The city has been home to various ethnic groups during its history . The population of Urmia in the early Islamic period was Christian . At the beginning of the 20thcentury , the city had a significant Christian minority ( Assyrians and Armenians ) with the Christian population of the town consisting of 40 – 50 % of the total population . According to Macuch , and Ishaya , the city was the spiritual capital of the Assyrians , who were influenced by four Christian missions that had been established in the city in the period from 1830 to the end of World War I . A large number of the Assyrians and Armenians were killed in 1914 during the Armenian and Assyrian genocides , which resulted in a change in the city 's demographics . During the era of Reza Shah Pahlavi , Iranian Assyrians were invited to return to the region , and several thousand did return . There are around 5,000 Assyrians remaining in the city , or around 1 % of the population
Armenian
Armenian Genocide
Urmia