Soltaniyeh Explained

Soltaniyeh (fa|سلطانيه) is a city in the Central District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.^[3]

History

Soltaniyeh, located some 240km (150miles) to the north-west of Tehran, was built as the capital of Mongol Ilkhanid rulers of Iran in the 14th century. Its name which refers to the Islamic 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.^[4]

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."^[5]

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 5,864 in 1,649 households,^[6] when it was capital of the former Soltaniyeh District of Abhar County.^[7] The following census in 2011 counted 7,116 people in 2,013 households.^[8] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 7,638 people in 2,319 households,^[9] 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.^[3]

Ecclesiastical history

On 1 April 1318, due to the progress of the Persian missions of the Dominican and Franciscan orders, pope John XII established the archdiocese of Soltania and separated it from the archdiocese of Khanbalik.^{[10] [11]} 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

Sources and external links

• Official website
• GCatholic, with residential and titular incumbent bio links
• Video of Soltaniyeh
• Farnoush Tehrāni, The Crown of All Domes, in Persian, Jadid Online, 31 December 2009,.^[12]
  • Audio slideshow:^[13] (6 min 45 sec).

http://sultaniyya.org/

Further reading

• Hatef Naiemie . Atri . The Ilkhanid City of Sultaniyya: Some Remarks on the Citadel and the Outer City . Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies . 2020 . 1–30 . 10.1080/05786967.2020.1744469.

Notes and References

1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)) . Ghal'e Soltaniye, دهستان سلطانیه, بخش مرکزی [Soltaniyeh Rural District, Central District], Soltanieh County, Zanjan Province, Iran]. . 10 September 2024. 10 September 2024. fa.
2. CQMV+MQ8 Soltaniyeh, Zanjan Province, Iran . 26 June 2025.
3. Web site: Mohammad Reza . Rahimi . Mohammad Reza Rahimi . Persian: rtl=yes|تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1392/03/29 (Iranian Jalali calendar) . 19 June 2013 . fa:اصلاحات تقسیماتی در استان زنجان . ‌Divisional reforms in Zanjan province . https://davoudabadi.ir/page/79673104 . https://web.archive.org/web/20250625165518/https://davoudabadi.ir/page/79673104 . 25 June 2025 . 25 June 2025 . Persian: rtl=yes|مهدی داودآبادی [Mehdi Davudabadi] . Persian: rtl=yes|‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior] . Persian: rtl=yes|هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers] . fa . Persian: rtl=yes|پیشنهاد شماره [Proposal Number] 131110/42/4/1..
4. Book: Clavijo. Ruy Gonzalez de. Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6. 1859. 93. 10 April 2018.
5. Book: Dalrymple, William. William Dalrymple (historian). In Xanadu. 1989. 128–129.
6. Web site: fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان زنجان . General Population and Housing Census 2006: Zanjan Province . fa . Persian: rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] . http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/19.xls . https://web.archive.org/web/20110920091748/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/19.xls . 20 September 2011 . Excel . 25 June 2025.
7. Web site: Hassan . Habibi . Hassan Habibi . Persian: rtl=yes|تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369/06/21 (Iranian Jalali calendar) . 12 September 1990 . fa:تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوری استان زنجان به مرکزیت شهر زنجان . ‌Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of elements and units of the national divisions of Zanjan province, centered in Zanjan city . https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113027 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231216213100/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113027 . 16 December 2023 . 25 June 2025 . Persian: rtl=yes|لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] . Persian: rtl=yes|‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior] . Persian: rtl=yes|کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board] . fa . Persian: rtl=yes|شناسه [ID] 965C7B0D-32D4-4BC6-A126-65D28CD02436. Persian: rtl=yes|شماره دوره [Course number] 69, Persian: rtl=yes|شماره جلد [Volume number] 3..
8. Web site: fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان زنجان . General Population and Housing Census 2011: Zanjan Province . fa . Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University . https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Zanjan.xls . https://web.archive.org/web/20230121160421/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Zanjan.xls . 21 January 2023 . Persian: rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] . Excel . 25 June 2025.
9. Web site: fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان زنجان . General Population and Housing Census 2016: Zanjan Province . fa . Persian: rtl=yes|مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] . https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_19.xlsx . https://web.archive.org/web/20220427114852/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_19.xlsx . 27 April 2022 . Excel . 25 June 2025.
10. Book: Habig . Marion Alphonse . In Journeyings Often: Franciscan Pioneers in the Orient . 1953 . Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University . 164 . en.
11. Book: Waterfield . Robin E. . Christians in Persia: Assyrians, Armenians, Roman Catholics and Protestants . 2011 . Routledge . London . 0042750016 . 52-53.
12. http://www.jadidonline.com/story/31122009/frnk/soltanieh سلطان گنبدها | جدید آنلاین
13. http://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/Soltanieh_test/sol_high.html Flash video