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Hamedan

Hamedan

:This page is about the city of Hamedan. For the province with this name, see Hamadan Province. Hamadan Province Hamadan or Hamedan (همدان in Persian) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. It had an estimated population of 550,284 in 2005. [http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/Iran.html] Hamadan is believed to be the oldest Iranian (Persian) city and one of the oldest in the world. Hamadan is a green mountainous area on the foothills of the 3574-meter Alvand Mountain,in the mid west of Iran. The city is 1850 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 400km southwest of Tehran.

History

Hamadan has a distinguished place among all historical cities of Iran and geographically located at .Some historians believe that Hamadan's construction dates back to 3000 BC and according to an inscribtion from the first Assyrian king , it is attributed to 1100 BC. Hamadan was one of the multiple capital cities of the Achaemenid Dynasty and it has been referred to by several name variations throughout its long history, namely: Hagmatana (Old Persian), Ecbatana (classical Greek rendition of Hagmatana) and several corruptions or mispronunciations of the previous two in subsequent centuries. Hagmatana is thought to have been the capital city of Media. The name Hagmatana is directly derived from Old Persian. During the Parthian era, Ctesiphon was the capital of the country, and Hamadan the summer capital and residence of the Parthian rulers. After the Parthians, the Sassanids constructed their summer palaces in Hamadan. In the year 633 the war of Nahavand took place and Hamadan came into the hands of the invading muslim arabs, at times it thrived and at times it witnessed poverty. During the Buwayhids , it suffered much damage. In the 11th century, the Seljuks shifted their capital from Baghdad to Hamadan. The city of Hamadan which was always assaulted by the rise and fall of powers, was completely destroyed during the Timurid invasion. During the Safavid era the city thrived. Thereafter, in the year 18th century, Hamadan was surrendered to the Ottomans, but due to the courage and chivalry of Nadir Shah Afshar, Hamadan was cleared off the invaders and according to the peace treaty between Iran and the Ottomans , it was returned to Iran. The city of Hamadan lay on the Silk Road and even in the last centuries enjoyed good prospects in commerce and trade being on the main road network in the western region of the country.

Climate

Hamadan province lies in a temperate mountainous region to the east of Zagros. The vast plains of the north and northeast of the province are influenced by strong winds, that almost last throughout the year. The various air currents of this region are: the north and north west winds of the spring and winter seasons, which are usually humid and bring about rainfall. The west-east air currents that blow in the autumn, and the local winds that develop due to difference in air-pressure between the elevated areas and the plains, like the blind wind of the Asad Abad region. Hamadan being in the vicinity of the Alvand mountains has a cold, mountainous climate, with snowy winters. In fact it is one of the coldest cities in Iran. The temperature may drop below -30 °C on the coldest days. Heavy snowfalls are common during winter. Summer is short , and the weather is mild and pleasant and mostly sunny.

Culture

Hamadan is also home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well-known for handicrafts like leather and ceramic work as well as for its beautiful carpets.

Sister cities


- Kulyab, Tajikestan

Attractions

Hamadan is the birthplace of Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.
- Avicenna (Abu Ali Sina) Ibn Sina mausoleum
- Baba Tahir Mausleum
- Ali Sadr caves
- Gonbad-e Alavian
- Ganj Nameh

Colleges and Universities


- # [http://www.basu.ac.ir/ Avicenna University]
- # [http://www.umsha.ac.ir University of Medical Sciences of Hamedan]
- # [http://www.iauh.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Hamedan]

See also


- Hamadan Rugs
- Ganjnameh
- Baba Taher Orian

External links


- [http://www.farsinet.com/hamadan/index.html Hameddan: Older than history]
- [http://www.iranchamber.com/cities/hamadan/hamadan.php Hamedan; Capital of Median Empire]
- [http://archive.spaceimaging.com/ikonos/2/kpms/2005/01//browse.5806.crss_sat.0.0.jpg Iconos satellite photo (January, 2005)]
- [http://www.hamedanshahr.com/ Hamedan Mayor's Office]
- [http://www.hamedanmiras.ir Hamedan Cultural Heritage Organization]
- [http://www.hegmataneh.ir/ Hegmataneh Official Website]
- [http://www.hamedanarya.com/ Hamedanarya, Unofficial City Informatin Center] Category:Cities along the Silk Road Category:Cities in Iran Category:Iranian provincial capitals

Hamadan Province

Hamadan is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. Its center is Hamadan city. The province of Hamadan covers an area of 19,546 km2. In the year 1996, Hamadan province had a population of approximately 1.7 million people. Other major cities of Hamadan province are: Twiserkan, Nahavand, Malayer, Asad Abad, Bahar, Razan, Kabudrahang.

