Urmia
Urmia is the capital of West Azerbaijan Province in northwestern Iran. During the Iran-Iraq War, the city suffered considerably due to its proximity to Iraq and a series of internal crises.
The ancient name of the city and its lake is Chichast and Chichasta. After the advent of Islam, Urmia was considered the second most important city in Azerbaijan, after Maragheh.[1] During Reza Khan Pahlavi’ s rule, the city’ s name was changed to Rezaiyeh, and in September 1979, it was changed back to Urmia.[2]
The residents of Urmia are of Aryan descent and speak Turkish and Kurdish dialects. The majority are Muslim — both Shia and Sunni — with a small number following Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism.[3]
Due to its strategic location at the crossroads of the Caucasus, Armenia, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia, Urmia has witnessed many historical transformations.[4] Its importance lies in several factors, including proximity to major regional powers such as Russia, the presence of followers of diverse religions and ethnicities, including Muslims, Zoroastrians, Christians, Turks, and Kurds, and having a distinctive natural setting as an agricultural region beside Lake Urmia.[5]
Shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, ethnic tensions broke out in West Azerbaijan Province, and anti-revolutionary groups such as the Sanar Mamandi and the Democratic Party stirred unrest and conflict in Urmia.[6]
The Urmia Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was established on May 12, 1979, at the Pas Club building — now the Traffic Police headquarters — under the command of Rahim Qorbani.[7] Following its formation, the buildings on the western shores of Lake Urmia that had been built before the Revolution as a recreational facility for military officers were converted into the Malek Ashtar IRGC Training Garrison.[8]
In the summer of 1979, the execution of several army officers responsible for a massacre at the Grand Mosque of Urmia prompted protests from a number of officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers at Qooshchi Garrison. On the morning of August 10, 1979, these individuals, among them members of the Democratic Party, the People’ s Fedai Guerrillas, and various anti-revolutionary elements, left the garrison and entered the city, where they ignited clashes.[9]
In one of their attacks, on October 4, 1979, the Democratic Party besieged Urmia from three sides, but the siege was broken by the deployment of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army units.[10] The groups continued their activities in Urmia in various forms, including a bomb explosion on a city bus on November 4, 1979, a mortar attack on the radio and television building on November 6, 1979, and an attack on a Gendarmerie patrol vehicle on December 25, 1979.[11] To restore order, authorities had no choice but to conduct military operations. Therefore, in April 1980, the city was cleared by the IRGC, Gendarmerie, and volunteer forces.[12]
After Iraq invaded Iran, on September 25, 1980, Iraqi MiGs attacked an ammunition depot beside Lake Urmia.[13]
Volunteer and Basij forces from Urmia were organized within the 31st Ashura Brigade. Hamid Bakeri and Mahdi Bakeri, two of the division’ s commanders, were from Urmia.[14]
Continuing their air campaign, on October 7, 1980, Iraqi MiGs failed in an attempt to bomb Urmia Airport and only managed to strafe it with machine gun fire.[15]
On October 11, the anti-revolutionary forces attacked the 64th Division Garrison in Urmia. As a result, 18 military personnel were martyred and 5 wounded, while 34 civilians were also injured.[16] Four days later, on October 15, the Urmia water treatment plant was struck in an airstrike by Iraqi jets.[17]
Two months later, on November 28, 1980, anti-revolutionaries detonated a bomb at the Naderi primary school in Urmia’ s Jarchi Mosque, causing no casualties.[18] Another notable incident before early 1981 was the crash of an Army helicopter into Lake Urmia on February 5, 1981.[19]
Public donations for the war effort in Urmia were collected at the city’ s Takhti Stadium and sent to the fronts.[20]
In 1981, Iraq carried out an airstrike on Urmia, resulting in no casualties.[21]
The continued activities of anti-revolutionary groups and the crises they caused required the formation of a strong, coordinated center comprising military forces and operating in the country’ s northwest. For this reason, the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shuhada Command Headquarters was established in Urmia in 1982 by the IRGC, the Army, and the Gendarmerie. The headquarters aimed to advance the ideals of the Islamic Republic, extend the rule of law and security, and prevent the plots of enemies from coming to fruition.[22]
Hamid Bakeri, deputy commander of the 31st Ashura Division, was martyred on February 25, 1984, during Operation Kheibar on Majnoon Island in Iraq. His brother, Mahdi Bakeri, commander of the 31st Ashura Division, was martyred on March 16, 1985, in the Badr operational area east of the Tigris. Both are commemorated at a memorial tomb in Razvan Garden in Urmia.[23]
In 1985, Iraq carried out 21 airstrikes against Urmia, leaving 143 people martyred and 40 wounded.[24]
January 31, 1987, was the bloodiest day in Urmia’ s wartime history, with 255 people martyred.[25] Over the course of the Iran-Iraq War, Urmia was targeted in 74 Iraqi airstrikes, which resulted in the martyrdom of 595 people and injuries of 1,225.[26]
The commemoration congress for the martyrs of the 31st Ashura Division was held in July 1995 in Tabriz and Urmia.[27] According to the 2016 census, the population of Urmia stands at 736,224.[28]
References
- [1]. Kavianpoor, Ahmad, Tarikh-e Urmia (The History of Urmia), Tehran: Azarkohan, 1378, Pp. 9, 11; Qasempoor, Davood, Enqelab-e Eslami dar Urmia (Islamic Revolution in Urmia), Vol. 2, Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 1392, p. 275.
