Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
: Haŋgmetana,
Ecbatana
Ecbatana ( peo, 𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴 ''Hagmatāna'' or ''Haŋmatāna'', literally "the place of gathering" according to Darius I's inscription at Bisotun; Persian: هگمتانه; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭; Parthian: 𐭀𐭇 ...
) is the capital city of
Hamadan Province of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Hamadan identify as ethnic
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
.
Hamedan is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities. It is possible that it was occupied by the
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
ns in 1100 BCE; the Ancient Greek historian,
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, states that it was the capital of the
Medes
The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, the ...
, around 700 BCE.
Hamedan has a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3,574-meter Alvand Mountain, in the midwest part of Iran. The city is 1,850 meters
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
.
The highly cultural nature of this old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately southwest of
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
. The major sights of this city are the
Ganj Nameh
Ganjnameh ( fa, گنجنامه, translit=Ganjnāme, lit=Treasure Book) is located 12 km southwest of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) in western Iran, at an altitude of meters across Mount Alvand. The site is home to two trilingual Achaemenid cuneif ...
inscription, the
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
monument and the
Baba Taher
Baba Tahir or Baba Taher Oryan Hamadani ( fa, باباطاهر عریان همدانی) was an 11th-century Persian dervish poet from Hamadan, Iran who lived during the reign of Tugril of the Seljuk dynasty over Iran. This is almost all that is k ...
monument. The main language in the city is
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.
History
According to
Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA (29 December 1928 – 28 February 2015) was an English historian and Orientalist, specialising in Arabic and Iranian studies.
Life
Bosworth was born on 29 December 1928 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire (now ...
, "Hamadan is a very old city. It may conceivably, but improbably, be mentioned in cuneiform texts from ca. 1100 BC, the time of Assyrian King
Tiglath-pilesar I
Tiglath-Pileser I (; from the Hebraic form of akk, , Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of ...
, but is certainly mentioned by Herodotus who says that the king of Media Diokes built the city of Agbatana or Ekbatana in the 7th century BC."
Hamadan was established by the
Medes
The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, the ...
. It then became one of several capital cities of the
Achaemenid Dynasty
The Achaemenid dynasty ( Old Persian: ; Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) was an ancient Persian royal dynasty that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, an Iranian empire that stretched from Egypt and Southeastern Europe in the west to the In ...
.
Hamadan is mentioned in the biblical
book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible; which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the earl ...
(
Ezra 6:2) as the place where a scroll was found giving the Jews permission from King Darius to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Its ancient name of Ecbatana is used in the Ezra text. Because it was a mile above sea level, it was a good place to preserve leather documents.
During the
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
era,
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...
was the capital of the country, and Hamadan was the summer capital and residence of the Parthian rulers. After the
Parthians Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
, the
Sassanids
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
constructed their summer palaces in this city. In 642 the
Battle of Nahavand
The Battle of Nahavand ( ar, معركة نهاوند ', fa, نبرد نهاوند '), also spelled Nihavand or Nahawand, was fought in 642 between the Rashidun Muslim forces under caliph Umar and Sasanian Persian armies under King Yazdegerd ...
took place and Hamadan fell into the hands of the Muslim Arabs.
During the rule of the
Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...
, the city suffered much damage. However, the city regained its former glory under the rule of the
Buyid
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...
ruler
Fanna Khusraw. In the 11th century, the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
shifted their capital from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
to Hamadan. In 1220, Hamadan was destroyed by the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
during the
Mongol invasions of Georgia
Mongol conquests of Kingdom of Georgia, which at that time consisted of Georgia proper, Armenia, and much of the Caucasus, involved multiple invasions and large-scale raids throughout the 13th century. The Mongol Empire first appeared in the C ...
before the
Battle of Khunan
The Battle of Khunan was fought in September 1222 between the Kingdom of Georgia, led by King George IV, and the Mongol army led by Subutai and Jebe. The result was a Mongol victory. For further details, see the Mongol Invasions of Georgia.
Sub ...
. The city of Hamadan, its fortunes following the rise and fall of regional powers, was completely destroyed during the
Timurid invasions, but later thrived during the
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
era.
Thereafter, in the 18th century, Hamadan was surrendered to the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
, but due to the work of
Nader Shah, Hamadan was cleared of invaders and, as a result of a peace treaty between Iran and the Ottomans, it was returned to Iran. Hamadan stands on the
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
, and even in recent centuries the city enjoyed strong commerce and trade as a result of its location on the main road network in the western region of Iran. In the late 19th century, American missionaries, including
James W. Hawkes and Belle Sherwood Hawke,
established schools in Hamdan.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the city was the scene of heavy fighting between Russian and Turko-German forces. It was occupied by both armies, and finally by the British, before it was returned to the control of the Iranian government at the end of the war in 1918.