Geography

The province lies in an elevated region, with the 'Alvand' mountains, running from the north west to the south west. These are part of the Zagros mountain range of Iran. Hamedan enjoys temperate warm summers and relatively cold winters.

History

Iran Hamadan province is one of the most ancient parts of Iran and its civilization. Relics of this area confirm this fact. Today's Hamadan is what is left of Ecbatana, The Medes' capital before they formed a union with the Persians. The poet Ferdowsi says that Ecbatana was built by King Jamshid. According to historical records, there was once a castle in this city by the name of Haft Hessar (Seven Walls) which had a thousand rooms and its grandeur equalled that of the Babylon Tower. The structures of city are related to Diya Aku, a King of the Medes from 700 BC. According to Greek records, this territory was called 'Ekbatan' and 'Hegmataneh' by this King, thus transformed into a huge capital. During the Parthian era, Ctesiphon became capital of Persia, and Hamadan became the summer capital and residence of the Parthian rulers. After the Parthians, the Sassanids constructed their summer palaces in Hamadan as well. In the year 633 when the war of Nahavand took place and Hamadan came into the hands of the invading Arabs, at times it thrived and at times it declined and witnessed hardships. During the Buwayhids, it suffered plenty of damages. In the 11th century, the Seljuks shifted their capital from Baghdad to Hamadan once again. The city of Hamadan which was always assaulted by the rise and fall of powers, was completely destroyed during the Timurid invasion. But during the Safavid era the city thrived once more. Thereafter, in the 18th century , Hamadan surrendered to the Ottomans, but due to the courage and chivalry of Nadir Shah Afshar, Hamadan was cleared of the invaders and according to the peace treaty between Iran and the Ottomans, it was thus returned to Iran. The city of Hamadan lay on the Silk Road and even in recent centuries enjoyed good prospects in commerce and trade being on the main road network in the western region of Iran.

Hamedan today

Colleges and Universities


- # [http://www.basu.ac.ir/ Avicenna University]
- # [http://www.umsha.ac.ir University of Medical Sciences of Hamedan]
- # [http://www.iauh.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Hamedan]
- # Islamic Azad University of Toyserkan

Attractions

The Cultural Heritage of Iran lists 442 sites of historical and cultural significance located in Hamedan, thus making the province a rich one in terms of historical attractions. Some of the most popular sites are: #Tomb of Baba Taher the poet #Ganj Nameh inscriptions of Darius The Great #Tomb of Esther and Mordechai #Ali Sadr (Ardeles) cave #Tomb of Avicenna #Waterfall of Ganjnameh

External links


- [http://www.ostan-hm.ir/ Official website of Hamadan Governorship]
- [http://www.hamedanmiras.ir/ Hamedan Cultural Heritage Organization]
- [http://www.hegmataneh.ir/ Official website of Hegmataneh (Ecbatana)] Category:Provinces of Iran ja:ハマダーン州

Persian language

Persian (فارسی = Fârsi ... پارسی = Pârsi), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, and elsewhere. Prior to British colonization, Persian was also widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent; it took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts in the subcontinent throughout the Middle Ages and became the official court language under the Mughal emperors. Evidence of its former rank in the region can still be seen by the extent of its influence on Hindi or Urdu, as well as the popularity that Persian literature still enjoys in the region. Persian or its dialects have official-language status in the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. There are 61-71 million native speakers [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90035]. It belongs to the Indo-European language family, and is of the Subject Object Verb type.

