Sanandaj: Encyclopedia II - Sanandaj - History

Sanandaj - History

The name "Sanandaj" is the arabized form of "Sena Dej"(Sine Dij in Kurdish), which means "the Castle of Sena". Nowadays, it is commonly referred to as Sinne or Senna in Kurdish. Although the province of Kurdistan has archeological traces which go back to thousands of years BC when the Aryan Kurds first settled in these parts, Sanandaj itself is a rather new city and was built less than 400 years ago. After the islamic conquest in 642 A.D., majority of the inhabitants accepted Sunni Islam which is the predominant religion of the area, today. Soleiman Khan Ardalan the governor of Kurdistan constructed the Senna Dej (castle) during the Shah Safi period (1629-1642). Sanandaj was under the control of the Ardalan household for duration of four centuries. In the war between Iran and Ottomans in Safavid period, this family sometimes sided with Iran and sometimes with the Ottomans. In 1733, Karim Khan Zand destroyed Sanandaj. After a period of chaos, Khosrow Khan Ardalan took over the power. From 1799 to 1824, Emam Allah Khan, son of Khosrow Khan governed in Sanandaj and to some extent he worked for the sake of improvement of Sanandaj. In 1867, due to the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants, Haj Mirza Mo'tamed-o-Doleh the uncle of Nasser-al-Din Shah governed in Kurdistan till the year 1874. [2]

The main landmark of Sanandaj is a fortress dating back to the period of Abbasid rule.[3] Sanandaj was very prosperous in the Safavid era but was completely destroyed at the time of Karim Khan of Zand dynasty. It was later chosen to be the capital of this province and is presently one of the most prominent cities of western Iran.

Tracing their roots to the city of Talvar, the Sanandaji family, which since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 have moved to Europe and the United States, were the predominant land and farm owners in the state of Kurdistan throughout its modern history. Until the White Revolution during the Shah's reign, the family heavily influenced the economy and society of the region. It is for this reason that they bear the title of Khan, and the name Sanandaji.

An extract of K. Sanandaji's autobiography reveals:

"My surname, Sanandaji, is derived from my great-great grandfather and the area of Kurdistan we originate from. A simple study of the name’s origin reveals that by adding an “i” to the end of a noun, in Farsi and/or Arabic, the meaning of the word is changed and refers to the belonging of the noun. Thus my father’s family were the ruling family of Sanandaj, the largest area (state) of Kurdistan, and they are often referred to as Khans; a sign of respect and rank often given to such political leaders. Translated, khan means ruler, and one often hears this name in reference to the great Mongolian conqueror, Temujin, or Genghis Khan."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki