Khoy

Khoy (Persian and Azerbaijani: خوی)[a] is a city in the Central District of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[6] Occupied since Median times, it shares a long history as an important Christian center.[7] Khoy was named in ancient times for the salt mines that made it an important spur of the Silk Route.[7] 3000 years ago, a city existed on the area where Khoy is located nowadays, but its name became Khoy only in the 14th centuries ago.[8] In 714 BC, Sargon II passed the region of which Khoy is part of in a campaign against Urartu.[8]