Saqqez

Saqqez (/sæɡɛz/ sa-ghez, Kurdish: سه‌قز, romanized: Seqiz, Persian: سقز), also known as Saghez, Saqez, Saqqiz, Saqiz, and Sakīz,[2] is a city which is the capital of Saqqez County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population was 165,258.

For the administrative subdivision, see Saqqez County.
Saqqez
سقز  (Persian)
سەقزSeqiz / Seqiz  (Kurdish)
City
From top to bottom and from left to right: Saqqez in 2014, Domenareh Historical Mosque, Omar Ibn Khattab Mosque, Saqqez to Marivan road Landscape in spring, Haj Saleh Historical Bath, Ziwiyeh Castle
Seal
Saqqez
Coordinates: 36°14′47″N 46°15′59″E
CountryIran
ProvinceKurdistan
CountySaqqez
BakhshCentral
Government
 • MayorZana Salehibabamiry
Elevation
1,476 m (4,843 ft)
Population
 (2016 Census)
 • Total165,258 [1]
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+4:30 (IRDT)
Websitesaqqez.ir

Etymology
Main article: Sakez

The name Saqqez derives from the Scythian word "Eskit" and than "Sakez". Before that It was Izirtu the capital of Mannaeans. On some historical sources has been mentioned that the name of the city is derived from the name of powerful Median ruler Cyaxares (reigned 625 – 585 BC), who turned the empire into a regional power. But some Other historians believe that the name of the city is derived from Sakez and is attributed to the Scythians who settled in the city during the reign of Cyaxares.'[3]

Demographics

The city is populated by Kurds who speak Sorani.[4] David D'Beth Hillel (d. 1846) stated that the city was home to a small Jewish community with one synagogue c. 1827.[5]

History

Saqqez's history goes back to the seventh millennium BC.[6] Based on historical ruins and Antiques which have been found in Saqqez, like the historical treasures of Ziwiye hoard in the Ziwiyeh Castle, experts like Roman Ghirshman believe that the modern city of Saqqez is built on the site of ancient capital of the Median empire. when Sargon II (reigned 722 – 705 BC) attacked the Median Empire and forced them to flee to Ecbatana (modern day Hamadan) and made this city his capital. On the attack of Sargan II, the ruler of the Assyrian, the Medes were defended and their fortifications destroyed. Thereafter, the Scythians tried to rebuild this city and they chose Saqqez, then named Eskit as their capital. This city was repeatedly attacked by Assyrians and Romans.[7]

Culture and Art

The city of Saqqez has been a place of culture and art since ancient times. At this city, Performing Arts and culture has a special place and artists have created valuable works in various fields of art such as theater, painting, sculpture, music, literature, poetry and cinema. In this city, every year at the end of the autumn season, a theater festival called The Kurdish Theater Festival is held, in which theater groups from all over Kurdistan perform their works. Also, in Saqqez, famous musicians and singers, such as Rashid Fayznejad perform their musics and songs in Kurdish language. Also there are well-known poets in this city, such as Abdul Karim Sahib, Mullah Ghafoor Dabbaghi, Jila Hosseini, Rahim Loghmani, Malekoalkalam majdi and Sheikh Hassan Molanabad.[8][9]

Geography

Geology

The city of Saqqez is built on long plains and hills, which are crossed by the main tributaries of rivers such as Zarrineh River and Simineh River. The lowlands and heights inside the city and the view of Saqqez River that passes through the center of this city are its special features. Saqqez is located in mountainous and highlands between the irregular heights of Zagros Mountains, and this special geomorphological feature has led to relatively cold climates and long winters and sometimes frost.[10][11]

Climate
A statue of a shepherd girl located in Mother Square in Saqqez in winter

At an altitude of 1,476 metres (4,842 feet), Saqqez has a Mediterranean continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dsa) with hot, very dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Summers feature large diurnal temperature variation due to decreased air density at high altitude and low humidity. In 1969 Saqqez recorded a temperature of −36 °C (−33 °F), the lowest ever recorded by an Iranian weather station until Kheirabad Zanjan recorded −36.4 °C (−33.5 °F) on January 29, 1997.[12][13] Saqqez again reached −36 °C during the February 3–9 1972 Iran blizzard.

