ARDABIL, chief town of one of the administrative districts of the province of Azerbaijan, in north-western Persia, 21' E. and 38° 14' N., 38m. from the Caspian sea and 25m. from the Araxes. The town stands on an almost circular plateau 4,94of t. above the sea-level surrounded on all sides by mountains, the most prominent peak being Savalan (15,792ft.) on the west. No trees or shrubs are visible for many miles round and the white chalk soil can be made fruitful only by artificial irrigation. The climate of the town, owing to its high situation, is inclement but is re garded as healthy. The vine, oranges and melons do not grow, but pears and apples are produced in abundance. Near the town are found warm mineral springs, on account of which, and the healthy air, Ardabil was formerly a favourite residence of the Persian court.
Ardabil is an important road centre : to Astara on the coast, to Tabriz, and to other places. Trade, unimportant compared with former times and mostly in the hands of Armenians, is mainly a transit trade between Russia and Persia through the Caspian port of Astara, where, in 1925-26, I0,000 tons of merchandise were landed and 5,700 tons shipped. The chief articles produced in the district for export are dried fruits, carpets and rugs.
The town, which is of great antiquity though it contains no ancient buildings of note, covers a large area surrounded by a ruinous mud wall flanked by towers, while Soo yards to the east is a mud fort constructed by Gardanne (a French general in Per sian employ) in the early years of the 19th century, now also in ruins. In the first half of the 8th century Ardabil was the resi dence of Shaikh Safi-ud-Din who died here : his shrine is an object of general veneration and is much visited by many Persians. The sanctuary also contains the tomb of the Shah Ismail (died 1524) founder of the Safavi dynasty. The building suffered considerably in the sack of the town by the Russians in 1827, and the famous library of Shaikh Safi, once the greatest in all Persia, was sent to St. Petersburg in 1827 and became part of the Imperial Library.
The European travellers Olearius (163 7) and Chardin (16 71) describe Ardabil as the most flourishing Persian town of the time, but Morier, in 1813, counted only 4,00o inhabitants. The town has now an estimated population of 16,00o-2o,00o.
See F. Sarre, Denkmaler Persischer Baukunst (19o1) .