Kermanshah - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kermanshah is a city in and the capital of Kermanshah Province

Kermanshah Province

Kermanshah Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. The province was known from 1969 to 1986 as Kermanshahan and from 1986 to 1995 as Bakhtaran.-Counties:...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. At the 2006 census, its population was 784,602, in 198,117 families.

The overwhelming majority of Kermanshahi people are Shi'a Muslims. Kermanshah is populated by both ethnic Persians and Shia Kurdish people and both Kermanshahi Kurdish and Kermanshahi Persian languages are spoken in the city.

Kermanshah is located 525 km from Tehran

Tehran

Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

in the western part of Iran

Iran

. Kermanshah has a moderate and mountainous climate. The religion of most of the people is Shia Islam. Small numbers of Yarsan, Bahá'ís

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

, Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, and Armenians

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

also live in Kermanshah.

History

Given its antiquity, attractive landscapes and rich culture, Kermanshah is considered as one of the cradles of prehistoric cultures such as Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

villages. According to archaeological surveys and excavation, Kermanshah area has been occupied by prehistoric people since the Lower Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic

The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...

period, and continued to later Paleolithic

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...

periods till late Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

period. The Lower Paleolithic evidence consists of some handaxes found in the Gakia area to the east of the city. The Middle Paleolithic

Middle Paleolithic

The Middle Paleolithic is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleolithic in African archeology. The Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age...

remains have been found in the northern vicinity of the city in Tang-e Kenesht and near Taq-e Bostan

Taq-e Bostan

Taqwasân or Taq-e Bostan or Taq-i-Bustan is a series of large rock relief from the era of Sassanid Empire of Persia, the Iranian dynasty which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD. This example of Sassanid art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah in western Iran...

. The known Paleolithic caves in this area are Warwasi

Warwasi

Warwasi is a Paleolithic rockshelter site located at north of Kermanshah in western Iran. It was excavated by Bruce Howe under direction of late Robert Braidwood in the 1960s. This site contains a rich archaeological sequence from Middle Paleolithic to late Epipaleolithic.-References:Braidwood,...

, Kobeh, and Do-Eshkaft. The region was also one of the first places in which human settlements including Asiab, Qazanchi, Tappeh Sarab, Chia Jani

Chia Jani

The archaeological site of Chia Jani is located along the Qouchemi stream, flowing to the Ravand River about south, in south central part of the Islamabad Plain in the Central-West Zagros Mountains....

, and Ganj-Darreh were established between 8,000-10,000 years ago. This is about the same time that the first potteries pertaining to Iran were made in Ganj-Darreh, near present-day Harsin

Harsin

Harsin is a city in and the capital of Harsin County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 51,562, in 12,001 families. Harsin is situated 44 km east of Kermanshah, and lies above sea level.-External links:*...

. In May 2009, based on a research conducted by the University of Hamedan and UCL

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, the head of Archeology Research Center of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization announced that the oldest prehistorian village in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

dating back to 9800 B.P., was discovered in Sahneh

Sahneh County

Sahneh County is a county in Kermanshah Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Sahneh. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 75,827, in 19,106 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Dinavar District...

, located west of Kermanshah.

Before Islam

In ancient Iranian

Iranian folklore

Iranian folklore, including jokes, legends, games, folklore heroes and beliefs is sophisticated and complex.-Heroes:*Samak-E 'Ayyar*Pourya-ye Vali*Hasan Kachal "Hasan the Bald"*Khaleh Soskeh "Auntie cockroach"...

mythology, construction of the city is attributed to Tahmoures Divband, the fabulous king of Pishdadian dynasty, however it is believed that the Sassanids have constructed Kermanshah. Bahram IV

Bahram IV

Bahram IV was twelfth Sassanid King of Persia , son and successor of Shapur III of Persia , under whom he had been governor of Kerman; therefore he was called Kermanshah Bahram IV was twelfth Sassanid King of Persia (388–399), son and successor of Shapur III of Persia (383–388), under whom he had...

called Kermanshah gave his name to this city.
It was a glorious city in Sassanid period about the 4th century AD when it became the capital city and a significant health center serving as a summer resort for Sassanid kings. In AD 226, following a two-year war led by the Persian Emperor, Ardashir I

Ardashir I

Ardashir I was the founder of the Sassanid Empire, was ruler of Istakhr , subsequently Fars Province , and finally "King of Kings of Sassanid Empire " with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire...

