Bijar (city)

Bijar
بيجار
City
A modern Bijar rug
A modern Bijar rug
Bijar is located in Iran
Bijar
Bijar
Location in Iran
Bijar is located in Iran Kurdistan
Bijar
Bijar
Bijar (Iran Kurdistan)
Coordinates: 35°52′20″N 47°36′11″E / 35.87222°N 47.60306°E / 35.87222; 47.60306[1]
CountryIran
ProvinceKurdistan
CountyBijar
DistrictCentral
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total50,014

Bījār (Persian: بیجار and Kurdish: بیجاڕ, romanized: Bîcar)[3][4] is a city in the Central District of Bijar County, Kurdistan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[5]

At the 2006 National Census, its population was 46,156 in 12,312 households.[6] The following census in 2011 counted 47,926 people in 13,738 households.[7] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 50,014 people in 15,705 households.[2]

With an elevation of 1,940 metres, Bijar has been called the Roof of Iran.[8]

Demographics

The city is predominantly populated by Kurds who speak Southern Kurdish, while a significant minority speak Sorani.[9]

Bijar linguistic composition
language percent
Southern Kurdish
 
 90%
Central Kurdish
 
 7.9%
New Persian
 
 2%
Aramaic
 
 0.1%


Bijar in the First World War

History

The city was mentioned in the 15th century as a village belonging to Shah Ismail, the first ruler of the Safavid dynasty; Bijar became a town during the 19th century. During World War I it was besieged and occupied by Russian, British, and Ottoman troops who, with the aid of the 1918 famine, halved the pre-war population of 20,000.[10]

Architecture

The historical fort of Qam Cheqay (45 km NE of Bijar) probably dates back to the Median era and is the oldest castle in the Kurdistan province. The castle had been used until the Sasanid era and it is an example of the ancient architecture of Kurdistan.

Another historical building, Emamzadeh Aqil, located in Hasan Abad (Yasukand) 45 km east of Bijar, is one of the remaining Seljuk buildings. This square building (6*6.5 m) with a collapsed dome houses Islamic religious texts written in Kufic script.

During the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th century, Genghis Khan (1162–1227) occupied Bijar and built Genghis Castle near the city.[8] It is now a ruin on the Bijar—Sanandaj road.[11]

At the bazaar of Bijar

Bijar's bazaar, with its unique design, is one of the attractions of the city. The roofed bazaar built in the Qajar era is much younger than the old Safavid-era bazaar of Sanandaj, the Kurdistan capital. The bazaar of Bijar consists of a main north–south roofed pathway, an eastern section (Timcheh-e Haj Shahbaz) and a western section (Timcheh-e Amir Toman).

Rugs

A fine quality modern Bijar rug with a central medallion, herati motifs on a dark red ground and a seven-band border

Bijar has enjoyed fame for its carpets since the Achaemenid era (550–330 BCE). Present day carpets and rugs have 100–200 Turkish knots per inch and are distinguished by their stiff and heavy wool foundation, created by "wet weaving" and beating the threads together with a special metal tool. Bijar carpets are famously stronger and longer-lasting than any others. They are made by Kurdish women in the villages around the town. The loom is set vertically against the side of the house. The designs have strong clear colours and have never been out of fashion with overseas buyers.[12] Nowadays dyes are high quality synthetics.

The motifs are mainly floral adaptations of classical Persian designs. Herati and boteh motifs are common, as are central medallions and sometimes representations of animals and willows. These are set against a dark background of blue, red or green. In relation to the size of the carpet, borders are small, with up to eight bands.[13]

Notable Bijaris

Prominent politicians and army officers in the Iranian army have come from Bijar. Amir Nezam Garrusi (1820–1900) was born in Bijar to a Kabudvand family.[14] As colonel of the Garrus Regiment, he took part in Muhammad Ali Shah's unsuccessful Herat Campaign. As a diplomat in Paris, he had dinners with Napoleon. He later acted as an Iranian diplomat to the Sublime Porte. General Garrusi joined in the 1880 suppression of the Kurdish uprising by the Sheikh Ubeydullah of Neri. He also played a part in the murder of Cewer Agha, the predecessor of Simko, the Kurdish leader.

The family of Rear Admiral Gholamali Bayandor (1898–1941) came from Bijar.

Among academic figures from Bijar is Dr Kamran Nejatollahi (1953–1978), a young civil engineering professor in the Polytechnic University of Tehran (now Amirkabir). He was killed during a peaceful sit-in at the university, presumably by Savak snipers. He is now regarded as an early martyr of the Islamic revolution and is buried among "political dissidents" in Behesht-e Zahra in Teheran.[15]

The poet Fazel-Khan Garrusi (1784–1843) was born into a Bijar family before moving to Teheran.[16]

Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the spokesman of the former Khatami government, was born and raised in Bijar. He was the governor of Kurdistan Province 1997–2001, but has been in prison since the disputed 2009 presidential election.

Farhad Aslani (1966– ) the actor was born in Bijar.

Other prominent Bijaris include bodybuilding champion Baitollah Abbaspour (1979– ) and footballer Eshaq Sobhani (1984– ).[8]

In June 2008, 21-year-old Hana Abdi, former student of Payame Noor University in Bijar and a member of the Azarmehr Organization of Women of Sanandaj, was sentenced to prison for five years but released after 15 months. The Iranian Revolutionary Court had charged her with "enmity against God" and "gathering and colluding to harm national security".[17]

References

  1. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (16 August 2023). "Bijar, Bijar County" (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 12. Archived from the original (Excel) on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ^ "قائیمقام و ئەنجوومەنی شاری بیجاڕ رێککەوتن دژایەتی یەکدی نەکەن". Rûdaw. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Kurd hunera xwe arzan difroşin". Yeni Özgür Politika. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Habibi, Hassan (21 June 1369). "Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Kurdistan province, centered in the city of Sanandaj". Islamic Parliament Research Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran (in Persian). Ministry of Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Board. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 12. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011)". Syracuse University (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 12. Archived from the original (Excel) on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Bijar". Toiran. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Language distribution: Bijar". Iran Atlas. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Bijar". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Changiz Castle". Tell Me About Iran. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  12. ^ Thompson, Jon (1988). Oriental carpets from the tents, cottages, and workshops of Asia (1st American ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 38–39, 116–119. ISBN 0525246975.
  13. ^ Bamborough, Philip (1989). Antique oriental rugs and carpets. London: Spring. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0600566196.
  14. ^ "Amir Nezam Garrusi". Encyclopæda Islamica. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  15. ^ "The martyrdom of Doctor Nejatollahi by the agents of Pahlavi Regime". Islamic Revolution Document Center. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Fazel Khan Garrusi, Mohammad". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Kurdish women's rights activist released in Iran". Amnesty International. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
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