History

Persian is a member of the Indo-European family of languages, and within that family it belongs to the Indo-Iranian (Aryan) branch. Scholars believe the Iranian sub-branch consists of the following chronological linguistic path: Old Persian (Avestan and Achaemenid Persian) → Middle Persian (Pahlavi, Parthian, and Sassanids Persian) → Modern Persian (Dari, c. 900 to present Persian). Old Persian, the main language of the Achaemenid inscriptions, should not be confused with the non-Indo-European Elamite language (see Behistun inscription). Over this period, the morphology of the language was simplified from the complex conjugation and declension system of Old Persian to the almost completely regularized morphology and rigid syntax of Modern Persian, in a manner often described as paralleling the development of English. Additionally, many words were introduced from neighboring languages, including Aramaic and Greek in earlier times, and later Arabic and to a lesser extent Turkish. In more recent times, some Western European words have entered the language (notably from French and English). The language itself has greatly developed during the centuries. Due to technological developments, new words and idioms are created and enter into Persian like any other language. In Tehran the Academy of Persian Language and Literature is a center that evaluates the new words in order to initiate and advise their Persian equivalents. In Afghanistan, the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan does the same for Afghan Persian (among other languages).

Nomenclature

Persian, the more widely used name of the language in English, is an Anglicized form derived from Latin
- Persianus, < Latin Persia, < Greek Persis, a hellenized form of Old Persian Parsa. Farsi is the Arabicized form of Parsi, due to a lack of the /p/ phoneme in Standard Arabic. Its use in the English language is very recent (since the 1970s). Native Persian speakers typically call it "Fârsi" in modern usage. ISO, the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, and many other sources call the language Persian. The government of Afghanistan uses both "Dari" and "Persian" in English communications. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature as well as many lexicographers have announced that "Farsi" is not the appropriate term to use for the Persian language in English. In the ISO 639-1, the local names form the basis for the language codes and for this reason "fa" is the designation for the Persian language in that system.

Dialects and close languages

ISO 639-1 Communication is generally mutually intelligible between Iranians, Tajiks, and Persian-speaking Afghans; however, by popular definition:
- Dari is the local name for the eastern dialect of Persian, one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, including Hazaragi — spoken by the Hazara people of central Afghanistan.
- Tajik could also be considered an eastern dialect of Persian, but, contrary to Iranian and Afghan Persian, it is written in the Cyrillic script. The following are some of the closely related languages of various Iranian peoples within modern Iran proper:
- Mazerooni, or Mazandarani, spoken in northern Iran mainly in the province of Mazandaran.
- Guilaki, or Gilaki — spoken in the province of Guilan.
- Talysh, or Talishi — spoken in northern Iran and southern parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
- Luri, or Lori — spoken mainly in the southwestern Iranian province of Lorestan.
- (a.k.a. Tati, or Eshtehardi) — spoken in parts of the Iranian provinces of East Azarbaijan, Zanjan and Qazvin.
- Dari or Gabri — spoken originally in Yazd and Kerman by the Zoroastrians of Iran. Also called Yazdi by some.
- Dzhidi or Judæo-Persian — a collection of languages or dialects spoken by the many varied and ancient Jewish communities throughout the former greatest extent of the Persian Empire, one of the many Jewish languages of Persian Jews.

Orthography

The vast majority of modern Persian text is written in a form of the Arabic alphabet. In recent years the Latin alphabet has been used by some for technological or internationalization reasons.

Arabic Alphabet

Modern Persian is normally written using a modified variant of the Arabic alphabet.

The adoption of the Arabic script

After the conversion of Persia to Islam (see Islamic conquest of Iran), it took approximately one hundred and fifty years before Persians adopted the Arabic alphabet as a replacement for the older alphabet. Previously, two different alphabets were used for the Persian language (Middle Persian, or Pahlavi, at that time): one was also called Pahlavi and was a modified version of the Aramaic alphabet, and the other was a native Iranian alphabet called Dîndapirak (literally: religion script).

Note: "independence" of Arabic and Persian languages

One should note that despite their shared standard alphabet, Persian and Arabic are entirely different languages: they are not closely genetically related (they belong to separate genetic language families, namely, Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic) and naturally have different phonology and grammar.

The features of the Persian variant

The Persian variant adds four letters to the Arabic alphabet for its use, due to the fact that four sounds that exist in Persian do not exist in Arabic. Additionally, it changes the shape of another two. Some people call this modified alphabet the Perso-Arabic alphabet. The additional four letters are: The letters different in shape are: The diacritical marks used in the Arabic script, a.k.a. harakat, are also used in Persian, although some of them have different pronunciations. For example, an Arabic Damma is pronounced as /u/, while in Persian it is pronounced as /o/. The Persian variant also adds the notion of a pseudo-space to the Arabic script, called a Zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) by the Unicode Standard. It acts like a space in disconnecting two otherwise-joining adjacent letters, but does not have a visual width.

