Hamadan
همدانAncient Ecbatana, capital of the Medes, and the resting place of Avicenna and Baba Taher.
Hamadan is ancient Ecbatana, capital of the Medes and a summer capital of the Achaemenid kings. Inscriptions of Darius and Xerxes are cut into the rock at Ganjnameh, outside the city.
The philosopher and physician Avicenna, Ibn Sina, died here in 1037, and his mausoleum stands in the city centre, as does the tomb attributed to Esther and Mordecai, a place of Jewish pilgrimage. Baba Taher, the poet of tender quatrains, is buried here too.
Cities and towns
Hamadanهمدان
Ancient Ecbatana
Malayerملایر
A town of vineyards and woodcraft
Nahavandنهاوند
Site of the battle of 642 that ended Sasanian rule
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Ganjnameh
گنجنامهInscriptions of Darius and Xerxes cut into the rock
Tomb of Avicenna
آرامگاه بوعلی سیناThe mausoleum of Ibn Sina
Hamadan through time
Iranian historyThe Arab conquest and the Persian revivalفتح اعراب و احیای زبان فارسی
Islam reached Iran with the Arab armies of the 7th century. Persian survived, took on a new script and, under dynasties such as the Samanids, returned as one of the great literary languages of the world.
- Avicenna dies in Hamadan
- Avicenna mausoleum completed, by Houshang Seyhoun
Stories from hereداستانها
The Medes
An Iranian people of the north-western highlands, the Medes helped bring down Assyria and ruled from Ecbatana, beneath modern Hamadan, before Cyrus the Great absorbed their kingdom.
The Arab conquest and the Persian revival
Islam reached Iran with the Arab armies of the 7th century. Persian survived, took on a new script and, under dynasties such as the Samanids, returned as one of the great literary languages of the world.