Shahi Island

Coordinates: 37°50′12.85″N 45°30′14.39″E / 37.8369028°N 45.5039972°E / 37.8369028; 45.5039972

Shahi Island is located in eastern part of the Urmia Lake

Shahi Island (Persian: جزیره شاهی‎) which literally translate to Royal Island is the largest island in Urmia Lake, East Azerbaijan Province in Iran. Shahi Island is 23,000 hectares and is located in eastern part of the lake. The island is the only inhabited island in Lake Urmia, with seven villages: Sarai, Aq Gonbad, Gamichi, Burachalu, Ghebchagh, Teymurlu, and Bahramabad. These villages were located on the shores of the island. However the water level in the lake has been falling, and the "island" is now connected to the mainland from its eastern side and it forms a peninsula.

The Shahi island is a rural district (dehestan) in Osku County.

Mongol ruler

In 1265 Hulagu Khan, the Mongol conqueror of Bagdad, was buried in a mountain (or castle[1]) in the island supposedly with all of his wealth.[2] His tomb has still not been uncovered.[3]

Name change

After Iranian revolution on 1979, the revolutioneries changed the name of the island to Eslami Island (Jazireh-ye-Eslami).

References

  1. ↑ "castle" from Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas, page 134
  2. ↑ Alan J.K. Sanders, Historical dictionary of Mongolia, Scarecrow Pr, 1996.
  3. ↑ George Lane, Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule, Greenwood Publishing Group Inc, 2004.
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