Note: Spelling of Arabic words in Arabic and in Persian

It should also be noted that many Persian words with an Arabic root are spelled differently from the original Arabic word. Alef with hamza below ( إ ) always changes to alef ( ا ); teh marbuta ( ة ) usually, but not always, changes to teh ( ت ) or heh ( ه ); and words using various hamzas get spelled with yet another kind of hamza (so that مسؤول becomes مسئول).

Further expansion of the Persian variant

The features of the Persian variant have been taken for other languages, such as Pashto or Urdu, and have sometimes been further extended with new letters or punctuation.

Latin Alphabet

The Universal Persian (UniPers / Pârsiye Jahâni) Alphabet is a Latin-based alphabet created over 50 years ago in Iran and popularized by Mohamed Keyvan, who had used it in a number of Persian textbooks for foreigners and travellers. It sidesteps the difficulties of the traditional Arabic-based alphabet, with its multiple letter shapes and ambiguous spellings, and fits particularly well in contemporary electronically written media. Fingilish is the name given to texts written in Persian using the Basic Latin alphabet. It is most commonly used in chat, emails and SMS applications.

Phonology

:Main article: Persian phonology The Persian language has six vowels and twenty-three consonants, including two affricates /ʧ/ (ch) and /ʤ/ (j). Historically, Persian distinguished length: the long vowels , , contrasting with the short vowels , , respectively. Modern spoken Persian, however, generally does not make this distinction anymore. Persian phonology
Consonants
 
labial

alveolars
post-alveolars

velars

glottals
 voiceless stops
 voiced stops
 
 voiceless fricatives
 voiced fricatives
 
 nasals
    
 liquids  
,
   
 glides  
  
Note that and are affricates, not stops.

Grammar

:Main article: Persian grammar Suffixes predominate Persian morphology, though there are a small number of prefixes. Verbs can express tense and aspect, and they agree with the subject in person and number. There is no grammatical gender for nouns, nor are pronouns marked for natural gender. Normal sentences are structured as "(S) (PP) (O) V". If the object is definite, then the order is "(S) (O + "rɑ:") (PP) V".

Vocabulary

There are many loanwords in the Persian language, mostly coming from Arabic, English, French, and the Turkic languages. Persian has likewise influenced the vocabularies of other languages, especially Indo-Iranian languages and Turkic languages. Many Persian words have also found their way into the English language. See List of English words of Persian origin.

See also


- Academy of Persian Language and Literature
- Arabic numerals
- Dzhidi language
- History of Urdu
- List of English words of Persian origin
- List of Persian poets and authors
- Middle Persian literature
- Persian grammar
- Persian literature
- Persian mythology
- Persian phonology
- Persian or Farsi? - The announcement of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature

References


- Mace, J. (2003). Persian Grammar: For reference and revision. Routledge-Curzon, London.
- Mahootian, S. (1997). Persian. Descriptive Grammars. Routledge, London.
- Windfuhr, G. L. (1987). Persian. In Comrie, B., editor, The World’s Major Languages, pages 523–546. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

External links


- [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=PRS Ethnologue report for Eastern Persian]
- [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=PES Ethnologue report for Western Persian]
- [http://www.easypersian.com/ Easypersian.com]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/Farsi/ Dictionary] with Farsi - English Translations from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition
- [http://www.aryanpour.com/ Aryanpour Persian-English English-Persian Dictionary]
- [http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=63 UCLA Language Materials Project: Persian]
- [http://www.unipers.com/ UniPers.com A proposed Latin-based writing system designed specifically for the Persian language.]
- [http://www.persiandirect.com Persian Linguistics Association]
- [http://homepages.nyu.edu/%7Emmk4/AATP.htm American Association of Teachers of Persian (AATP)]
- [http://www.apersian.org The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature]
- [http://www.voanews.com/persian VOA’s Persian Language Service]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian BBC’s Persian Language Service]
- [http://www.dwelle.de/persian Deutche Welle’s Persian Service]
- [http://iran-heritage.org/interestgroups/language-articles.htm An Online Persian Language Forum] Category:Classical languages Category:Iranian culture Category:Iranian languages Category:Languages of Afghanistan Category:Languages of Iran Category:Languages of Tajikistan Category:Languages of Uzbekistan Category:Languages of Pakistan Category:Languages of Russia ko:페르시아어 ja:ペルシア語 th:ภาษาเปอร์เซีย

