Malekshahi County

{{for multi|the village in Kermanshah province|Seh Chekan-e Meleh Shahi|the former administrative division of Mehran County|Malekshahi District}}

{{Infobox settlement |name = Malekshahi County |other_name = |native_name = {{langx|fa|شهرستان ملکشاهی}} |settlement_type = County |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_map = Ilam.svg | image_map1 = IranIlam-SVG.svg | map_caption = Location of Malekshahi County in Ilam province (center, pink) | map_caption1 = Location of Ilam Province in Iran |pushpin_map = |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Iran |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Ilam |seat_type = Capital |seat = Arkavaz |parts_type = Districts | parts_style = para | parts = | p1 = Central | p2 = Gachi | p3 = | p4 = | p5 = | p6 = |leader_title = |leader_name = |established_title = |established_date = |area_total_km2 = |population_as_of = 2016 |population_footnotes = <ref name="2016 Ilam Province"/> |population_total = 21138 |population_density_km2 = |coordinates = {{coord|33|18|N|46|35|E|dim:30km|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=33.3&mlon=46.583333&zoom=11#map=11/33.3000/46.5833|website=OpenStreetMap |title=Malekshahi County|date=24 November 2024|access-date=24 November 2024|lang=fa}}</ref> |timezone = IRST |utc_offset = +3:30 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = |elevation_ft = |website = |footnotes = }}

'''Malekshahi County''' ({{langx|fa|شهرستان ملکشاهی}}){{efn|The name in Persian (ملگشاهی) is from the old name, Melkishi, a Kurdish<ref>Pastoralists at the Periphery: Herders in a Capitalist World, Claudia Chang and Harold A. Koster 1965</ref> tribe spread from Ilam to Ardahan province in Turkey. There is a Georgian counterpart to this tribe, namely the Melikishvili. The Malekshahi form one of the largest tribes in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Melikshahi Kurdish language and dialect is Malekshahi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9046467/Kurdish-language|title=Kurdish language|website=britannica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | author = Alireza Asadi | url= http://www.bankkm.com/bookdetail.php?book=150528| title =عنوان فرهنگ تطبیقی گویش کردی ایلامی با زبان ایرانی میانه (پهلوی اشکانی و پهلوی ساسانی) به انضمام تاریخ و زبان استان ایلام قبل از اسلام ناشر بانک کتاب مرکزی ایلام: انتشارات جوهر حیات، ۱۳۹۰، صص۶۱–۶۲)|accessdate= 15 August 2014|publisher=نبانک کتاب مرکزی ایلام: انتشارات جوهر حیات، ۱۳۹۰، صص۶۱–۶۲۵ آگوست ۲۰۱}}</ref><ref name="auto">I. Kamandar Fattah, Les Dialectes kurdes méridionaux: étude linguistique et dialectologique. Louvain, Peeters, 2000, p. 30-31</ref><ref>G. Windfuhr, The iranian Languages, Routledge, 2009, P. 587</ref><ref>Rüdiger Schmitt: Die iranischen Sprachen in Gegenwart und Geschichte. Wiesbaden (Reichert) 2000, P.77,</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=1711-16|title=Browse by Language Family|website=ethnologue.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sepehrmag.ir/print.php?id=1770|title=زبانها و گویش‌های ایران. منبع: کتاب تاریخ زبان فارسی نویسنده: دکتر پرویز ناتل خانلری|website=sepehrmag.ir|access-date=2015-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519194250/http://sepehrmag.ir/print.php?id=1770|archive-date=2009-05-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} is in Ilam province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Arkavaz.<ref name="Malekshahi County Establishment">{{cite report|title=Approval letter regarding changes and reforms of divisions in Ilam province|language=fa|website=lamtakam.com|via=Lam ta Kam|url=https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/135488|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208153301/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/135488|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers|last=Davodi|first=Parviz|archive-date=8 February 2024|date=c. 2024|orig-date=Approved 28 July 1387|id=Proposal 91494/42/1/4/1; Notification 145145/T342H|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn1|Formerly Qaleh Darreh-ye Malekshahi<ref name="Arkavazi District Renamed Malekshahi District">{{cite report|title=Approval letter regarding the change of the name of Arkavazi District in Ilam province|language=fa|website=lamtakam.com|via=Lam ta Kam|url=https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/121677|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124115709/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/121677|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|archive-date=24 November 2024|orig-date=Approved 16 March 1380|date=c. 2024|id=Proposal 1.4.74426; Notification 12084/T24186‌H|access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref>}} The Malekshahi tribe is the largest Kurdish tribe in Ilam.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==History== In 2008, Malekshahi District{{efn|Formerly Arkavazi District<ref name="Arkavazi District Renamed Malekshahi District"/>}} was separated from Mehran County in the establishment of Malekshahi County, which was divided into two districts of two rural districts each, with Arkavaz as its capital.<ref name="Malekshahi County Establishment"/> The village of Delgosha was elevated to the status of a city.<ref name="Delgosha City">{{cite report|title=Approval letter regarding the conversion of Delgosha village from Gachi Rural District in Malekshahi District of Mehran County in Ilam province to Delgosha city|language=fa|website=lamtakam.com|via=Lam ta Kam|url=https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/134970|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208154827/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/134970|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Political-Defense Commission of the Government Board|last=Davodi|first=Parviz|archive-date=8 February 2024|date=c. 2024|orig-date=Approved 20 September 1386|id=Proposal 93023/42/4/1; Letter 58538/T26118H; Notification 158856/T38077K|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref> After the 2011 National Census, the village of Mehr became a city as well.<ref name="Mehr City">{{cite news|title=Shahr Mehr was added to the country's geography map; with five changes in the map of country divisions|language=fa|website=dolat.ir|via=Secretariat of the Government Information Council|url=https://dolat.ir/detail/199317|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420235317/https://dolat.ir/detail/199317|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Political and Defense Commission|archive-date=20 April 2017|date=2 March 2011|orig-date=Approved 7 December 1389|access-date=8 February 2024}}</ref>

