-abad
-abad is a suffix that forms part of many city names in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, amongst others. It is derived from the Persian word ābād (آباد), meaning "cultivated place" (village, city), and commonly attached to the name of the city's founder or patron. The root of this word is from the Persian word āb (آب) meaning 'Water'. In India, -abads are generally legacies of Persianized Muslim rulers such as the Mughals.
The suffix is most common in Iran, which contains thousands of -abads, most of them small villages. As of 1954[update], its Markazi Province alone contained 44 Hoseynabads, 31 Aliabads, 23 Hajjiabads, 22 Hasanabads, and so on.[1] It should not be confused with with the German -bad, meaning "bath".
Selected -abads
- Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, named after the colonial British Army officer James Abbott
- Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, named for the Muzaffarid sultan Ahmed Shah
- Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, named after Allah, the name of God in Arabic
- Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan
- Dzhafarabad, Azerbaijan
- Faisalabad, Pakistan, originally founded as Lyallpur after Sir James Lyall. Renamed in 1977 after King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
- Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, named after the Faizabad, India
- Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan
- Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, named for the religion of Islam
- Jalalabad, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, named for Pir Jalala, son of the Pashtun leader Pir Roshan
- Jalalabad, Bangladesh, previous name of Sylhet named after Hazrat Shah Jalal.
- Khorramabad, capital of Lorestan Province, Iran
- Nazirabad, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
- Ordubad, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
- Stalinabad, Tajikistan, the name of Dushanbe from 1921 to 1961, named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
- Sabirabad, Azerbaijan
- Sabirabad (district), Azerbaijan
- Sardarabad, Armenia, former name (1931-1935) of modern-day Armavir.
- Türkmenabat, Lebap, Turkmenistan
- Vagharshapat, Armenia, city in Armenia.
Common -abad names
Multiple places by the same name:
- Abbasabad
- Ahmadabad
- Akbarabad
- Allahabad
- Aliabad
- Faizabad
- Hajjiabad
- Hoseynabad
- Hyderabad
- Jahanabad
- Khorramabad
- Nizamabad
- Rezaabad
- Shahabad
- Sahibabad
See also
- -stan – another Persian placename suffix
References
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