, against Kurdish

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

tribes in the region, the empire reinstated a local Kurdish

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

prince, Kayus of Medya, to rule Kermanshah. Within the dynasty known as the House of Kayus

House of Kayus

The Kayusid or House of Kayus or Kâvusakân was a Kurdish province of Sassanid Empire in central and southern Kurdistan established in 226 CE. The House of Kayus was established after an agreement between Kurdish principalities and kingdoms and the Persian Empire, following a two-year war between...

(also Kâvusakân) remained a semi-independent Kurdish kingdom lasting until AD 380 before Ardashir II

Ardashir II

Ardashir II was the tenth Sassanid King of Persia from 379 to 383.He is believed by some to be the son and by others to be the brother of his predecessor, Shapur II...

removed the dynasty's last ruling member.

After Islam

Kermanshah was conquered by the Arabs in AD 640. Under Seljuk rule in the eleventh century, it was a major cultural and commercial centre in Western Iran

Iran

and the southern Kurdish region as a whole. The Safavids fortified the town, and the Qajars repulsed an attack by the Ottomans

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

during Fath Ali Shah's rule (1797–1834). Kermanshah was occupied by Ottomans

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

between 1723–1729 and 1731-1732.

Recent

Occupied by the Ottoman army in 1915 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, it was evacuated in 1917. Kermanshah played an important role in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution

Iranian Constitutional Revolution

The Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...

during the Qajar period and the Republic Movement in Pahlavi

Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...

period. The City was hit hard during the Iran–Iraq War, and although it was rebuilt, it has not yet fully recovered.

Naming dispute

After The Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s, the city was shortly named "Ghahramanshahr" and later the city and its province (called Kermanshahan before the revolution) were renamed Bakhtaran, apparently owing to the use of "Shah

Shah

Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...

" in the original name. Bakhtaran means Western, which refers to the location of the city and the province within Iran. After the Iran–Iraq War, however, the city was renamed Kermanshah, as it resonates more with the desire of its people and the Persian and Kurdish literature and the collective memory of the Iranian people.

Climate

Kermanshah has a climate heavily influenced by the proximity of the Zagros mountains, classified as a Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

(Csa) although much more continental than usually associated with that type. The city's altitude and exposed location relative to westerly winds makes precipitation a little bit high (more than twice that of Tehran

Tehran

), but at the same time produces huge diurnal temperature swings especially in the virtually rainless summers, which remain extremely hot during the day. Kermanshah experiences rather cold winters and there are usually rainfalls in fall and spring. Snow cover is seen for at least a couple of weeks during winter.

Sightseeing

Kermanshah sights include Kohneh Bridge, Behistun Inscription

Behistun Inscription

The Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription The Behistun Inscription (also Bistun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون The Behistun Inscription (also Bistun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون...

, Taq-e Bostan

Taq-e Bostan

, Temple of Anahita, Dinavar, Ganj Dareh

Ganj Dareh

Ganj Dareh is a Neolithic settlement in the Iranian Kurdistan portion of Iran...

, Essaqwand Rock Tombs

Essaqwand Rock Tombs

The Essaqwand Rock Tombs are three rock-hewn tombs located 25 km southwest of Harsin in Kermanshah Province, Iran. On top of the middle tomb there is the bas-relief of a man with his profile toward the viewers. He is holding his hands in prayers in front of him. There is also a torch and a...

, Sorkh Deh chamber tomb

Sorkh Deh chamber tomb

Sorkh Deh chamber tomb is a Shaft and chamber tomb type grave located in Kermanshah Province in Iran. Sorkh Deh in Persian means Red Village. The grave probably dates back 2500 years...

, Malek Tomb

Malek Tomb

Malek Tomb is a tower-like, octagonal, probably Ilkhanid tomb located on a hill in the center of Sonqor Town in Kermanshah Province, Iran. The top part is built out of brick; the basement is made of hewn stone.-References:Website of CHHTO of Kermanshah...

