Sopurghan Explained

Official Name:Sopurghan
Native Name:سپورغان
Settlement Type:village
Pushpin Map:Iran
Mapsize:150px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:West Azerbaijan
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Urmia
Subdivision Type3:Bakhsh
Subdivision Name3:Nazlu
Subdivision Type4:Rural District
Subdivision Name4:Tala Tappeh
Population As Of:2006
Population Total:243
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:IRST
Utc Offset:+3:30
Timezone Dst:IRDT
Utc Offset Dst:+4:30
Coordinates:37.7525°N 45.1989°W

Sopurghan (Persian: سپورغان, also Romanized as Sopūrghān; also known as Separghān, Soporghān, and Supurgan; in Armenian: Սուփուրղան) is a village in Tala Tappeh Rural District, Nazlu District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 243, in 71 families.

Name

According to Vladimir Minorsky, the name of this village is derived from the Mongolian word suburghan, meaning a stupa.[1]

History

The earliest mention of Sopurghan is found in a letter to Pope Pius IV in 1562. The village is mentioned again in a manuscript donated to a church in Jerusalem in 1612.

Evidence from tombstones in the village cemetery show Assyrian presence in the village as early as 668 AD. In 1840, American Protestant missionaries built a primary school in the region. In 1862, a Russian survey showed 172 families and 2 priests living in the village. In 1883, a missionary established girls' school in the village, and in 1887, and Anglican mission established a Middle School for boys below 17.[2]

Location

Sopurghan is located 26 kilometres northeast of the city of Urmia and 2 kilometres from the edge of Lake Urmia.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Minorsky . Vladimir . Vladimir Minorsky . Mongol Place-Names in Mukri Kurdistan . Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London . 1957 . 19 . 1 . 58-81 . 16 October 2022.
  2. Web site: Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  3. Web site: Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica.