Nahavand

Nahavand
Nahavand Location in Iran
Coordinates: 34°11′04″N 48°22′21″E / 34.18444°N 48.3725°E / 34.18444; 48.3725
Country	Iran
Province	Hamadan Province

Nahâvand, Nahaavand or Nahawand (Persian: نهاوند) is a town in Hamadan Province in Iran. It is located south of Hamadan, east of Malayer and northwest of Borujerd. Nahavand is one of the oldest existing cities in Iran.

Name

It has been spelled differently in different books and sources: Nahavand (Persian: نهاوند, Nahâvand); also transliterated Nahavend, Nahawand, Nehavand, Nihavand or Nehavend; formerly called: Mah-Nahavand, Laodicea (Greek: Λαοδικεια; Arabic Ladhiqiyya), also transliterated Laodiceia and Laodikeia, Laodicea in Media, Laodicea in Persis, Antiochia in Persis, Antiochia of Chosroes (Greek: Αντιόχεια του Χοσρόη), Antiochia in Media (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Μηδίας), Nemavand and Niphaunda.

History

The city was founded by Darius I the Great, in Media along with the two other Achaemenid cities of Apamea and Xerxes. (Strabo xi. p. 524 ; Xerxes "Laodikeia") Pliny (vi. 29) describes it as being in the extreme limits of Media, and (re-)founded by Xerxes I.

The city was a center of Chosroes I's empire. After military reverses (ca. 540) following his sack of Syrian Antiochia in 538, he was forced to rename his capital "Antiochia".

It is the site of the Battle of Nihawand in 642 that completed the fall of the Sassanid Empire and the Islamic conquest of Iran.

Natives of Nahavand include Benjamin Nahawandi, who was a key figure in the development of Karaite Judaism in the Early Middle Ages, and 8th-century astronomer Ahmad Nahavandi, who worked at the Academy of Gundishapur.

In 2005, Nahavand had an estimated population of 77,206.[1]

Arabic music

Nahavand also gives its name to the musical mode (maqam) Nahwand in Arabic, Iranian and Turkish music. This mode is known for its wide variety of Western sounding melodies.

References

• Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), Map 92..

External links

• Hamedan Province Cultural Heritage Website
• Persian History Website
• Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Laodiceia", London, (1854)

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).

Coordinates: 34°11′04″N 48°22′21″E / 34.18444°N 48.3725°E / 34.18444; 48.3725

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v • d • e Hamadan Province Capital Hamedan Counties and Cities Asadabad County Asadabad  · Bahar County Bahar  · Salehabad  · Laljin  · Hamadan County Hamedan  · Jouraghan  · Famenin  · Ghahavand  · Maryanaj  · Kabudrahang County Kabudrahang  · Shirinsu  · Goltapeh  · Mohajeran  · Malayer County Malayer  · Azandarian  · Joukar  · Zangeneh  · Samen  · Nahavand County Nahavand  · Borzol  · Firozan  · Geyan  · Razan County Razan  · Damagh  · gourveh-e darjazin  · Tuyserkan County Toyserkan  · Sarkan  · farasfaj  · Sights Ganjnameh • Shrine of Habakkuk,Toyserkan • Hamedan Stone Lion • Ali Sadr Cave • Hamedan Museum of Natural History • Noshijan fire temple,Malayer  • Shrine of Esther and Mordechai,Hamedan • Baba Taher Mausleum,Hamedan • Avicenna mausoleum,Hamedan • Emamzadeh Yahya,Hamedan • Alvand ski resort • Pirsolayman lagoon • Median capital of Hegmataneh,Hamedan • Ecbatan dam • Geyan lagoon • Baba-pireh shrine • Ecbatana •