, Hulwan

Hulwan, Iran

Hulwan is the name of an ancient city in the Zagros mountain range in present-day western Iran close to Kermanshah and the Diyala River. It was conquered by the Muslim Arab Armies in 638, and by Hulagu in 1257....

, Median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

dakhmeh (Darbad, Sahneh), Parav cave, Do-Ashkaft Cave

Do-Ashkaft Cave

The Do-Ashkaft Cave, being the Middle Paleolithic cave site, is located at north of Kermanshah, near Taq-e Bostan. It is located about 1600 metres above the sea level and its entrance faces south, overlooking the national park of Kuhestan. The site was discovered by two Iranian researchers, F....

, Tekyeh Moavenalmolk, Dokan Davood Inscription, Sar Pol-e-Zahab, Tagh e gara, Patagh pass, Sarab Niloufar, Ghoori Ghale Cave, Khaja Barookh's House, Chiyajani Tappe, Statue of Herakles in Behistun complex, Emad al doleh Mosque, Tekyeh-e Beglarbagi, Hunters cave, Jamé Mosque of Kermanshah, Godin Tepe

Godin Tepe

Godin Tepe is an archaeological site in western Iran, situated in the valley of Kangavar in Kermanshah Province. Discovered in 1961, the site was excavated from 1965 to 1973 by a Canadian expedition headed by T. Cuyler Young Jr...

, Bas relief of Gotarzes II of Parthia, and Anobanini bas relief.

Taq-e Bostan

is a series of large rock relief from the era of Sassanid Empire

Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...

of Persia, the Iranian dynasty

History of Iran

The history of Iran has been intertwined with the history of a larger historical region, comprising the area from the Danube River in the west to the Indus River and Jaxartes in the east and from the Caucasus, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and Egypt...

which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD. This example of Sassanid art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah in western Iran

Iran

. It is located in the heart of the Zagros mountains, where it has endured almost 1,700 years of wind and rain.

The carvings, some of the finest and best-preserved examples of Persian sculpture under the Sassanids, include representations of the investitures of Ardashir II

Ardashir II

Ardashir II was the tenth Sassanid King of Persia from 379 to 383.He is believed by some to be the son and by others to be the brother of his predecessor, Shapur II...

(379–383) and Shapur III

Shapur III

Shapur III was the eleventh Sassanid King of Persia from 383 to 388. Shapur III succeeded his father Ardashir II in the year 383.- Treaty with Rome :...

(383–388). Like other Sassanid symbols, Taq-e Bostan and its relief patterns accentuate power, religious tendencies, glory, honor, the vastness of the court, game and fighting spirit, festivity, joy, and rejoicing.

Sassanid kings chose a beautiful setting for their rock reliefs along an historic Silk Road

Silk Road

The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...

caravan route waypoint

Waypoint

A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation.-Concept:Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. Coordinates used can vary depending on the application. For terrestrial navigation these coordinates can include longitude and...

and campground. The reliefs are adjacent a sacred spring that empties into a large reflecting pool at the base of a mountain cliff.

Taq-e Bostan and its rock relief are one of the 30 surviving Sassanid relics of the Zagros mountains

Zagros Mountains

The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...

. According to Arthur Pope

Arthur Pope

Arthur Upham Pope , was an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art.Born in Phenix, Rhode Island, graduated from Worcester Academy in 1899, and taught at Amherst College and the University of California. He married fellow Persian art historian, Phyllis Ackerman, in 1920. In 1923, Pope...

, the founder of Iranian art and archeology Institute in the USA, "art was characteristic of the Iranian people and the gift which they endowed the world with."

One of the most impressive reliefs inside the largest grotto or ivan is the gigantic equestrian

Equestrian sculpture

An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin "eques", meaning "knight", deriving from "equus", meaning "horse". A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an "equine statue"...

figure of the Sassanid king Khosrau II

Khosrau II

(591-628 AD) mounted on his favorite charger, Shabdiz

Shabdiz

Shabdiz was the legendary black stallion of Khosrau Parvez, one of the most famed Sassanid Persian kings . Shabdiz, meaning "midnight", was reputedly the "world's fastest horse" according to ancient Persian literature...

