Hamadan (Persian: همدان; English: /ˌhæməˈdæn/; HAM-ə-DAN; pronounced [hæmeˈdɒːn]) is a city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a population of 554,406 people in 174,731 households.

Hamadan is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities. It was referred to in classical sources as Ecbatana (Old Persian Hamgmatāna). It is possible that it was occupied by the Assyrians in 1100 BCE; the Ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, states that it was the capital of the Medes, around 700 BCE.

Hamadan is situated in a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3,574-meter Alvand Mountain, in midwestern Iran. The city is 1,850 meters above sea level. It is located approximately 360 kilometres (220 miles) southwest of Tehran.

The old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer. The major sights of this city are the Ganj Nameh inscription, the Avicenna monument and the Baba Taher monument. The main language in the city is Persian.

History

According to Clifford Edmund Bosworth, "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, 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. It then became one of several capital cities of the Achaemenid Dynasty.

Hamadan is mentioned in the biblical book of Ezra (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 era, Ctesiphon was the capital of the country, and Hamadan was the summer capital and residence of the Parthian rulers. After the Parthians, the Sassanids constructed their summer palaces in this city. In 642 the Battle of Nahavand took place and Hamadan fell into the hands of the Muslim Arabs.

During the rule of the Buyid dynasty, the city suffered much damage. However, the city regained its former glory under the rule of the Buyid ruler Fanna Khusraw. The Seljuks launched campaigns to take the city in the 1040s, ultimately taking the final Kakuyid fortress in 1047. The Seljuks later shifted their capital from Baghdad to Hamadan. In 1220, Hamadan was destroyed by the Mongols during the Mongol invasions of Georgia before the Battle of Khunan. 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 era.

Thereafter, in the 18th century, Hamadan was surrendered to the Ottomans, 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, 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 Hamadan.

During World War I, 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.

Demographics

Language

A majority of the population speaks the Hamadani dialect of Persian and standard Persian, with a Turkic minority.

Hamadan linguistic composition Language Percent Hamadani Persian   50% Standard Persian   25% Turkic   20% Mixed   5% Judeo-Hamadani   0.001%

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 473,149 in 127,812 households. The following census in 2011 counted 525,794 people in 156,556 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 554,406 people in 174,731 households.

Climate

Hamadan has a hot-summer, Mediterranean-influenced continental climate (Köppen: Dsa, Trewartha: Dc), in transition with a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk). The city experiences hot, dry summers, and cold, snowy winters. The temperature may drop below −30 °C (−22 °F) 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 hot, and mostly sunny.

Lowest recorded temperature: −34.0 °C (−29 °F) on 7 January 1964
Highest recorded temperature: 40.6 °C (105 °F) on 14 July 1989

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  Heydare, Hamadan
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  Alvand Mountain
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  Mishan, a plain of Alvand Mountain
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  Hamadan spot (light blue in center) in Hamadan province topography map

Gallery

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  Tomb of Baba Taher
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  Inside the tomb of Baba Taher
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  The Tomb of Avicenna
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  The handwriting of Canon of Medicine in the Tomb of Avicenna
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  Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, a tomb believed by some to hold the remains of Esther and Mordechai
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  Inside the structure alleged by some to be the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai
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  Emamzade Abdollah Mosque
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  Alaviyan Dome related with Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
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  Qorban Tower
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  Ganj Nameh
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  Hamedan Central Square
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  Ali-Sadr Cave

Sport

PAS Hamedan F.C. were founded on June 9, 2007 after the dissolution of PAS Tehran F.C. The team, along with Alvand Hamedan F.C., 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, 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
• Hamadan Medical University
• Hamadan University of Technology
• Islamic Azad University of Hamadan

Notable people

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 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, 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 and famous syntax, vocabulary and hadith in the fourth century AH.
• Tomb of Esther and Mordekhai, The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai is a tomb located in Hamadan, Iran. Iranian Jews and Iranian Christians believe it houses the remains of the biblical Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai, and it is the most important pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians in Iran.
• Ibn Salah Hamedani, physician and mathematician 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 Sayyid Ali Hamadani, 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 scientists 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, 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 (1933–2021), economist, politician, and the first post-revolutionary elected president of the Islamic Republic of Iran

  

• Ahmad NikTalab (1934–2020), a famous contemporary poet
• Aminollah Rezaei (1936–2004), poet, the Father of Iranian Surrealism
• Amir Nosrat'ollah Balakhanlou, born in Tehran — two-time mayor and MP for Hamadan City (1950s and early 1960s)
• Amir-Shahab Razavian (born 1965), film director, writer and producer
• Baba-Taher-e Oryan, a famous poet (1100 AD)

  

• Ein-Alqozat Hamadani (1098–1131), a great philosopher and sufist (1100 AD)
• Ehsan Yarshater (1920–2018), historian, scientists, and founder of Encyclopædia Iranica
• Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi, celebrated poet (1300 AD)
• Fazlollah Zahedi (1892–1963), military general
• Fereydoun Moshiri, contemporary poet (originally from Hamadan, but born in Tehran)
• Hossein Noori Hamedani (born 1925), Iranian Shia Marja
• Hanieh Tavassoli (born 1979), actress
• Joseph Emin (born 1726), a major activist in the attempts to liberate Armenia during the 18th century
• Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (1312–1384), poet and scholar
• Mirzadeh Eshghi (1893–1924), a celebrated nationalist poet
• Moshfegh Hamadani (1912–2009), writer, journalist and translator
• Parviz Parastouei, acclaimed actor
• Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Persian statesman, historian and physician of the 13th-14th centuries
• Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate
• Samuel Rahbar, 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, known as the king of Persian pop and jazz music

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Hamadan is twinned with:

Kulyab, Tajikistan Bukhara, Uzbekistan Isparta, Turkey Yekaterinburg, Russia

See also

• Ganj Nameh
• Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani
• Baba Taher Orian
• Ali Sadr Cave
• Hamadan Airport
• Wojtek (soldier bear)

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