It is one of the metropolises of Iran and one of the largest cities in the center of Iran and the capital of the central province and the city of Arak. The population of Arak in solar year 2015 was 520,944 people, which is the demographic center of Central Province and the 18th most populated city of Iran.
From the second Islamic century, the region between Hamadan, Ray and Isfahan was called Iraq, which was then called Iraq Ajam to distinguish it from Arab Iraq. Arak is the Arabic form of Arak. Compared to many Iranian cities, Arak is considered a young city. This city was founded in the Qajar era and is a little more than two centuries old. The name of the city, which was first a military fort next to the village of Korherood, was Sultanabad Castle, then Sultanabad Iraq, and in 1316, it was renamed to Arak. The founder of the city of Arak was Yusuf Khan, a Georgian known as Sepehdar, who built the city over several years at a cost of 200,000 Tomans. In the new city, all urban facilities such as aqueducts, baths, reservoirs, mosques, schools, taverns, markets, and government citadels were built. As the economy of the city flourished and the national railway passed through the city, the migration to the city increased.
The city of Arak has cold and wet winters and hot and dry summers, and the mountains around the city, Miqan wetland and Farahan plain affect its climate. The city is located among the internal foothills of the Zagros mountain range and is among the safe cities in terms of seismicity, where the probability of an earthquake above 5 Richter is very low. The people of Arak are mainly Muslim and followers of the Shiite religion, but there are also a minority of Christians and Baha'is. The language of the people is Farsi with an Araki accent.
Arak is one of the industrial cities of Iran, which is the first in terms of the variety of industrial products, the second in terms of the presence of mother industries, and in general, it is considered one of the four industrial poles of the country. Due to the presence of mother industries, the production of 80% of the country's energy equipment, the presence of the country's largest aluminum factory, the country's largest machine factory, the largest wagon and locomotive manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest combine manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest heavy machinery manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest crane manufacturer in the Middle East, the most modern The country's oil refinery and the country's largest mineral salts company are known as the "Industrial Capital of Iran" and for this reason, it is one of the most polluted cities in Iran. The comprehensive plan to reduce air pollution in Arak is one of the national plans that was approved to reduce the city's pollution, but its poor implementation after several years caused the people of Arak to hold protest rallies against the current situation for 18 weeks in 2013. . Traffic and expensive housing are among the other problems of this city.
In terms of tourism, most of the historical monuments of Arak date back to the Qajar period (Fath Ali Shah). One of the most important handicrafts of the city is the Arak carpet, which was very important and prestigious in the past and was a competitor of the Kerman carpet.
The mountains in the Abbasid caliphate, the area where Arak is now located
The city of Arak was called Arak until 1317 AD and before that Sultanabad. The founder of the city was Yusuf Khan Gurji (known as Sepahdar of Iraq). According to the narrations, before the construction of the city, there were eight or ten castles named Khan Baba Khan, Hisar, Deh Kohneh, Moradabad, Agha Sami, Salim, Nou and Qadir, and the people of the castles were always fighting with each other. Clashes of castles wrote a biography of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. He received an order from the Shah to destroy the castles and build a new city
At that time, two powerful clans lived in this area, the Farahan Khans who lived in the present Farahan section and the Kazaz Khans who lived in the present Zalian section. Both clans, after being informed of the decision to build a new city (military fortress), tried to convince the central government to build the city in their residential area, but they were not successful for some reasons. Finally, Yusef Khan Gurji decided to build the city in the current location, which was the last point of Farahan's territory and the first point of Tezaz's territory, in order to avoid disputes and conflicts.
Yusuf Khan, who had seen the cities of Georgia and the Caucasus, tried to build a neat and orderly city where all the streets intersected each other at regular intervals and the width of all of them was calculated to be 6 cubits. Also, the market of the city was placed in the middle of it to be accessible to the general public.
