Sahrazur

Shahrazur is a fertile plain among the western Zagros, between Mesopotamia and the approaches to the Iranian highlands. Mountain passes made it a meeting place of routes and peoples. Ancient kings campaigned here for control of the roads, while Kurdish pastoralists brought their flocks down from the heights to winter on the plain. The name belonged both to the wider district and to an old city within it.

Towards the end of Ilkhanid rule, the Kurdish chief Baba Ardalan established his authority in Shahrazur. In the sixteenth century the region became an Ottoman frontier province contested by the Safavids. Its administration was based at fortified places including Zalm and Gulanbar; the latter was founded in 1563, destroyed during Shah Abbas's advance and rebuilt in 1630. Kurdish rulers continued to manoeuvre between the neighbouring powers, making the plain an important arena in their struggles.