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Hamedan

Hamadan
همدان
city
Ancient names: Ecbatana, Hangmatana
The Tomb of Avicenna
The Tomb of Avicenna
Official seal of Hamadan
Seal
Hamadan is located in Iran
Hamadan
Hamadan
Hamadan in Iran
Coordinates: 34°48′N 48°31′E / 34.800°N 48.517°E / 34.800; 48.517Coordinates: 34°48′N 48°31′E / 34.800°N 48.517°E / 34.800; 48.517
Country  Iran
Province Hamadan
County Hamadan
Bakhsh Central
Elevation 1,850 m (6,069 ft)
Population (2006)
 • Total 473,149
 • Rank 14th in Iran
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Website www.hamedan.ir

Hamadān (pronounced [Hæmædɒːn]) or Hamedān (Persian: همدان‎‎, Hamadān) (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 473,149, in 127,812 families.

Hamadan is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities and one of the oldest in the world. 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 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.

The special nature of this old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately 360 kilometres (220 miles) southwest of Tehran.

The main symbols of this city are the Ganj Nameh inscription, the Avicenna monument and the Baba Taher monument. The majority of the population is Persian; however, there is a considerable Azerbaijani minority.

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 (i.98) 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 and was the capital of the Median Empire. It then became one of several capital cities of the Achaemenid Dynasty.


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