Climate
Hamadan province lies in a temperate mountainous region to the east of
Zagros
The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوههای زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...
. The vast plains of the north and northeast of the province are influenced by strong winds, that almost last throughout the year.
The various air currents of this region are: the north and north west winds of the spring and winter seasons, which are usually humid and bring rainfall. The west-east air currents that blow in the autumn, and the local winds that develop due to difference in air-pressure between the elevated areas and the plains, like the blind wind of the Asad Abad region.
Hamadan is in the vicinity of the Alvand mountains and has a dry summer
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dsa''), in transition with a
cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BSk''), with snowy winters. In fact, it is one of the coldest cities in Iran. The temperature may drop below on the coldest days. Heavy snowfall is common during winter and this can persist for periods of up to two months. During the short summer, the weather is mild, pleasant, and mostly sunny.
File:Hamedan.Heydareh.jpg, Heydare, Hamadan
File:Alvand 2007.jpg, Alvand
Alvand is a subrange of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran located south of the city of Hamadan in Hamadan Province. Its summit has an elevation of . The main body of the Alvand range extends for about 50 km from east to west, while the ...
Mountain
File:Dasht-mishan.jpg, Mishan, a plain of Alvand Mountain
File:Hamadan Topography.PNG, Hamadan spot (light blue in center) in Hamadan province topography map
Panoramic view
People
According to the survey of 1997, the population of the province of Hamadan was 1,677,957.
[Official statistics from 1997 (1375) - Hamadan provinces - Population and ethnicites -
accessed on March 12, 2006. Replaced with Archive link on Feb 22, 2010.] Based on official statistics of 1997, the population of Hamadan county was 563,444 people.
Culture
Hamadan is home to many poets and writers.
Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani, author of the
Maqamat, was born here and the 11th-century Iranian poet
Baba Taher
Baba Tahir or Baba Taher Oryan Hamadani ( fa, باباطاهر عریان همدانی) was an 11th-century Persian dervish poet from Hamadan, Iran who lived during the reign of Tugril of the Seljuk dynasty over Iran. This is almost all that is k ...
was interred here. Avicenna, the scientist and writer once lived and worked in Hamadan, he is also buried in the city; the
Avicenna Mausoleum
The Mausoleum of Avicenna (Persian: آرامگاه بوعلی سینا) is a monumental complex located at Avicenna Square, Hamadan, Iran.
Dedicated to the Persian polymath Avicenna, the complex includes a library, a small museum, and a spind ...
was constructed in his honor in 1952.
Hamadan is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization
Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...
lists 207 sites of historical and cultural significance in Hamadan. The
Tomb of Esther and Mordechai
The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai ( fa, ''Buqʿah Ester w Murduxay'', he, קבר אסתר ומרדכי ''Qever Estēr v'Mórdǝḵay'') is a tomb located in Hamadan, Iran. Iranian Jews believe it houses the remains of the biblical Queen Esther a ...
in Hamadan is believed by some to hold the remains of the biblical
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
and her uncle
Mordechai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acco ...
.
Hamadan is also well-known for handicrafts like leather, ceramics, and carpets.
Gallery
File:Mausolée Baba Taher Hamedan.jpg, Tomb of Baba Taher
Baba Tahir or Baba Taher Oryan Hamadani ( fa, باباطاهر عریان همدانی) was an 11th-century Persian dervish poet from Hamadan, Iran who lived during the reign of Tugril of the Seljuk dynasty over Iran. This is almost all that is k ...
File:Babataher5.JPG, Inside the tomb of Baba Taher
File:Aviccena 2011.jpg, The Tomb of Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
File:The Canon of Medicine.jpg, The handwriting of Canon of Medicine
''The Canon of Medicine'' ( ar, القانون في الطب, italic=yes ''al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb''; fa, قانون در طب, italic=yes, ''Qanun-e dâr Tâb'') is an encyclopedia of medicine in five books compiled by Persian physician-phi ...
in the Tomb of Avicenna
File:Hamadan - Mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai.jpg, Tomb of Esther and Mordechai
The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai ( fa, ''Buqʿah Ester w Murduxay'', he, קבר אסתר ומרדכי ''Qever Estēr v'Mórdǝḵay'') is a tomb located in Hamadan, Iran. Iranian Jews believe it houses the remains of the biblical Queen Esther a ...
, a tomb believed by some to hold the remains of Esther and Mordechai
File:Tomb of Ester and Mordechai interior.jpg, Inside the structure alleged by some to be the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai
File:Emamzade abdolla-Hamedn.JPG, Emamzade Abdollah Mosque
File:Ghonbad-alaviyan1.jpg, Alaviyan Dome related with Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani ( fa, میر سید علی همدانی; CE) was a Persian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central Asia and Kashmir as he travelled to p ...