. Both horse and rider are arrayed in full battle armor. The arch rests on two columns that bear delicately carved patterns showing the tree of life or the sacred tree. Above the arch and located on two opposite sides are figures of two winged angles with diadems

Diadem (personal wear)

A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by Eastern monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek "διάδημα" , "band" or "fillet", from "διαδέω" , "I bind round", or "I fasten"....

. Around the outer layer of the arch, a conspicuous margin has been carved, jagged with flower patterns. These patterns are also found in the official costumes of Sassanid kings.
Equestrian relief panel measured on 16.08.07 approx. 7.45 m across by 4.25 m high.

Behistun

Behistun inscription is considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Behistun Inscription

Behistun Inscription

(also Bisitun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون ; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's place or land") is a multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun

Mount Behistun

Mount Bisotoun is a mountain in the Kermanshah Province is located in the middle of the western part of Iran. It is located from Tehran.It is well known for its rock relief in which the great Achaemenian King, Darius the Great, had the narrative of his exploits engraved around B.C...

.

The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script

Cuneiform script

Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...

languages: Old Persian

Old Persian language

The Old Persian language is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages . Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, and seals of the Achaemenid era...

, Elamite

Elamite language

Elamite is an extinct language spoken by the ancient Elamites. Elamite was the primary language in present day Iran from 2800–550 BCE. The last written records in Elamite appear about the time of the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great....

, and Babylonian. A British army officer, Henry Rawlinson, had the inscription transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843. Rawlinson was able to translate the Old Persian cuneiform text in 1838, and the Elamite and Babylonian texts were translated by Rawlinson and others after 1843. Babylonian was a later form of Akkadian

Akkadian language

Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...

: both are Semitic languages

Semitic languages

The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...

. In effect, then, the inscription is to cuneiform

Cuneiform script

what the Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...

is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment

Decipherment

Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost....

of a previously lost script

Writing system

A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...

.

The inscription is approximately 15 metres high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia

Babylonia

Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

and Media

Medes

The MedesThe Medes...

(Babylon

Babylon

Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...

and Ecbatana

Ecbatana

Ecbatana is supposed to be the capital of Astyages , which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of Nabonidus...

). It is extremely inaccessible as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion. The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a bow

Bow (weapon)

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...

as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The prostrate figure is reputed to be the pretender

Pretender

A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-metre figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. Faravahar

Faravahar

Faravahar is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of ancient Iran. This religious-cultural symbol was adapted by the Pahlavi dynasty to represent the Iranian nation....

floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius' beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

pins and lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

Ghajar dynasty monuments

During the Qajar dynasty

Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....

(1794 to 1925), Kermanshah Bazaar, Mosques and Tekyeh

Tekyeh

A Tekyeh is a place where Shias gather to mourn the killing of Husayn bin Ali.Such places are particularly found in Iran. They are usually traditionally designed with observable elements of Persian architecture....

s such as Moavenalmolk Mosque, and beautiful houses such as Khaja Barookh's House were built.

Tekyeh Moavenalmolk, is unique because it has many pictures on the walls that relate to shahnameh

Shahnameh

The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...

, despite some of its more religious ones.

Khaja Barookh's House is located in the old district of Faizabad, a Jewish neighborhood of Kermanshah. It was built by a Jewish merchant of the Qajar period, named Barookh. The house, an historical depiction of Iranian architecture, was renamed "Randeh-Kesh House", after the last owner, is a "daroongara"(pro-interior)house and is connected through a vestibule to the exterior yard and through a corridor to the interior yard.http://www.kermanshahmiras.ir/fa_site/preview.asp?categoryid=11&code=5451 Surrounding the interior yard are rooms, brick pillars making the iwans(porches) of the house, and step-like column capitals decorated with brick-stalactite work. This house is among the rare Qajar houses with a private bathroom.

