Mahabad: The Kurdish City of the 1946 Republic
- Mehmet Özdemir
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
Introduction
Mahabad is a Kurdish city in north-western Iran, set in a mountain valley in the southern part of West Azerbaijan Province. A regional market town of around 168,000 people, it is best known to the wider world as the birthplace of the short-lived Republic of Mahabad in 1946 — the only modern Kurdish state to govern itself, however briefly, in Iran.
This is the latest entry in our geographic series on Greater Kurdistan, profiling the places that make up the Kurdish homeland — where they are, who lives in them, and why they matter.
Quick Facts
Common Name: Mahabad
Former Name: Sablagh (Sablakh)
Region: Rojhelat (Eastern Kurdistan / Iranian Kurdistan)
Country: Iran — West Azerbaijan Province, Mahabad County
Population: About 168,000 in the city (2016 census); roughly 237,000 in the county
People: Overwhelmingly Kurdish, mostly Sunni; historically also home to a Jewish community
Setting: A mountain valley on the Mahabad River, south of Lake Urmia
Famous As: Capital of the 1946 Republic of Mahabad, the modern Kurdish republic in Iran
Contents
Location and Geography
Mahabad lies in the south of West Azerbaijan Province, in the mountainous north-west of Iran, roughly south of Lake Urmia and not far from the border with Iraqi Kurdistan. The city sits in a valley along the Mahabad River, which is dammed just upstream by the Mahabad Dam, a key source of water and irrigation for the surrounding farmland. The county around it, Mahabad County, covers about 2,600 square kilometres of valley and mountain country in the wider Mukriyan region of Iranian Kurdistan.
People and Population
Mahabad is one of the most strongly Kurdish cities in Iran. Its population is overwhelmingly Kurdish and mostly Sunni Muslim, speaking the Sorani and Mukri dialects of Kurdish. The 2016 national census recorded about 168,000 people in the city itself and around 237,000 in Mahabad County as a whole, a steady rise from roughly 133,000 in the city in 2006. The town historically also had a Neo-Aramaic-speaking Jewish community, which left for Israel in the twentieth century. Mahabad has long had a reputation as a centre of Kurdish national and cultural life within Iran.
History
Long known by its older name Sablagh (Sablakh), Mahabad grew as a market town of the Mukriyan district of Kurdistan and was renamed Mahabad in the twentieth century. For generations it has been a hub of trade and learning for the surrounding Kurdish countryside. Its place in modern history, though, was sealed in the upheaval at the end of the Second World War, when the Allied occupation of Iran and the temporary weakness of the central government created an opening for Kurdish self-rule.
The Republic of Mahabad
In January 1946, with Soviet forces still present in northern Iran, Kurdish leaders in Mahabad proclaimed the Republic of Kurdistan, usually called the Republic of Mahabad, under the presidency of Qazi Muhammad. It was the first modern attempt at a self-governing Kurdish state, with its own flag, government and schools teaching in Kurdish, and it became a powerful symbol for Kurds across the region.
The republic lasted less than a year. When the Soviet Union withdrew from Iran in 1946, the central government moved back into the region; the republic collapsed, and Qazi Muhammad and other leaders were executed in 1947. Despite its brief life, the Republic of Mahabad remains one of the central reference points of modern Kurdish nationalism.
Mahabad Today
Today Mahabad is a provincial city of Iran, the capital of Mahabad County, and an important commercial and cultural centre for the Kurds of the region. It remains a focus of Kurdish identity and has often been a centre of political tension; the city has repeatedly seen protests and unrest, including during the nationwide demonstrations of recent years. For Kurds in Iran and beyond, the name Mahabad still carries the memory of 1946 — a town whose modern fame rests on a single, defiant year of self-rule.
Timeline of Key Events
Older era — The town is known as Sablagh, a market centre of the Mukriyan district.
20th century — The town is renamed Mahabad.
January 1946 — The Republic of Mahabad is proclaimed under Qazi Muhammad.
Late 1946 — Soviet forces withdraw; the republic falls to the Iranian government.
1947 — Qazi Muhammad and other leaders are executed.
2016 — The census records about 168,000 people in the city.
Debates and Controversies
The Republic of Mahabad is remembered in different ways. For Kurdish nationalists it is a foundational symbol of the right to self-rule and the high point of Kurdish political aspiration in Iran. Others emphasise the role of the Soviet Union, whose wartime presence created the conditions for the republic and whose withdrawal doomed it, and debate how independent the state truly was. The Iranian state has historically treated Kurdish autonomy movements with suspicion, and Mahabad has remained a sensitive, sometimes restive city. As with much of this region, the same events carry very different meanings depending on who is telling the story.
Legacy and Significance
Few towns of its size carry such symbolic weight. As the seat of the only modern Kurdish republic in Iran, Mahabad occupies a central place in the Kurdish national story, and its 1946 flag and leaders are still honoured among Kurds today. Beyond that single famous year, it remains a living Kurdish city — a regional capital of trade, language and culture in the Mukriyan country of Iranian Kurdistan.
Related Places and Topics
Other towns and cities of Rojhelat (Iranian Kurdistan), such as Sanandaj and Saqqez. The wider Mukriyan region around Lake Urmia. The broader story of Kurdish self-rule and the Kurdish national movement across Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Mahabad?
Mahabad is a city in the south of West Azerbaijan Province in north-western Iran, in a mountain valley on the Mahabad River, south of Lake Urmia and near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan.
How big is Mahabad and who lives there?
The 2016 census recorded about 168,000 people in the city and around 237,000 in Mahabad County. The population is overwhelmingly Kurdish and mostly Sunni Muslim.
Why is Mahabad famous?
It was the capital of the Republic of Mahabad, proclaimed in 1946 under Qazi Muhammad — the only modern self-governing Kurdish republic in Iran, which lasted less than a year.
Is Mahabad in Iraq or Iran?
Mahabad is in Iran. It lies in West Azerbaijan Province in the Iranian Kurdish region (Rojhelat), not far from the Iraqi border.
References and Further Reading
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