shadow side of the Zagros Mountains, its winters are relatively drier and less snowy than Hakkari's (to the west) in southeastern Turkey due to the foehn effect. Modeling the exceptional south Foehn event (Garmij) over the Alborz Mountains during the extreme forest fire of December 2005 February 2014, Natural Hazards, Abbas Mofidi, Iman Soltanzadeh,Yadollah Yousefi, Azar Zarrin, MohsenSoltani, Jafar Masoompour Samakosh,Ghasem Azizi, et al. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
The 2010 Asian Men's Cup Volleyball Championship was held in Ghadir Arena in Urmia, 2012 WAFF Futsal Championship, and the 2012 Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship was also held in Urmia. It is also one of the venues of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.
Universities in Urmia:
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| Urmia University | [4] |
| Malek Ashtar University of Technology Urmia Branch | [5] |
| Urmia University of Medical Sciences | [6] |
| Urmia University of Technology | [7] |
| Islamic Azad University of Urmia | [8] |
| Payame Noor University of Urmia | [9] |
| Elmi Karbordi University of Urmia | [10] |
| University College of Saba | [11] |
| University College of Azarabadegan | [12] |
| University College of Elm O fan | [13] |
| University College of Kamal | [14] |
| Shahid Beheshti Technical School | [15] |
| Ghazi Tabatabaee Technical School | [16] |
| The Girls Technical School of Urmia | [17] |
| Najand Institute of Higher Education | [18] |
| University College Afagh | [19] |
Urmia is linked to Europe through Turkey's roads and Sero border crossing. Urmia Airport, which opened in 1964, was the first international airport in West Azerbaijan county, Iran. As of April 2015 it only has regularly scheduled domestic flights to Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, although there are plans to establish a direct flight between Urmia and Erbil, due to the large number of passengers travelling between the two cities. The city is recently connected to Iran National Railways (IRIR, رجا).
Clinics:
For a complete list see: People from Urmia
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