Arak (Persian: Arāk – اراک, IPA:[æˈɾɒːk]ⓘ), also known as Soltan Abad (سالطان آباد – Soltān Ābād),[3] is the capital of Markazi Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 526,182, in 160,761 families.[1][2]
It is a major industrial city in Iran, hosting many industrial factories inside and within few kilometers outside the city, such as the factory of Machin Sazi and the Aluminum Factory of Arak. These factories produce nearly half of the needs of the country in steel, petrochemical, and locomotive industries.
As an industrial city in a developing country, Arak is subject to the issue of air pollution.
Etymology
The name Arak remains from a title given to the region since the medieval period, and derives from the ArabicIraq, meaning "edge."[4]
During the Seljuk era, a region comprising the whole territory of Media (north-western Iran) and the lower part of Mesopotamia was referred to as Iraq; with the Median part called ʿErāq-e ʿAǰam, meaning "Iraq of the Ajam," and the Mesopotamian part called ʿErāq-e ʿArab, meaning "Iraq of the Arab."[5]
After its establishment during the Qajar era, the city was referred to as Soltan Abad. It was later renamed Arak, under the reign of Reza Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty.
History
The modern-day city of Arak was founded during the Qajar era. Named Soltan Abad at the time, it was founded in 1808 by Yusef Khan e Gorji,[6] a pro-Iranian warlord who was given refuge by the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan, following a territorial dispute with his cousins who were supported by the Russian empress Catherine the Great.
Between 1795 and 1797, Yusef Khan e Gorji, renamed Yusef Khan e Sepahdar by the Shah, settled his army in the fertile but poorly-controlled territory that would become the modern-day Arak. Hostile tribes in the region had operated autonomously from the Qajar rule. With the Shah's approval, Yusef Khan diverted the main river to drive out the hostiles and build the war fortress of Soltan Abad to act as a buffer. According to historians, Yusef Khan built the city with the aid of effluents.
Until 1892, the town remained a military base and fortress. The fortress of Soltan Abad had a thick wall surrounded by 7-meter-deep moats. Eight towers were constructed around the town and the governmental building was established in its northern part.
In 1891, shops, gardens, and government buildings of Soltan Abad were repaired by the order of the deputy governor Etemad os Saltane (Mirza Hasan). Large parts of the city were formerly annexed as personal property to the pre-existing army commanders, and were then ultimately turned over to the state around 1918–1922.
Beginning by the last quarter of the 19th century, the city achieved major developments in carpet industry, and eventually became Iran's most important center of carpet production for export markets, continuing up until at least 1940.[7]
National Garden Square in 1969
Under the reign of Reza Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty, modern factories for vegetable oil, soap, sugar beet, and wool industries were established in Arak. The city also became an important station for the Trans-Iranian Railway, a major railway project directed by Reza Shah which was completed in 1938.
In 1972, two major state-owned enterprises were established in the city, including an aluminum smelter and a heavy engineering plant. The aluminum smelter was built under the Regional Cooperation for Development project of the Central Treaty Organization, in cooperation with the company of Reynolds and Reynolds; and the engineering plant was processed with equipment and technical advice from the Soviets, in return of the gas sales to the Soviet Union.
The weather of the city is hot and dry in summer, windy and cool in autumn, cold and snowy in winter, and mild in spring. Its maximum temperature may raise up to 35 degrees Celsius in summer and fall to below -25 degrees Celsius in winter. The average rainfall is around 350mm and the annual relative humidity is 46%.
The city is served by the International Airport of Arak, which is located north of the city. The airport was opened in 1938, and is one of the oldest airports of Iran.
Arak is one of the main industrial cities of Iran, possessing many plants for heavy industries, especially for the metal and machinery industries, including:
Power plant and a low power (less than 40 megawatts) heavy water nuclear power plant (IR-40)
Agriculture and handicrafts
The main agricultural products of the city are grain, barley, and fruits including grape, apple, walnut, and almond. Arak also exports hand-knotted carpets which are generally referred to as Sarouk rugs. Saruq is a small village outside the city of Arak, and its name is used in order to prevent confusion with rug from the modern-day country of Iraq.
Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967), Prime Minister (May 1951–July 1952; August 1952–1953), was born in Tehran; his father was from Ashtiyan, north-eastern Arak.
^Arak, Iran can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3053519" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^Boesch, Hans H. (1 October 1939). "El-'Iraq". Economic Geography. 15 (4): 329. doi:10.2307/141771.
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