Mahabad (Persian:مهاباد, Kurdish:مەھاباد; also Romanized as Mahābād and Mehābād; formerly known as Sāūjbulākh or Sawcheblakh) is a city in and the capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 133,324, in 31,000 families.