- [2]. Qasempoor, Davood, Enqelab-e Eslami dar Urmia (Islamic Revolution in Urmia), Vol. 2, p. 275; Habibi, Hassan, Shahrha-ye Iran (Cities of Iran), Vol. 1, Tehran: Bonyad-e Iran-Shenasi, 1389, p. 274.
- [3]. Izadi, Mostafa, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-ye Pasdari az Enqelab-e Eslami dar Gharb-e Keshvar: Ozvah va Ahval-e Mantaqe-ye Gharb va Shomal-e Gharb dar Avakher-e Doran-e Fetrat (The Twenty-Year History of Safeguarding the Islamic Revolution in the West of the Country: The Situation and Conditions of the Western and Northwestern Regions in the Late Fetrat Period), Vol. 2, Tehran: Markaz-e Motaleaat va Tahqiqat-e Toseeh-ye Amniyat-e Paydar, 1386, p. 13.
- [4]. Rooznameh-ye Etemad (Etemad Newspaper), No. 2919, 20 Esfand-e 1392.
- [5]. Qasempoor, Davood, Enqelab-e Eslami dar Urmia (Islamic Revolution in Urmia), Vol. 2, Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 1392, p. 357.
- [6]. Izadi, Mostafa; Yaran, Masood; Esteki, Javad, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-ye Pasdari az Enqelab-e Eslami dar Gharb-e Keshvar: Moqabele ba Zedd-e Enqelab va Tajzyeh-Talabi (The Twenty-Year History of Safeguarding the Islamic Revolution in the West of the Country: Countering the Anti-revolutionaries and Separatist Groups), Vol. 4, Tehran: Markaz-e Motaleaat va Tahqiqat-e Toseeh-ye Amniyat-e Paydar, 1387, p. 205.
- [7]. Rahnamay-e Karvanha-ye Rahiyan-e Noor-e Shomal-e Gharb-e Sepah-e Shohada-ye Ostan-e Azerbaijan-e Gharbi; Urmia: Kongereh-ye 12,000 Shahid Azerbaijan-e Gharbi (Guidebook of Rahiyan-e Noor Caravans; Urmia: The Congress of 12,000 Martyrs of West Azerbaijan) 1393, p. 10; Maboodi, Jalal, Atlas-e Lashkar-e 31 Ashura dar Doran-e Defa Muqaddas (Atlas of 31 Ashura Division during the Sacred Defense), Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, 1398, p. 18; Forooghi Jahromi, Muhammad-Qasem, Sepah dar Gozar-e Enqelab (The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Through the Revolution), Vol. 2, Tehran: Moaavenat-e Rababet-e Umoomi va Entesharat-e Sepah, 1393, p. 235.
- [8]. Abedi, Hadi, Jamanadeh (The Left-behind), Tehran: Sureh Mehr, 1396, p. 51.
- [9]. Abazari, Abdolrahim, Khatereat-e Hojatolislam Hassani, Emam-e Jomeeh-ye Urmia (Memoirs of Hojatolislam Hassani, Friday Prayer Leader of Urmia), Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 1384, Pp. 190– 191.
- [10]. Izadi, Mostafa; Yaran, Masood; Esteki, Javad, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-ye Pasdari az Enqelab-e Eslami dar Gharb-e Keshvar (The Twenty-Year History of Safeguarding the Islamic Revolution in the West of the Country), Vol. 4, p. 204.
- [11]. Ibid., Pp. 205– 206.
- [12]. Ibid., p. 208.
- [13]. Sadeqi, Reza, Atlas-e Rahnama 12: Azerbaijan-e Gharbi dar Jang-e ba Zedd-e Enqlab va Defa Muqaddas (Atlas No. 12: West Azerbaijan in the War against Anti-revolutionaries and Sacred Defense), Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, p. 166; Ansari, Mahdi; Yekta, Hussain, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq, Ketab-e Chaharom: Hojoom-e Sarasari (Chronology of the Iran– Iraq War, Book No. 4: The All-out Invasion), Tehran: Markaz Motaleaat va Tahqiqat-e Jang-e Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 2nd ed., 1375, p. 115.