It is one of the metropolises of Iran and one of the largest cities in the center of Iran and the capital of the central province and the city of Arak. The population of Arak in solar year 2015 was 520,944 people, which is the demographic center of Central Province and the 18th most populated city of Iran.
From the second Islamic century, the region between Hamadan, Ray and Isfahan was called Iraq, which was then called Iraq Ajam to distinguish it from Arab Iraq. Arak is the Arabic form of Arak. Compared to many Iranian cities, Arak is considered a young city. This city was founded in the Qajar era and is a little more than two centuries old. The name of the city, which was first a military fort next to the village of Korherood, was Sultanabad Castle, then Sultanabad Iraq, and in 1316, it was renamed to Arak. The founder of the city of Arak was Yusuf Khan, a Georgian known as Sepehdar, who built the city over several years at a cost of 200,000 Tomans. In the new city, all urban facilities such as aqueducts, baths, reservoirs, mosques, schools, taverns, markets, and government citadels were built. As the economy of the city flourished and the national railway passed through the city, the migration to the city increased.
The city of Arak has cold and wet winters and hot and dry summers, and the mountains around the city, Miqan wetland and Farahan plain affect its climate. The city is located among the internal foothills of the Zagros mountain range and is among the safe cities in terms of seismicity, where the probability of an earthquake above 5 Richter is very low. The people of Arak are mainly Muslim and followers of the Shiite religion, but there are also a minority of Christians and Baha'is. The language of the people is Farsi with an Araki accent.
Arak is one of the industrial cities of Iran, which is the first in terms of the variety of industrial products, the second in terms of the presence of mother industries, and in general, it is considered one of the four industrial poles of the country. Due to the presence of mother industries, the production of 80% of the country's energy equipment, the presence of the country's largest aluminum factory, the country's largest machine factory, the largest wagon and locomotive manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest combine manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest heavy machinery manufacturer in the Middle East, the largest crane manufacturer in the Middle East, the most modern The country's oil refinery and the country's largest mineral salts company are known as the "Industrial Capital of Iran" and for this reason, it is one of the most polluted cities in Iran. The comprehensive plan to reduce air pollution in Arak is one of the national plans that was approved to reduce the city's pollution, but its poor implementation after several years caused the people of Arak to hold protest rallies against the current situation for 18 weeks in 2013. . Traffic and expensive housing are among the other problems of this city.
In terms of tourism, most of the historical monuments of Arak date back to the Qajar period (Fath Ali Shah). One of the most important handicrafts of the city is the Arak carpet, which was very important and prestigious in the past and was a competitor of the Kerman carpet.
The mountains in the Abbasid caliphate, the area where Arak is now located
The city of Arak was called Arak until 1317 AD and before that Sultanabad. The founder of the city was Yusuf Khan Gurji (known as Sepahdar of Iraq). According to the narrations, before the construction of the city, there were eight or ten castles named Khan Baba Khan, Hisar, Deh Kohneh, Moradabad, Agha Sami, Salim, Nou and Qadir, and the people of the castles were always fighting with each other. Clashes of castles wrote a biography of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. He received an order from the Shah to destroy the castles and build a new city
At that time, two powerful clans lived in this area, the Farahan Khans who lived in the present Farahan section and the Kazaz Khans who lived in the present Zalian section. Both clans, after being informed of the decision to build a new city (military fortress), tried to convince the central government to build the city in their residential area, but they were not successful for some reasons. Finally, Yusef Khan Gurji decided to build the city in the current location, which was the last point of Farahan's territory and the first point of Tezaz's territory, in order to avoid disputes and conflicts.
Yusuf Khan, who had seen the cities of Georgia and the Caucasus, tried to build a neat and orderly city where all the streets intersected each other at regular intervals and the width of all of them was calculated to be 6 cubits. Also, the market of the city was placed in the middle of it to be accessible to the general public.
With the railroad passing through the city, the expansion of urbanization accelerated. In the years of peace and tranquility, the surrounding walls of the city were removed and the city began to expand.