File:Hamadan - Borj-e Qorban.jpg, Qorban Tower
File:Ganjnameh inscriptions.jpg, Ganj Nameh
Ganjnameh ( fa, گنجنامه, translit=Ganjnāme, lit=Treasure Book) is located 12 km southwest of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) in western Iran, at an altitude of meters across Mount Alvand. The site is home to two trilingual Achaemenid cuneif ...
File:Ali Sadr Cave, Hamadan Province, Iran,siamak sabet.jpg, Ali-Sadr Cave
Sport
PAS Hamedan F.C. were founded on June 9, 2007 after the dissolution of
PAS Tehran F.C.
Pas Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پاس تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Pas Tehran'') was an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. Pas F.C. was the football club of the multisport Pas Cultural and Sports Club. T ...
The team, along with
Alvand Hamedan F.C.
Alvand Hamedan F.C. (Former name Pas Novin Hamedan F.C.) is an Iranian Football (soccer), football club based in Hamedan, Iran. They currently compete in the 2013–14 Azadegan League. After getting promoted to the Azadegan League, the team chan ...
, is in the
Azadegan League.
Some sport complexes in this city include:
Qods Stadium,
Shahid Mofatteh Stadium, Takhti Sport Complex and the National Stadium of Hamadan.
Education
Before the
Persian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...
, education in Hamadan was limited to some
Maktab Houses and theological schools.
Fakhrie Mozafari School was the first modern school of Hamadan, which was built after that revolution. Alliance and Lazarist were also the first modern schools founded by foreign institutions in Hamadan.
Some of the popular universities in Hamadan include:
*
Bu-Ali Sina University
Buali Sina University, also written Bu-Ali Sina University ( fa, دانشگاه بوعلی سينا, ''Danushgah-e Bu'li Sina''), or simply BASU, is a public university in the city of Hamedan in the Hamedan province of Iran. The university was e ...
* Hamadan Medical University
* Hamadan University of Technology
* Islamic Azad University of Hamadan
Notable residents
Hamedan celebrities are divided into 3 categories: pre-Islamic, post-Islamic and contemporary people.
Pre-Islamic celebrities
Among the pre-Islamic celebrities in Hamedan, we can name Mandana, the mother of
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
and the daughter of the last king of Media, Ishtovigo.
Famous names after Islam
Famous people of Hamedan after Islam are great people such as:
*
Baba Taher
Baba Tahir or Baba Taher Oryan Hamadani ( fa, باباطاهر عریان همدانی) was an 11th-century Persian dervish poet from Hamadan, Iran who lived during the reign of Tugril of the Seljuk dynasty over Iran. This is almost all that is k ...
, Famous poets of the fourth century AH.
* Badi'alzaman Hamedani, author of the oldest book in the art of maqam writing.
* Abul Ali Hassan Attar, a great
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and famous syntax, vocabulary and hadith in the fourth century AH.
* Ibn Salah Hamedani,
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
of the fifth and sixth centuries AH.
* Khajeh Rashid al-Din Fazlullah, minister, scientist and expert physician of the sixth and seventh centuries AH.
* Mir Seyyed Ali Hamedani Mystics and followers of Sirusluk of the seventh century AH.
* Mirzadeh Eshghi is one of the shining stars of poetry and prose of the play during the Constitutional Revolution.
*
Bu Ali Sina, one of the rare
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
s and geniuses of the time, was born in 370 AH in Khoramisin, Bukhara. He entered this city in 406 AH when Hamedan was the capital of the
buyid
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...
, and after a while, Shams al-Dawla Dailami made him his minister. During his stay in Hamedan, Bu Ali Sina taught at the city's large school and had the opportunity to complete many of his writings.
* The tomb of Bu Ali Sina is now located in a square of the same name in Hamedan.
Contemporary people
*
Abolhassan Banisadr
Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr ( fa, سید ابوالحسن بنیصدر; 22 March 1933 – 9 October 2021) was an Iranian politician, writer, and political dissident. He was the first president of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution abolis ...
, economist, politician, and the first post-revolutionary elected president of the Islamic Republic of Iran
*
Ahmad NikTalab
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
, a famous contemporary poet
*Aminollah Rezaei, Poet, the Father of Iranian
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
*
Amir Nosrat'ollah Balakhanlou
Amir Nosrat'ollah Balakhanlou ( fa, اميرنصرت الله بالاخانلو) (1917 – May 20, 2007) was an Iranian (Persian) politician. Born in Tehran, he served as a two-time Mayor and MP for Hamedan in 1950s and early 1960s.
Biography
...
, born in Tehran — two-time mayor and MP for Hamadan City (1950s and early 1960s)
*
Amir-Shahab Razavian, film director, writer and producer
*
Baba-Taher-e Oryan, a famous poet (1100 A.C)
*
Ein-Alqozat Hamadani, a great philosopher and sufist (1100 A.C)
*
Ehsan Yarshater
Ehsan Yarshater ( fa, احسان يارشاطر, April 3, 1920 – September 1, 2018) was an Iranian historian and linguist who specialized in Iranology. He was the founder and director of The Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Profe ...