- [14]. Abazari, Abdolrahim, Khatereat-e Hojatolislam Hassani, Emam-e Jomeeh-ye Urmia (Memoirs of Hojatolislam Hassani, Friday Prayer Leader of Urmia), p. 262; Farhang-e Alam-e Shohada: Ostan-e Azerbaijan-e Gharbi (Encyclopedia of Martyrs’ Names: West Azerbaijan Province), Vol. 1, Tehran: Shahed va Bonyad-e Shahid-e Enqelab-e Eslami, Pp. 41– 42.
- [15]. Ansari, Mahdi; Yekta, Hussain, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq (Chronology of the Iran-Iraq War), Book No. 4, p. 327.
- [16]. Dayerat al-Maaref-e Defa Muqaddas: Abadan– Arbil (Encyclopedia of the Sacred Defense: Abadan– Arbil), Vol. 1, Tehran: Pazhooheshgah-e Oloom va Maaref-e Defa Muqaddas, 1389, Pp. 119– 120.
- [17]. Ansari, Mahdi; Yekta, Hussain, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq (Chronology of the Iran-Iraq War), Book No. 4, p. 431.
- [18]. Dayerat al-Maaref-e Defa Muqaddas (Encyclopedia of the Sacred Defense), Vol. 1, p. 123.
- [19]. Karamzadeh, Zahra, Ruydadha va Havades 8 Sal Defa Muqaddas-e Ostan-e Azerbaijan-e Gharbi be Revayat-e Rooznameh-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami, Urmia (The Events and Incidents of the Eight Years of the Sacred Defense in West Azerbaijan Province as Narrated by the Jomhoori-ye Eslami Newspaper, Urmia), Yaz, 1395, p. 33.
- [20]. Ibid., p. 16.
- [21]. Rashid, Mohsen, Atlas-e Aamari-e Jang-e Shahrha (Statistical Atlas of the War of Cities), Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, 1397, p. 41.
- [22]. Izadi, Mostafa; Yaran, Masood; Esteki, Javad, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-ye Pasdari az Enqelab-e Eslami dar Gharb-e Keshvar: Natayej va Dastavardha (The Twenty-Year History of Safeguarding the Islamic Revolution in the West of the Country: Outcomes and Achievements); Vol. 6, Tehran: Markaz-e Motaleaat va Tahqiqat-e Toseeh-ye Amniyat-e Paydar-e Daneshgah-e Imam Hussain (as), 1387, p. 216; Sadeqi, Reza, Atlas-e Rahnama 12 (Atlas No. 12), p. 45.
- [23]. Farhang-e Alam-e Shohada (Encyclopedia of Martyrs’ Names), Vol. 1, p. 150; Najafi, Hussain, Revayati-e Kootah az Hayat va Hamasehha-ye Bozorg-e Sardar-e Sarlashgar-e Pasdar-e Shahid Mahdi Bakeri, Farmandeh-ye Poravazeh-ye Lashkar-e 31-e Ashura (A Brief Account of the Life and Great Epics of Major General Martyr Mahdi Bakeri, the Renowned Commander of the 31st Ashura Division), Tabriz: Edareh-ye Kol-e Hefz-e Aasar va Nashr-e Arzeshha-ye Defa Muqaddas-e Azerbaijan-e Sharqi, 1386, p. 4.
- [24]. Atlas-e Aamari-e Jang-e Shahrha (Statistical Atlas of the War of Cities), p. 104.
- [25]. Khabargozari-e Seda va Sima Markaz-e Azerbaijan-e Gharbi, www. urmia. inb. ir
- [26]. Atlas-e Rahnama 12: Azerbaijan-e Gharbi dar Jang-e ba Zedd-e Enqlab va Defa Muqaddas (West Azerbaijan in the War against the Anti-revolutionary and the Sacred Defense), p. 56; Revayat-e Moqavemat-e Azerbaijan-e Gharbi (Narrative of West Azerbaijan’ s Resistance), p. 12.
- [27]. Maboodi, Jalal, Atlas-e Lashkar-e 31 Ashura dar Doran-e Defa Muqaddas (Atlas of 31 Ashura Division during the Sacred Defense), Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, 1398, p. 250.
- [28]. Markaz-e Aamar-e Iran, Natayej-e Tafsili-e Sarmshomari-e Omoomi-e Nofoos va Maskan (Detailed Results of the National Population and Housing Census), Tehran: Daftar-e Riasat, 1397, p. 94.
