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Hamadan

Coordinates: 34°47′54″N 48°30′53″E / 34.79833°N 48.51472°E / 34.79833; 48.51472
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(Redirected from Hamedan)
"Hamedan" redirects here. For other uses, see Hamedan (disambiguation).
For the administrative division of Hamadan province, see Hamadan County. For the administrative division of Iran, see Hamadan province.

Hamadan
همدان
City
Central square, Nazari Museum garden, Monument, Abbasabad Spa, Quranic and International Convention Center, Tomb of Avicenna
Hamadan is located in Iran
Hamadan
Hamadan
Hamadan
Coordinates: 34°47′54″N 48°30′53″E / 34.79833°N 48.51472°E / 34.79833; 48.51472[1]
Country Iran
ProvinceHamadan
CountyHamadan
DistrictCentral
Government
 • MayorSeyed Masoud Hosseini [2]
Elevation
1,850 m (6,069 ft)
Population
 (2016)[3]
 • Total
554,406
 • Rank13th in Iran
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
Websitewww.hamedan.ir

Hamadan (/ˌhæməˈdæn/ HAM-ə-DAN;[4] Persian: همدان, pronounced [hæmeˈdɒːn])[a] 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.[5] 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.[6][7][8]

History

[edit]
Further information: Ecbatana and Timeline of Hamadan
16th century map of Hamedan by Matrakçı Nasuh

According to Clifford Edmund Bosworth, "Hamedan 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."[9]

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,[10] ultimately taking the final Kakuyid fortress in 1047.[11] The Seljuks later shifted their capital from Baghdad to Hamadan. In 1220, Hamadan was destroyed by the Mongols[12] 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.

Silver drachma of Parthian king Mithridates II, made in Ecbatana mint

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,[13][14] established schools in Hamadan.

The Ganjnameh, a cuneiform inscription 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

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Language

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A majority of the population speaks the Hamadani dialect of Persian and standard Persian, with a Turkic minority.[15]

Hamedan linguistic composition
Language Percent
Standard Persian
 
 75%
Turkic
 
 20%
Mixed
 
 5%
Judeo-Hamadani
 
 0.001%

Population

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At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 473,149 in 127,812 households.[16] The following census in 2011 counted 525,794 people in 156,556 households.[17] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 554,406 people in 174,731 households.[3]

Climate

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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[18]
Highest recorded temperature: 40.6 °C (105 °F) on 14 July 1989[18]