Museums

There are four museums that are established in old houses of Qajar period. These are Museum of ethnography at Tekyeh Moavenalmolk, and two museums of Zagros Paleolithic Museum

Zagros Paleolithic Museum

Zagros Paleolithic Museum is a museum in Kermanshah, Iran, established in 2008.The museum contains rich collections of stone tools and animal fossil bones from various Paleolithic sites in Iran...

and Museum of epigraphy and Qajar hand writings at Tekieh Biglar Baigi. The Zagros Paleolithic Museum

Zagros Paleolithic Museum

Zagros Paleolithic Museum is a museum in Kermanshah, Iran, established in 2008.The museum contains rich collections of stone tools and animal fossil bones from various Paleolithic sites in Iran...

contains rich collections of stone tools and animal fossil bones from various Paleolithic

Paleolithic

sites in Iran

Iran

. It is the first established museum in Iran that devoted to Paleolithic period of Iran.
Museum of traditional Martial art (Wrestling موزه پهلوانی) is another museum in Kermanshah that was established recently and contains many wax models of traditional wrestlers.

Economy

Kermanshah is one of the western agricultural core of Iran that produces grain, rice, vegetable, fruits, and oilseeds, however Kermanshah is emerging as a fairly important industrial city; there are two industrial centers with more than 256 manufacturing units in the suburb of the city. These industries include petrochemical

Petrochemical

Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....

refinery, textile

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

manufacturing, food processing

Food processing

Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...

, carpet making, sugar refining, and the production of electrical equipment and tools.
Kermanshah Oil Refining Company (KORC) established in 1932 by British companies, is one of the major industries in the city.
After recent changes in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, Kermanshah has become one of the main importing and exporting gates of Iran

Iran

Higher education

Kermanshah University of Technology
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences is a medical school in Kermanshah, Iran.Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences is the publisher of Journal of Injury and Violence Research....
Razi University
Razi University
Razi University is a university based in Kermanshah, Iran.It is also a centre of CFD , Membrane Research, and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in the west of Iran....
Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah Branch
Payame Noor University
Payame Noor University
Payame Noor University is a state distance education university with the headquarters based in Tehran, 30 provincial centers, 485 local study centers and campuses all around the country and one International Study Center located in the headquarters...

Notable people

Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....

, writer, 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...

(born in Kermanshah to British parents)
André Molitor
André Molitor
André Molitor , is a former Belgian senior civil servant of the Belgian State and former principal private secretary of King Baudouin I of Belgium from 1961 until 1977...

, former clerk of the great Belgian State and former chief of staff of the King Baudouin I of Belgium, professor of public administration at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain).
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...

, vocalist and musician
Kayhan Kalhor
Kayhan Kalhor
Kayhan Kalhor , born 24 November 1963, is an Iranian kamancheh player, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Persian music.-Youth and studies:...

, musician
Pouran Derakhshandeh
Pouran Derakhshandeh
Pourān Derakh'shandeh is an Iranian film director, producer, screen writer, and researcher.Pourān Derakh'shandeh graduated in film directing in 1975 from Advanced School of Television and Cinema in Tehran...

, film director, producer, screen writer
Reza Shafiei Jam
Reza Shafiei Jam
Reza Shafiei Jam is an Iranian actor . He is famous for his roles in satire TV series and films. He is half Kermanshahi.-Films :* Mard-e avazi * Ertefa-e past * Soorati ...

, actor
Karim Sanjabi
Karim Sanjabi
Karim Sanjabi was an Iranian liberal political leader of the 20th century. He was born in Kermanshah, Iran.-Early life:...

, Iran's attorney in the oil's national movement, former foreign minister
Massoud Azarnoush
Massoud Azarnoush
Massoud Azarnoush was an Iranian archaeologist.He was born in Kermanshah. He received his MA from the department of archaeology at University of Tehran in 1972 and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985...

, archaeologist
Rashid Yasemi
Rashid Yasemi
Gholamreza Rashid Yasemi was an Iranian poet, translator and literary figure of Kurdish origin.He finished his primary education in Kermanshah and then moved to Tehran in 1912 where he resided for the rest of his life...

