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37°51′N 45°30′E / 37.850°N 45.500°E / 37.850; 45.500
Shahi Island (Persian: جزیرهٔ شاهی, Azerbaijani: شاهی آداسؽ, Armenian: Արքայից կղզի) lit. 'King Island' is the largest island in the endorheic Urmia Lake, East Azerbaijan Province in Iran. Located in the eastern part of the lake, Shahi Island has a surface area of 23,000 hectares. The island is the only inhabited island in Lake Urmia, with seven villages, including 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 on 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) in the island supposedly with all of his wealth. His tomb has not been found so far.
Name change
After Iranian revolution on 1979 and overthrow of Iranian monarchy, the revolutionaries changed the name of the island to Islami Island (Jazireh-ye-Eslami), which means Islamic Island.
References
- "castle" from Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas, page 134
- Alan J.K. Sanders, Historical dictionary of Mongolia, Scarecrow Pr, 1996.
- George Lane, Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule, Greenwood Publishing Group Inc, 2004.
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