Climate data for Hamadan Airport (1991-2020, extremes 1961-2020)[b]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6) 		20.1
(68.2) 		26.2
(79.2) 		30.1
(86.2) 		34.5
(94.1) 		40.6
(105.1) 		40.6
(105.1) 		40.2
(104.4) 		38.0
(100.4) 		30.0
(86.0) 		24.0
(75.2) 		20.4
(68.7) 		40.6
(105.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.1
(39.4) 		7.0
(44.6) 		12.9
(55.2) 		18.3
(64.9) 		23.8
(74.8) 		30.8
(87.4) 		34.8
(94.6) 		34.5
(94.1) 		29.8
(85.6) 		22.4
(72.3) 		13.0
(55.4) 		7.1
(44.8) 		19.9
(67.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.0
(28.4) 		0.8
(33.4) 		6.2
(43.2) 		11.4
(52.5) 		16.1
(61.0) 		21.8
(71.2) 		25.6
(78.1) 		24.9
(76.8) 		19.7
(67.5) 		13.3
(55.9) 		5.9
(42.6) 		0.8
(33.4) 		12.0
(53.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −7.3
(18.9) 		−4.8
(23.4) 		−0.3
(31.5) 		4.3
(39.7) 		7.6
(45.7) 		11.2
(52.2) 		14.8
(58.6) 		13.8
(56.8) 		8.9
(48.0) 		4.7
(40.5) 		0.0
(32.0) 		−4.3
(24.3) 		4.1
(39.3)
Record low °C (°F) −34
(−29) 		−33.0
(−27.4) 		−26.6
(−15.9) 		−12.0
(10.4) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		2.0
(35.6) 		6.0
(42.8) 		4.0
(39.2) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		−7.0
(19.4) 		−18
(0) 		−29
(−20) 		−34
(−29)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30.6
(1.20) 		38.2
(1.50) 		53.0
(2.09) 		50.9
(2.00) 		23.8
(0.94) 		3.6
(0.14) 		3.5
(0.14) 		2.2
(0.09) 		1.5
(0.06) 		23.9
(0.94) 		44.0
(1.73) 		40.0
(1.57) 		315.2
(12.4)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.5 6.3 7.0 7.3 4.5 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.4 3.1 6.0 6.0 48.6
Average snowy days 6.9 6.1 3.3 0.3 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 4.5 22
Average relative humidity (%) 73 68 57 54 49 37 31 29 31 45 64 72 50.8
Average dew point °C (°F) −7.5
(18.5) 		−5.9
(21.4) 		−4.2
(24.4) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		2.4
(36.3) 		3.1
(37.6) 		4.1
(39.4) 		2.5
(36.5) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		−1.4
(29.5) 		−2.3
(27.9) 		−5.3
(22.5) 		−1.3
(29.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 160 177 217 233 296 355 346 340 314 259 177 153 3,027
Source 1: NOAA[19][18] (snow/sleet days for 1981-2010[20])
Source 2: IRIMO(extremes[21][22])
  • Heydare, Hamadan
    Heydare, Hamadan
  • Alvand Mountain
    Alvand Mountain
  • Mishan, a plain of Alvand Mountain
    Mishan, a plain of Alvand Mountain
  • Hamadan spot (light blue in center) in Hamadan province topography map
    Hamadan spot (light blue in center) in Hamadan province topography map
  1. ^ Also romanized as Hamedān and Hamedan
  2. ^ Extremes for Hamadan were recorded at Nozheh air base from 1961 to 1975, in both airport and Nozheh stations from 1976 to 2010 and at the airport from 2011 to 2020. All of the references at the end of the table cite the extreme temperature values.
The Saint Mary Church of Hamadan, an Armenian Apostolic church
A church in Ekbatan Hospital in Hamadan
[edit]
Hamadan at night. Hamadan was redesigned in 1928 by German architects and urban planners to resemble the spokes of a hexagram.[23][self-published source?]

Sport

[edit]

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

[edit]
Hamadan University of Technology, in Hamadan

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:

Notable people

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Hamadan celebrities are divided into 3 categories: pre-Islamic, post-Islamic and contemporary people.

Pre-Islamic celebrities

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Among the pre-Islamic celebrities in Hamadan is Mandana, the mother of Cyrus the Great and the daughter of the last king of Media, Ishtovigo.

Famous names after Islam

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Famous people of Hamadan after Islam are great people such as:

  • Baba Taher, Famous poets of the fourth century AH.
  • Badi'alzaman Hamadani, 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 Hamadani, 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 Hamadan was the capital of the buyid, and after a while, Shams al-Dawla Dailami made him his minister. During his stay in Hamadan, 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.

Significant Incident

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In February 1990, the bank's central branch in Hamadan experienced a tragic robbery. The event resulted in the loss of life of the bank manager Abdulrahman Nafisi, his family, and a security guard. The bank manager, Abdulrahman Nafisi, displayed extraordinary courage by prioritizing the safety of the bank's funds over his own life. Despite being under torture, he pleaded with the robbers to take his personal belongings instead of the people's money.[28]

Contemporary people

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Contemporary people

[edit]
Shirin Ebadi
Abolhassan Banisadr

International relations

[edit]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Iran

Twin towns – Sister cities

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Hamadan is twinned with:

See also

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (14 November 2024). "Hamadan, Hamadan County" (Map). OpenStreetMap (in Persian). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. ^ "سیدمسعود حسینی شهردار همدان شد". Mehr News (in Persian). 4 September 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Hamadan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Hamedan". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  5. ^ Habibi, Hassan (c. 2024) [Approved 21 June 1369]. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Hamadan province, centered in Hamadan city. lamtakam.com (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Political Defense Commission of the Government Board. Proposal 3233.1.5.53; Letter 93808-907; Notification 82834/T134K. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Introduction". www.hamedan.rmto.ir. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. ^ Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi, Peter McDonald, Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi, "The Fertility Transition in Iran: Revolution and Reproduction", Springer, 2009. pp 100-101: "The first category is 'Central' where the majority of people are Persian speaking ethnic Fars (provinces of Fars, Hamedan, Isfahan, Markazi, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Yazd and Tehran..."
  8. ^ (Parviz Aḏkāʾi and EIr, HAMEDĀN i. GEOGRAPHY in Encyclopædia Iranica:"Languages spoken. Hamedān has been a crossroads of civilizations for millennia and a mosaic of cultures and dialects live there side by side. The main language spoken, especially in the provincial capital and its surroundings, is Persian, which is also the lingua franca in other regions. In the northern parts of the province, however, the language mostly spoken is Azeri Turkish, while in the northwest and west, near the provinces of Kurdistan and Kermānšāhān, people mostly speak Kurdish, while in some other cities such as Malāyer, Nehāvand, and Sāmen most people speak Lori and Lak (Faraji, p. 1296)."
  9. ^ Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2008). Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 151. ISBN 978-90-04-15388-2.
  10. ^ C. E. Bosworth, “ABŪ KĀLĪJĀR GARŠĀSP (I),” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/3, p. 328; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abu-kalijar-garsasp-i-ala-al-dawla-second-son-of-the-kakuyid-amir-of-jebal-ala-al-dawla-mohammad-b (accessed on 23 January 2024).
  11. ^ C. E. Bosworth, “KĀKUYIDS,” Encyclopædia Iranica,Vol. XV, Fasc. 4, pp. 359-362; an updated version is available online at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kuyids-dynasty (accessed on 23 January 2024).
  12. ^ "Hamedan | Iran | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  13. ^ James W. Hawkes Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, Indiana State Library.
  14. ^ Zirinsky, Michael P. (1992). "Harbingers of Change: Presbyterian Women in Iran, 1883—1949". American Presbyterians. 70 (3): 173–186. ISSN 0886-5159. JSTOR 23333052.
  15. ^ "Language distribution: Hamedan Province - Hamedān". Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  16. ^ Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Hamadan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  17. ^ Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Hamadan Province. irandataportal.syr.edu (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University.
  18. ^ a b c "HAMEDAN NOZHEH - WMO Station Number: 40767". ncei.noaa.gov (TXT). National Oceanic and Atmosoheric Administration. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  19. ^ "World Meteorological Organization climate normals for 1991-2020: Hamedan airport-40768" (CSV). ncei.noaa.gov (Excel). National Oceanic and Atmosoheric Administration. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  20. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981-2010: Hamedan airport-40768". ncei.noaa.gov. NOAA. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  21. ^ "TEMPERATURE RECORDS HIGHEST IN C. for Hamedan airport". chaharmahalmet. Iran Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ "TEMPERATURE RECORDS LOWEST IN C. for Hamedan airport". chaharmahalmet. Iran Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ Subani, Hamad (2013). The Secret History of Iran. Lulu.com. p. 19. ISBN 9781304082893.[self-published source]
  24. ^ "صفحه اصلی - دانشگاه بوعلی سینا". basu.ac.ir.
  25. ^ "Hamedan Medical University Website". www.umsha.ac.ir.
  26. ^ "Hamedan University of Technology Website". Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2007.
  27. ^ "Welcome to Website Islamic Azad University of Hamedan Branch". 11 March 2005. Archived from the original on 11 March 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  28. ^ "بازخوانی جنایت هولناک ۲۲ بهمن ۶۸ در همدان". 9 February 2021.
  29. ^ "خبرگزاری فارس - "بخارا" زادگاه و "همدان" مدفن بوعلی‌سینا خواهرخوانده می‌شوند". خبرگزاری فارس. 23 November 2011.

Bibliography

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[edit]

Media related to Hamadan at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
-
 Capital of Median Empire
As "Ecbatana"
678–549 BCE 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
 Capital of Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
As "Ecbatana"
Served as Summer Capital
550–330 BCE 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by Capital of Seljuq Empire (Persia)
(Western capital)
1118–1194 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by Capital of Iran (Persia)
1118–1194 		Succeeded by
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