, one of the Five-Masters
Five-Masters
Five-Masters refers to five very influential masters of Persian literature, Badiozzaman Forouzanfar, Malekoshoara Bahar, Jalal Homaei, Abdolazim Gharib and Rashid Yasemi....

of Persian Literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
Moeini kermanshahi, songwriter
Ali Mohammad Afghani
Ali Mohammad Afghani
-Biography:Veteran contemporary writer, Ali Mohammad Afghani was born in 1925 in Kermanshah. He was raised in a poor family. Although a top student, he dropped out of school to work along with his father. He tried to get employed in the National Iranian Oil Company, but failed for certain reasons....

, novelist
Ali Ashraf Darvishian
Ali Ashraf Darvishian
Ali-Ashraf Darvishian is an Iranian story writer and scholar. After fininishing teacher training college he taught at the poverty stricken villages of Gilan-e-Gharb and Shah Abad Ali-Ashraf Darvishian (born 1941 in Kermanshah) is an Iranian story writer and scholar. After fininishing teacher...

, novelist and writer
Mirza Mohammad Reza Kalhor
Mirza Mohammad Reza Kalhor
Mirza Reza Kalhor from Kermanshah Kalhor tribe, family Shyh veins, dark Khman [1] One of the Qajar Iranian Calligraphy is at the time. [2]...

, famous calligrapher
Abolghasem Lahouti
Abolghasem Lahouti
Abolqāsem Lahūtī , also transliterated as Abulqasim Lahuti and Abulqosim Lohuti, was a Persian poet and political activist who was active in Iran during the Persian Constitutional Revolution and in Tajikistan in the early Soviet era.Born in Kermanshah to a poet by the name Mirza Ahmad Elhami, his...

, poet
Sousan (Golandam Taherkhani), singer
Nozar Azadi
Nozar Azadi
Nozar Azadi , also known as Ghatebeh , is a famous Iranian comedian and actor. He was born in Kermanshah, Iran, in 1938 .-Career:...

, actor
Reza Fieze Norouzi, actor
Alexis Kouros
Alexis Kouros
Alexis Kouros is a Iranian-Finnish writer, documentary-maker, director and producer.His first book, Gondwana's Children, won the Finlandia Junior award in 1997...

, writer, documentary-maker, director and producer
Roknoddin Mokhtari, violin player
Nasser Zarafshan
Nasser Zarafshan
Nasser Zarafshan is an Iranian novelist, translator, and attorney. He is most famous internationally for having been arrested while acting as the legal envoy of two of the families of dissident Iranian writers who were assassinated in November 1998 in what came to be known in Iran as the "Chain...

, novelist, translator, and attorney
Bijan Namdar Zangeneh
Bijan Namdar Zangeneh
Bijan Namdar Zangeneh is an Iranian politician.Zangeneh was born in the western city of Kermanshah in 1953. He spent his early school years in his hometown before moving to Tehran where he received his high school diploma...

, former minister
Mohammad Mokri
Mohammad Mokri
Mohammad Mokri was an Iranian Kurdish scholar and author born in Kermanshah. He wrote over 100 books and 700 articles during his lifetime. Most of his work dealt with the subject of the Kurdish people and the Ahl-e Haqq religious order...

, politician, kurdologist, writer, poet, linguist, researcher
Ebrahim Azizi
Ebrahim Azizi
Ebrahim Azizi is an Iranian politician.He was a member and spokesman of the Guardian Council. He also served as a representative of Kermanshah in the Iranian parliament.-References:...

, member and spokesman of the Guardian Council
Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi
Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi
Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi is an outstanding master of Persian literature and a renowned Iranist.Kazzazi is known for his works on Shahnama. M.J...

, writer
Al-Dinawari
Al-Dinawari
Ābu Ḥanīfah Āḥmad ibn Dawūd Dīnawarī was a Persian polymath excelling as much in astronomy, agriculture, botany and metallurgy and as he did in geography, mathematics and history. He was born in Dinawar, . He studied astronomy, mathematics and mechanics in Isfahan and philology and poetry in...

, botanist, historian, geographer, astronomer and mathematician
Shahram Amiri
Shahram Amiri
Shahram Amiri is an Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared from Iran for a little over a year under disputed circumstances. In the spring of 2009, he disappeared while apparently on pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. About a year later two videos appeared, each purporting to be declarations by...

