| Official Name: | Meshgin Shahr |
| Native Name: | Persian: مشگين شهر |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | Iran |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Iran |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ardabil |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Meshgin Shahr |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Central |
| Area Total Km2: | 12 |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Total: | 74109 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | IRST |
| Utc Offset: | +3:30 |
| Coordinates: | 38.3906°N 47.6742°W |
| Coordinates Footnotes: | [1] |
Meshginshahr (Persian: مشگين شهر) is a city in the Central District of Meshgin Shahr County, Ardabil province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[2]
The 14th-century author Hamdallah Mustawfi mentioned the city, as Khiyāv, as one of the seven cities in the tuman of Pishkin, or Mishkin.[3] He distinguished between the cities of Khiyav and Pishkin — according to him, Khiyav lay to the south of Mount Sablan and had a warm climate, while Pishkin (which he said had formerly been called "Varāvī") was to the north of Mount Sablan and had a damp climate because the mountain shielded it from the sun.[3] Both cities drew their water from the streams coming down from the mountain.[3] The district of Pishkin, he wrote, grew both grain and fruit in abundance, while Khiyav mostly grew grain.[3] Pishkin was assessed for a tax value of 5,200 dinars, while Khiyav was assessed at 2,000.[3] Mustawfi wrote that Pishkin's population was mostly Shafi'i Sunnis, with Shi'i and Hanafi Sunni minorities.[3] He said nothing about Khiyav's religious makeup, but instead described its population as mostly "boot-makers and cloth-workers".[3]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 61,296 in 14,920 households.[4] The following census in 2011 counted 66,883 people in 17,871 households.[5] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 74,109 people in 21,926 households.[6]