Iran

Iran (Persian: ايران) is a Middle Eastern country located in Southwest Asia bordering Armenia, Azerbaijan including its Nakhichevan exclave and Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, Turkey and Iraq to the west. Until 1935 the country was referred to in the West as Persia. In 1959, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi announced that both terms could be used. In 1979, the Iranian revolution established a theocratic Islamic Republic, changing the country's official name to the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ايران). Dispute exists as to the country's current official name.

History

Sometime around 1500 to 1000 BC, the Iranian nomads of Indo-European stock emigrated to the Iranian plateau possibly from Central Asia. In 8th century BC, the first Iranian government was established under the Median dynasty and under the following dynasty, the Achaemenids, Iranians built the first world empire. Their empire emerged in the 6th century BC under Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, who called himself "King of Iran and beyond". Indeed, the name Persia is derived from Persis, the ancient Greek name for the empire. The Achaemenid dynasty was followed by the Parthian and Sassanid dynasties as Persia's greatest pre-Islamic empires. Alexander the Great first conquered Persia in 331 BC, followed by Islam's Arab forces in the 7th century, and Genghis Khan, and lastly, Tamerlane who conquered a significant portion of Persia in the middle ages. middle ages The 9th century saw the rise of the Saffarids and then other lines of kings or shahs. During the 19th century Persia came under increasing pressure from both Russia and the United Kingdom, leading to a process of modernization that continued into the 20th century. By the 20th century Iranians were longing for a change and thus followed the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905/1911. In 1953 Iran's elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, was removed from power in a complex plot orchestrated by British and US intelligence agencies (dubbed "Operation Ajax"). Many scholars suspect that this ouster was motivated by British-US opposition to Mosaddeq's attempt to nationalize Iran's oil. Following Mosaddeq's fall, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Iran's monarch) grew increasingly dictatorial. With strong support from the USA and the UK, the Shah further modernized Iranian industry but crushed civil liberties. His autocratic rule, including systematic torture and other human rights violations, led to the Iranian revolution and overthrow of his regime in 1979. After more than a year of political struggle between a variety of different groups, an Islamic republic was established under the Ayatollah Khomeini by a revolution. The new theocratic political system instituted some conservative Islamic reforms and engaged in an anti-Western course. In particular Iran distanced itself from the United States due to the American involvement in the 1953 coup, which supplanted an elected government with the Shah's repressive regime. It also declared its refusal to recognize the existence of Israel as a state. The new government inspired various groups considered by a large part of the Western World to be fundamentalist. As a consequence some countries, currently led by the USA, consider Iran to be a hostile power. In 1980 Iran was attacked by neighbouring Iraq and the destructive Iran-Iraq War continued until 1988. The struggle between reformists and conservatives over the future of the country continues today through electoral politics and was a central Western focus in the 2005 Elections where Conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triumphed.

