Soltaniyeh

Soltaniyeh is a city in the Central District of Soltaniyeh County, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

At the 2006 census, its population was 5,864 in 1,649 households, when it was in Soltaniyeh District of Abhar County. The following census in 2011 counted 7,116 people in 2,013 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 7,638 people in 2,319 households, by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment of Soltaniyeh County.

History
Soltaniyeh, located some 240 km to the north-west of Tehran, was built as the capital of Mongol Ilkhanid rulers of Iran in the 14th century. Its name which refers to the Islamic ruler title sultan translates loosely as "the Regal". Soltaniyeh was visited by Ruy González de Clavijo, who reported that the city was a hub of silk exportation.

In 2005, UNESCO listed Soltaniyeh as one of the World Heritage Sites. The road from Zanjan to Soltaniyeh extends until it reaches to the Katale khor cave.

William Dalrymple notes that Öljaitü intended Soltaniyeh to be "the largest and most magnificent city in the world" but that it "died with him" and is now "a deserted, crumbling spread of ruins."

Ecclesiastical history
The city was established as a Catholic episcopal see on 1 April 1318 for the Archdiocese of Soltania. In 1329, the Latin Diocese of Samarcanda became its suffragan for the Chagatai Khanate, at least until Tamerlane (founder of the Timurids) swept its see Samarkand. The archdiocese was suppressed as residential see around 1450.

Residential archbishops

 * Metropolitan Archbishops of Soltania
 * Francesco da Perugia, Dominican Order O.P. (1318.08.01 – ?)
 * Guillaume Adam, O.P. (1322.10.06 – 1324.10.26); previously Archbishop of Smirna (Smyrna) (Asian Turkey, now Izmir) (1318 – 1322.10.06); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Bar (Montenegro) (1324.10.26 – death 1341)
 * Giovanni di Cori, O.P. (1329.08.09 – ?)
 * Guglielmo, O.P. (? – ?)
 * Giovanni di Piacenza, O.P. (1349.01.09 – ?)
 * Tommaso, O.P. (1368.02.28 – ?)
 * Domenico Manfredi, O.P. (1388.08.18 – ?)
 * Giovanni di Gallofonte, O.P. (1398.08.26 – ?)
 * Nicolò Roberti (1401.01.24 – ?); previously Bishop of Ferrara (Italy) (1393.02.04 – 1401.01.24)
 * Thomas Abaraner, O.P. (1425.12.19 – ?)
 * Giovanni, O.P. (1425.12.19 – ?)

Titular see
Transformed at its suppression as residential see in 1450 into a Latin Titular archbishopric, which was itself suppressed in 1926:
 * Titular Bishop Francisco Salazar, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1548.09.12 – ?)
 * Titular Bishop: Bishop-elect Bernardino de Carmona (1551.07.10 – ?)
 * Titular Archbishop Alberto Bitter (1922.10.09 – 1926.12.19)

Sources and external links
• Audio slideshow: (6 min 45 sec). http://sultaniyya.org/
 * Official website
 * GCatholic, with residential and titular incumbent bio links
 * Video of Soltaniyeh
 * Farnoush Tehrāni, The Crown of All Domes, in Persian, Jadid Online, 31 December 2009,.