===During the 2025-2026 Iranian protests=== {{main|2026 Malekshahi massacre}} On January 3, 2026, during the 2025-2026 Iranian protests and 2026 Iran massacres, forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij opened fire on protesting civilians, killing several in the Malekshahi County.<ref name="Hengaw_atleast4killed_Malekshahi">{{cite Q|Q137678576|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among those killed was Latif Karimi. His son confirmed on his personal social media page that Karimi was killed directly by government forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=|title=گزارش هه‌نگاو از جانباختن لطیف کریمی با شلیک مستقیم نیروهای حکومتی/ تلاش حکومت برای مصادره و وارونه‌سازی واقعیت|url=https://hengaw.net/fa/news/2026/01/article-31|access-date=2026-01-07|website=Hengaw (hengaw.net)|language=fa}}</ref> Following the incident, state-affiliated institutions promoted media narratives describing him as a member of government forces who had been killed by protesters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=خبرگزاری تسنیم: در درگیری های شهرستان ملکشاهی، لطیف کریمی از پیشکسوتان سپاه به شهادت رسید + جزئیات - خبرآنلاین|url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/amp/2165167/|access-date=2026-01-07|website=www.khabaronline.ir}}</ref>

==Demographics== ===Population=== At the time of the 2011 census, the county's population was 22,587 people in 5,626 households.<ref name="2011 Ilam Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Ilam Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Ilam.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117202401/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Ilam.xls|archive-date=17 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the county as 21,138 in 6,022 households.<ref name="2016 Ilam Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Ilam Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_16.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101180736/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_16.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=1 November 2020}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===

Malekshahi County's population history and administrative structure over two consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

{| class="wikitable" |+ Malekshahi County Population |- ! Administrative Divisions !! 2011<ref name="2011 Ilam Province"/> !! 2016<ref name="2016 Ilam Province"/> |- | '''Central District''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''16,144''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''15,374''' |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Chamzey RD || style="text-align: right;"| 2,957 || style="text-align: right;"| 2,722 |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Shuhan RD || style="text-align: right;"| 829 || style="text-align: right;"| 675 |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Arkavaz (city){{efn|name=fn1}} || style="text-align: right;"| 12,358 || style="text-align: right;"| 11,977 |- | '''Gachi District''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''6,298''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''5,609''' |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Gachi RD || style="text-align: right;"| 2,011 || style="text-align: right;"| 520 |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Kabirkuh RD || style="text-align: right;"| 2,086 || style="text-align: right;"| 2,210 |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Delgosha (city) || style="text-align: right;"| 2,201 || style="text-align: right;"| 1,819 |- | style="padding-left: 1em;" | Mehr (city) || style="text-align: right;"| || style="text-align: right;"| 1,060 |- | '''Total''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''22,587''' || style="text-align: right;"| '''21,138''' |- | colspan=3 | {{small|RD {{=}} Rural District}} |}

== 2026 Malekshahi massacre == {{excerpt|2026 Malekshahi massacre}}

==See also== {{Commons-inline}}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Malekshahi County

Category:Counties of Ilam province