that the grave of Shaykh Abu Bakr ibn Tahir al-Tayyar al-Abhari was located there. The 17th-century French traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who had been to Abhar, reported the place in his 1676 book Les six voyages en Turquie, en Perse et aux Indes as a sizable, ancient town that was now in ruins and home to a community of Armenians. Another French traveler, Jean Chardin, who had been to Abhar in 1673, reported that the place had seen several massacres and devastations. He added that the town had large gardens despite having little more than 2,500 houses. He described its inhabitants as Persian-speaking, contrary to its previous populace, which spoke Turkic. Comte Laurent de Sercey, writing in 1840, reported that Abhar had 800–900 inhabitants and 200 houses. Zayn al-Abidin Shirvani (died 1837), however, reported that Abhar had 700 houses. During the rule of the Qajar shah of Iran, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (), the royal artillery used Abhar as one of their central bases. Historical sites The following are some of the historical sites in Abhar: The mausoleum of Mawlana Qutb al-Din Ahmad al-Abhari, known as Pir Ahmad, situated in the southern part of Abhar. The mausoleum of Imamzadeh (Persian: descendant of a Shia Imam) Ismail, a descendant of Ali. The mausoleum of Prince Zayd al-Kabir, located in the eastern part of Abhar. The mausoleum of Imamzadeh Yahya, who is considered to belong to the line of the 7th Twelver Shia Imam, Musa al-Kazim (died 799). Demographics The population of Abhar consists of Turkic speakers who are generally bilingual in Persian. References Sources References Abhar County Cities in Zanjan Province Populated places in Zanjan Province Populated places in Abhar County