Sopurghan

Sopurghan سپورغان
village
Sopurghan
Coordinates: 37°45′09″N 45°11′56″E
Country	Iran
Province	West Azerbaijan
County	Urmia
Bakhsh	Nazlu
Rural District	Tala Tappeh
Population  (2006)
• Total	243
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+4:30 (IRDT)

Sopurghan (Persian: سپورغان, also Romanized as Sopūrghān; also known as Separghān, Soporghān, and Supurgan; in Armenian: Սուփուրղան)[1] is a village in Tala Tappeh Rural District, Nazlu District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 243, in 71 families.[2]

Name

According to Vladimir Minorsky, the name of this village is derived from the Mongolian word suburghan, meaning a stupa.[3]: 77 

History

The earliest mention of Sopurghan is found in a letter to Pope Pius IV in 1562. The village is mentioned again in a manuscript donated to a church in Jerusalem in 1612.

Evidence from tombstones in the village cemetery show Assyrian presence in the village as early as 668 AD. In 1840, American Protestant missionaries built a primary school in the region. In 1862, a Russian survey showed 172 families and 2 priests living in the village. In 1883, a missionary established girls' school in the village, and in 1887, and Anglican mission established a Middle School for boys below 17.[4]

Location

Sopurghan is located 26 kilometres northeast of the city of Urmia and 2 kilometres from the edge of Lake Urmia.[5]

References

1. Sopurghan can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3086136" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
2. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20.
3. Minorsky, Vladimir (1957). "Mongol Place-Names in Mukri Kurdistan". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 19 (1): 58–81. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
4. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
5. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".