Saqqez unofficially reached −45.8 °C (−50.4 °F) in December 2006 and −42.3 °C (−44.1 °F) in January 2007, the lowest temperatures recorded in an Iranian city.[14][15] Rainfall is mild throughout the year, with late winter and early autumn having the most precipitation, and the summers being practically rainless. Due to the foehn effect, the rainfall is not as heavy as it is in the exposed sites of the Zagros to the west, such as in Sardasht, which lies on the same altitude but is more exposed to the westerly cold front systems.

Climate data for Saqqez, Iran
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.2
(64.8)		 20
(68)		 24
(75)		 29
(84)		 34.4
(93.9)		 39
(102)		 43
(109)		 42
(108)		 39
(102)		 32
(90)		 26
(79)		 22.2
(72.0)		 43
(109)
Average high °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)		 4.7
(40.5)		 11.0
(51.8)		 17.3
(63.1)		 23.1
(73.6)		 29.8
(85.6)		 34.3
(93.7)		 34.2
(93.6)		 29.8
(85.6)		 22.2
(72.0)		 13.4
(56.1)		 6.1
(43.0)		 19.03
(66.25)
Average low °C (°F) −8.1
(17.4)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 3.6
(38.5)		 6.6
(43.9)		 9.5
(49.1)		 14.0
(57.2)		 13.4
(56.1)		 8.3
(46.9)		 4.4
(39.9)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 3.24
(37.83)
Record low °C (°F) −32
(−26)		 −36
(−33)		 −27.6
(−17.7)		 −9
(16)		 −5
(23)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 3.8
(38.8)		 4.8
(40.6)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 −7
(19)		 −24
(−11)		 −32
(−26)		 −36
(−33)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 66.6
(2.62)		 58.7
(2.31)		 79.5
(3.13)		 83.6
(3.29)		 52.0
(2.05)		 5.8
(0.23)		 2.9
(0.11)		 2.5
(0.10)		 1.4
(0.06)		 27.8
(1.09)		 56.9
(2.24)		 61.7
(2.43)		 499.4
(19.66)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.5 8.3 10.0 9.8 7.0 1.2 0.7 0.6 0.5 4.3 6.2 8.1 65.2
Average relative humidity (%) 73 70 64 58 52 40 35 33 33 47 63 71 53
Mean monthly sunshine hours 121.5 142.2 177.4 213.1 287.1 345.1 357.4 344.3 311.1 254.3 174.1 123.4 2,851
Source: Synoptic Stations Statistics

See also
An Old Golden Necklaces from Ziwiye hoard kept in National Museum of Iran

References
  1. "Statistical Center of Iran > Home".
  2. Saqqez can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3082379" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  3. "شهرستان سقز". Islamic Azad University - Saqqez Branch (in Persian). Retrieved 13 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "Saqqez - Language distribution: Kordestan Province". Iran Atlas. Retrieved 13 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Gerson-Kiwi, Edith (2008). "Kurdistan". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 13 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Saqqez in Kurdestan Province, dates back to 7th millennium BCE". Iran Daily. 9 July 2021.
  7. Ghirshman, Roman (1961). Iran: from the earliest times to the Islamic conquest. Penguin Books. pp. Season 2. ISBN 0140202390.
  8. Kurdish Theater Festival is an opportunity to pay attention to traditional cultures, Iran Theater, 2019
  9. A Kurdish Artist in Saqqez Summoned by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, Kurdistan Human Rights, 2019
  10. Dating of late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial sediments Using OSL, Uranium series and 14 C methods in the Saqqez River, Shahid beheshti University, 2020
  11. Saqqez, mapnall
  12. "An extremely cold winter in Iran".
  13. http://www.irimo.ir/english/monthly&annual/map/province/zanjan.asp Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-04-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. http://www.irimo.ir Iranian Meteorological Organisation's "Century weather stats data bank"
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