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  Iran / Cities and Towns /
Mahabad
City in northwestern Iran with 140,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate) south of Lake Orumiyeh in a narrow valley 1,300 metres above sea level. It lies in West Azerbaijan Province.
Mahabad is the centre of a rich agricultural region, but the city itself is little developed by Iranian standards.
Mahabad is connected by road with Tabriz 300 km north, Orumiyeh 150 km north and Irbil in Iraq.
The population of Mahabad is mainly Kurdish, and has been the centre of Kurdish nationalism in Iran.
History
Early 1st millennium BCE: The region of the future Mahabad is the centre of the Mannaeans.
1946 January: The State of Republic of Kurdistan is proclaimed, with Mahabad as the capital. It would only survive until December the same year.
1979: Comes briefly under Kurdish control during the Iranian Revolution.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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