Urmia
city in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
Urmia (Persian: ارومیه; pronounced [oɾumiˈje] ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq.
The city lies at an elevation of 1,330 metres (4,360 ft) above sea level along the Shahar River on the Urmia Plain. Lake Urmia, one of the world's largest salt lakes, lies to the east of the city, and the border with Turkey lies to the west.
The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits (especially apples and grapes) and tobacco are grown. Among the villages in the Urmia region are Lajani and Mafaran. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city's many churches and cathedrals.
An important town by the 9th century, the city has had a diverse population which has at times included Muslims (Shias and Sunnis), Christians (Catholics, Protestants, Nestorians, and Orthodox), Jews, Baháʼís and Sufis. Around 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population; however, in the next decades most of the Christians were either killed by the advancing Ottoman troops or in raids by Kurdish tribes or fled shortly after the end of the war.
The public source identifies “Urmia” as city in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Urmia, city and West.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Urmia”, the useful work is to connect “city in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q179665. VIAF identifies the subject as 139691230. The Library of Congress control number is n91047104. Authority coordinates are 37.549, 45.068. 1 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1900.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Urmia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.