The constitutional period
In 1285, when the constitutional decree was issued, 92 years had passed since the city of Sultanabad. [32] On the eve of the constitutional movement and Qajar's inability to support Iranian businessmen against the foreign companies present in Arak, the businessmen and those involved in the industry started to fight against Attracted foreign capitalists. This struggle was formed under the leadership of Shia clerics who had a long history of presence in the Iraqi region of Ajam (especially in the village of Korrood). At this time, the religious schools and scholars of Arak were mostly under the influence of Najaf religious leaders, including Mullah Molahmad Kazem Khorasani. These people were the leaders of the movement in Arak during the constitutional period, and the most famous of them was Agha Nuruddin Iraqi. After issuing the constitutional decree, Mr. Nuruddin Iraqi established the first provincial association together with other modern clerics. After the closing of the parliament and the era of Saghir's tyranny, the freedom fighters of Arak were less persecuted than in other parts of Iran due to the influential presence of Mr. Nuruddin Iraqi.
Arak had six constitutional associations, which were:
Sri Admit Association headed by Mr. Asadullah Parveen
Democratic Association led by Haj Mirza Abdulazim
Religious Association formed in Sepahdar School under the leadership of Sheikh Ali Parim
Association of Azerbaijanis consisting of Iraqi Azerbaijanis from Ajam, led by Mirza Habibullah, a photographer
Brothers Association led by Mirza Hassan Khan Harabadi and Mirza Ali Akbar Kompany
The Association of Moderates led by Majd al-Mamalek
After the issuance of the constitutional decree, Agha Nuruddin Iraqi established the first provincial association together with other modern clerics. After the closing of the parliament and the era of Saghir's tyranny, the freedom fighters of Arak were less persecuted than in other parts of Iran due to the influential presence of Mr. Nuruddin Iraqi.
World War I and II
Until 1271 AH, the military aspect was more important for this city. In this year, according to Etimad al-Sultaneh, Mirzahasan, Naib al-Hokuma of Iraq, repaired and planted trees in the shops, palaces and diwani gardens of Sultanabad city, and brought and settled in the city the owners of all kinds of industries and professions from other cities.
From this year onward, the province of Iraq, in addition to its military role, also had an industrial and economic role, and due to its location on the trade routes, it was attracted by foreign companies. The arrival of foreign companies in Sultanabad caused the city to suddenly expand and create new commercial, residential, office, and entertainment spaces in it. In this way, despite the economic stagnation prevailing in the country, the economy of Sultanabad flourished and the conditions for population attraction emerged in this region, but with the beginning of the First World War in late 1293, the central government was shaken and the Russian and British troops entered the city and settled in it. Due to the occupation of the city, the roads became unsafe and as a result the commercial economy of Sultanabad collapsed suddenly. In Shahrivar 1320, the Second World War started and was dragged into Iran, Reza Khan was deposed from the government and parts of the country were occupied by the allied forces. During this period, Arak was of special communication importance due to having one of the important stations of Iran's nationwide railway, and in this sense, it was occupied by the Allies for several years. 1320 to 1332 solar years can be considered as one of the prominent periods of Iran's economic recession. The economic disorder of these years also affected Arak, the process of sending immigrants to the city began. During World War II, water and fuel were stored in this city.
With the occupation of Iran, famine, high prices and scarcity of goods began. The allied forces were taking the surplus grain of the villagers, which caused the reaction of the people. In 1321, there were riots in eight cities of the country, among which the events of Arak were particularly important, because the riot was more widespread and continuous and continued from September to March of the same year. On 2 Shahrivar 1321, the Minister of Finance asked the Prime Minister to send troops to suppress the riots, but the deployment of troops did not help to resolve the matter. At the end of November, Kisbeh Bazar went on strike and some people were arrested by the order of Qawam al-Sultaneh. This strike ended with the intervention of the minister of food and threats and promises to the strikers. This case was repeated in March of the same year, but it ended quickly.
