Zarnaq

Zarnaq is a city in the Central District of Heris County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran.

History
Sixty-five-hundred-year-old settlements and ancient objects have been discovered in the ancient hill of Duzde Baghir Zaranq.

This city was ruined before the migration of Turks to Azerbaijan, and around the 11th century, a population of Kipchak Turks settled in its outskirts, who are considered the ancestors of the current residents of this city.

Language and ethnicity
The city's inhabitants are from Kipchak and Oghuz Turks and speak Azerbaijani Turkic.

Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 4,766 in 1,132 households. The following census in 2011 counted 5,713 people in 1,548 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 5,343 people in 1,649 households.

Notable residents
Mohammad Feyz Sarabi, former cleric and politician

Mirza Ahmed Bey, known by his pen name Nourani, 19th century nobleman, poet, physician, mystic and an ancestor of the Nourani family.

Seyyid Qasim, a holy spiritual figure in the region, descendant of the Prophet of Islam, and mystic (not originally from Zarnaq, but he had long stays there). Also a friend of Mirza Ahmed Bey.