Takab

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

The famous historical complex Takht-e Soleyman is situated to the North-East of the city. Takht-e-Soleyman was one of Takab's oldest Zoroastrian fire temples during the Sassanid Dynasty and had the name Azargoshnasp. The Karaftu Cave is also situated in Takab near Saqqez.

Etymology
Shiz is the ancient name used during Persian Empire for Takab. Takab means one narrow water way in Persian language. Tak means one or alone and Ab means water. Takab was originally known as Tikan Təpə by its native Turkic Afshar people until 1941 when Iran's Academy of Persian Language and Literature officially changed it to Takab. Afshar people are one of the Oghuz Turkic peoples. These originally nomadic Oghuz tribes moved from Central Asia and initially settled in Iranian Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan republic, and Eastern Turkey. Later some of them were relocated by the Safavids to Khorasan and Mazandaran.

Language, ethnicity, and religion
The predominant language spoken in the city is Azerbaijani, while the predominant religion is Shia Islam. Minority Kurdish tribes include Shekak, Sharani, Moslanlu and Zafranlu, while most of the Azerbaijani population is of the Afshar tribe. The Azerbaijanis have also been described as 'Turkmans'. Nowadays out of twenty-three neighborhoods in Takab city, ten neighborhoods are completely inhabited by Azerbaijanis and four neighborhoods are mostly inhabited by Azerbaijanis, and six neighborhoods are completely inhabited by Kurds and three neighborhoods are mostly inhabited by Kurds.

Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 43,702 in 10,078 households. The following census in 2011 counted 44,040 people in 11,749 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as of 49,677 people in 14,369 households.

Economy
The majority of residents of Takab earn their income from agriculture. Takab is home to the biggest gold mine in the entire country and one of the biggest in the Middle East.

Notable people

 * Shahriar Afshar, Iranian-American physicist and inventor.
 * Esmaeil Zolfi, Iranian businessman and philanthropist.