Qazvin (English pronunciation: /kæzˈviːn/, Persian: قزوین, IPA: [ɢæzˈviːn], also Romanized as Qazvīn, Kazvin, Qazwin, Ghazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families. Located some 165 km northwest of Tehran, in the Qazvin Province, it is at an altitude of about 1800 meters above sea level. The climate is cold but dry, due to its position south of the rugged Alborz range. The city was a former capital of the Persian... Empire. It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout history. Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages. The city today known as Qazvin is thought to have been founded by Shapur II, King of Persia in 250 CE, under the name Shad Shahpur, when he built a fortification there to control regional tensions. Qazvin has sometimes been of central importance at important moments of Iranian history.
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| Country: | Iran |
| Population: | 1,143,200 |
| Time zone: | Iran Standard Time |
| Also known as: | Qazvin, Iran |