, nuclear scientist
Hajj Nematollah
Hajj Nematollah
Hajj Nematollah was born in Jeyhounabad, Persia and is considered one of the greatest leaders and mystics in Kurdish and Ahl-e Haqq history. Two of his most famous works of poetry and history are Furqān al-Akhbar and Ḥaqq al-Ḥaqāyiq yā Shāhnāmah-ʾi Ḥaqīqat...

, mystic
Javad Sharifi, poet
Mohammad Ranjbar
Mohammad Ranjbar
Mohammad Ranjbar was an Iranian footballer and coach. Ranjbar played for Esteghlal and PAS Tehran. He was a member and captain of Iran national football team. He was also head coach of national team in 1972.-Early years:...

, former Iran national football team
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...

player and coach
Mohammad Hassan Mohebbi
Mohammad Hassan Mohebbi
Mohammad Hassan Mohebbi is an Iranian light heavyweight freestyle wrestler from Kermanshah. He is the brother of Mohammad Hossein Mohebbi, who is also a renowned wrestler...

, light heavyweight freestyle wrestler & Iran's national team coach
Kourosh Bagheri
Kourosh Bagheri
Kourosh Bagheri is an Iranian weightlifter who won the gold medal in the Men's 94 kg weight class at the 2001 World Weightlifting Championships.- References :*...

, World weightlifting champion
Ali Mazaheri
Ali Mazaheri
Ali Mazaheri is an amateur boxer from Iran, who competed in the 2006 Asian Games in the Heavyweight division and won the gold medal in the final bout against Uzbekistan's Jasur Matchanov 25-19. He is also 2007 Asian champion...

, 2006 Asian Games
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...

gold medalist, Asian champion & Olympic boxer
Homa Hosseini
Homa Hosseini
Homa Hosseini is an Iranian rower born in Kermanshah.She represented Iran in the single sculls event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Hosseini was one of three female Iranian competitors at the Games, and was the first ever female Iranian Olympic rower. She also was her country's flagbearer...

, rower
Ali Akbar Moradi
Ali Akbar Moradi
Ali Akbar Moradi,, born 1957 is a well known Iranian Kurdish musician and composer. He was born in the Iranian city of Kermanshah...

, Musician and Tanbour Player
Guity Novin
Guity Novin
Guity Novin is an Iranian-Canadian figurative painter, and graphic designer residing in Canada. She classifies her work as Transpressionism, a movement she has introduced.Her works are in private and public collections worldwide....

, painter & graphic designer
Sohrab Pournazeri
Sohrab Pournazeri
Sohrab Pournazeri is an Iranian musician, virtuoso and composer born in 1982 in Kermanshah. He plays Kamancheh and tanbour.-Life:...

, musician
Mahshid Amirshahi
Mahshid Amirshahi
Mahshid Amirshahi is a contemporary Iranian writer born in Kermanshah. She is an active proponent of establishing a secular democracy in Iran, and as an opponent of the current Islamic republic, for which she moved into exile in France after the 1979 Iranian revolution.During the revolution,...

, writer
Kianoush Rostami
Kianoush Rostami
Kianoush Rostami is an Iranian weightlifter who won the gold medal in the Men's 85 kg weight class at the 2011 World Weightlifting Championships.- References :*...

, world weight lifting champion

Photos of Kermanshah

Sister Cities

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, Italy (2010) Gaziantep

Gaziantep

Gaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...

(Dilok), Turkey (2010) Split, Croatia (2011)

External links

Pictures of Inscription and Bas relief of Darius the Great - Free Pictures of IRAN irantooth.com
Photos from Bisotun Complex - From Online Photo Gallery Of Aryo.ir
Photos from Taq-e Bostan - From Online Photo Gallery Of Aryo.ir
Photos from Moavenol Molk Tekieh - From Online Photo Gallery Of Aryo.ir

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Before Islam

After Islam

Recent

Naming dispute

Climate

Sightseeing

Taq-e Bostan

Behistun

Ghajar dynasty monuments

Museums

Economy

Higher education

Notable people

Photos of Kermanshah

Sister Cities

See also

External links