, historian, scientists, and founder of Encyclopædia Iranica
*
Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi
Fakhr al-Din Iraqi (also spelled Araqi; fa, فخرالدین عراقی; 1213/14 – 1289) was a Persian Sufi poet of the 13th-century. He is principally known for his mixed prose and poetry work, the ''Lama'at'' ("Divine flashes"), as well as ...
, celebrated poet (1300 A.C)
*
Fazlollah Zahedi
Fazlollah Zahedi ( fa, فضلالله زاهدی, Fazlollāh Zāhedi, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian lieutenant general and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d' ...
, military general
*
Fereydoun Moshiri
Fereydoon Moshiri ( fa, فریدون مشیری; September 21, 1926 – October 24, 2000) was one of the prominent contemporary Persian poets who wrote poems in both modern and classic styles of the Persian poem.
A selection of his poems has bee ...
, contemporary poet (originally from Hamadan, but born in Tehran)
*
Hossein Noori Hamedani, Iranian Shia Marja
*
Hanieh Tavassoli
Hanieh Tavassoli ( fa, هانیه توسلی; born June 4, 1979) is an Iranian actress. She has received various accolades, including a Crystal Simorgh and an Iran Cinema Celebration Award, in addition to nominations for five Hafez Awards and an I ...
, actress
*
Joseph Emin
Joseph Emin (, Hovsep Emin; 1726 – 2 August 1809) was an Indo-Armenian traveler, writer and patriot who sought to achieve the liberation of Armenia from Persian and Ottoman rule. He wrote an autobiography titled ''The Life and Adventures of J ...
, a major activist in the attempts to liberate Armenia during the 18th century
*
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani ( fa, میر سید علی همدانی; CE) was a Persian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central Asia and Kashmir as he travelled to p ...
, poet and scholar
*
Mirzadeh Eshghi
Sayed Mohammad Reza Kordestani ( fa, سید محمدرضا کردستانی; December 11, 1893July 3, 1924) was an Iranian political writer and poet who used the pen name Mirzadeh Eshghi ( fa, میرزاده عشقی).
Biography
He was born in Ha ...
, a celebrated nationalist poet
*
Moshfegh Hamadani, writer, journalist and translator
*
Parviz Parastouei, acclaimed actor
*
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb ( fa, رشیدالدین طبیب; 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, fa, links=no, رشیدالدین فضلالله همدانی) was a statesman, historian and physician in Ilk ...
, Persian statesman, historian and physician of the 13th-14th centuries
*
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi wa ...
, lawyer and the 2003
Nobel Peace Laureate
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
*
Samuel Rahbar Samuel Rahbar ( fa, سموئیلِ رهبر ''Samu'il-e Rahbar'' May 12, 1929 - November 10, 2012) was an Iranian scientist who discovered the linkage between diabetes and HbA1C, a form of hemoglobin used primarily to identify plasma glucose conc ...
, scientist
*
Wojtek, a bear who was born in Hamedan and would grow up to become a corporal in the Polish army during World War 2.
*
Viguen
Viguen (born Viguen Derderian, fa, ویگن دردریان, ''Viguen Derderyân''; hy, Վիգէն Տէրտէրեան, ''Vigen Tērtērian''; 23 November 1929 – 26 October 2003), known as "King of Iranian pop" and the "Sultan of Jazz", was an ...
, known as the king of Persian pop and jazz music\
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Hamadan is
twinned with:
See also
*
Ganj Nameh
Ganjnameh ( fa, گنجنامه, translit=Ganjnāme, lit=Treasure Book) is located 12 km southwest of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) in western Iran, at an altitude of meters across Mount Alvand. The site is home to two trilingual Achaemenid cuneif ...
*
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani ( fa, میر سید علی همدانی; CE) was a Persian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central Asia and Kashmir as he travelled to p ...
*
Baba Taher Orian
*
Ali Sadr Cave
*
Hamadan Airport
*
Wojtek (soldier bear)
References
Bibliography
*''
Bibliography of the history of Hamadan''
External links
* ''Ecbatana'', Photos from Iran
''Livius''
* ''Gandj Nameh'', Photos from Iran
* ''The Bisotun inscription'', Photos from Iran
Hamadan; Capital of Median EmpireIconos satellite photo (January, 2005)Google Satellite PictureHamedan Cultural Heritage Organization
Hegmataneh Official Website
Hamadānentries in the
{{Authority control
Populated places in Hamadan County
Cities in Hamadan Province
Iranian provincial capitals
Babylonian captivity
Populated places along the Silk Road
Former capitals of Iran