Politics

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran is a constitutional Islamic Republic, whose political system is laid out in the 1979 constitution. Iran's makeup has several intricately connected governing bodies, some of which are democratically elected and some of which are appointed by religious leaders. The concept of velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist) plays an influential role in the governmental structure. The Supreme Leader of Iran is responsible for the delineation and supervision of "the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran." In the absence of a single leader, a council of religious leaders is appointed. The Supreme Leader is commander-in-chief of the armed forces; he alone can declare war. He has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also appoints six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians. He, or the council of religious leaders, are elected by the Assembly of Experts, on the basis of their qualifications and the high popular esteem in which they are held. Twelve jurists comprise the Council of Guardians, six of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader. The head of the judiciary recommends the remaining six, which are officially appointed by Parliament. The Council of Guardians is vested with the authority to interpret the constitution and determines if the laws passed by Parliament are in line with sharia (Islamic law) and the Iranian constitution; if a law passed by Parliament is deemed incompatible, it is referred back to Parliament for revision. After the office of Leadership, the President of Iran is the highest official in the country. His is responsibile for implementing the Constitution and acting as the head of the executive, except in matters directly concerned with the Leadership. All presidential candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians prior to running, and are elected to a 4-year term. After his election, the president appoints and supervises the 21-member Council of Ministers (who must then be confirmed by Parliament), coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before the parliament. Eight vice presidents serve under the president. The unicameral Iranian parliament consists of 290 members elected to a 4-year term (approved by the Council of Guardians before running). It drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the country's budget. All legislation from the assembly must be reviewed by the Council of Guardians. The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week every year, consists of 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by the public to eight-year terms. Like presidential and parliamentary elections, the Council of Guardians determines eligibility to run for a seat in this assembly. The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor. Public courts deal with civil and criminal cases. "Revolutionary" courts try certain categories of offenses, including crimes considered against national security or the republic and narcotics smuggling. Decisions rendered in these courts are final and cannot be appealed. The Special Clerical Court, which functions independently of the regular judicial framework and is accountable only to the Supreme Leader, handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics, although it has also taken on cases involving lay people.

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Iran consists of 30 provinces: Provinces are governed from a local center, mostly the largest local city. Provincial authority is headed by a governor (استاندار: ostāndār), who is installed by the Minister of Interior subject to approval of the cabinet. Until 2004 there were 28 provinces. A law passed that year split the province of Khorasan into three new provinces: North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, and South Khorasan.

Major cities

Iran's top four largest cities are:
Image:Meydoon sadeghiyeh.jpg|Tehran: 8,601,473 (2005 pop.) Image:Nadershahtomb.jpg|Mashad: 2,307,177 (2005 pop.) Image:IMG 0414 resize.jpg|Isfahan: 1,547,164 (2005 pop.) Image:Poets tomb tabriz.jpg|Tabriz: 1,424,641 (2005 pop.)
See also: List of cities in Iran.

Geography

List of cities in Iran Iran borders Azerbaijan (length of border: 432 km / 268 mi ) and Armenia (35 km / 22mi) to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan (992 km / 616 mi) to the northeast, Pakistan (909 km / 565 mi) and Afghanistan (936 km / 582 mi) to the east, Turkey (499 km / 310 mi) and Iraq (1,458 km / 906 mi) to the west, and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south. Iran's total land mass is 1,648,000 km² / ≈636,300 mi² (Land: 1,636,000 km² / ≈631,663 mi², Water: 12,000 km² / ≈4,633 mi²). Iran's landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate various basins or plateaus from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Zagros and Alborz Mountains, the latter of which also contains Iran's highest point, the Damavand at 5,671 m (18,606 ft). The eastern half consists mostly of uninhabited desert basins with the occasional salt lake. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian Sea and at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders on the mouth of the Arvand river (Shatt al-Arab). Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. The Iranian climate is mostly arid or semiarid, though subtropical along the Caspian coast. Iran is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity".

Climate

Iran's varied landscape produces several different climates. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) the temperatures nearly fall below freezing and remain humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29°C (84°F). Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26 in) in the eastern part of the plain and more than 1700 mm (75 in) in the western side of the plain. At higher elevations to the west, settlements in the Zagros mountains basins experience lower temperatures. These areas have severe winters, with average daily temperatures below freezing and have heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid. They get less than 200 mm (8 in) of rain and have occasional desert. The average summer temperatures exceed 38°C (100°F). The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters and experience very humid and hot summers. The Annual precipitation ranges from 135 mm to 355 mm (6 to 14 in).

Economy

Gulf of Oman Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. The current administration has continued to follow the market reform plans of the previous one and has indicated that it will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy. Iran is attempting to diversify by investing revenues in other areas, including petrochemicals. Iran is also hoping to attract billions of dollars worth of foreign investment by creating a more favorable investment climate (i.e., reduced restrictions and duties on imports, creation of free-trade zones). Iran is OPEC's second largest oil producer and holds 10% of the world's proven oil reserves. It also has the world's second largest natural gas reserves (after Russia). The strong oil market in 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iran's financial situation tightened in 1997 because of lower oil prices. The subsequent rise in oil prices in 1999/2000 afforded Iran fiscal breathing room. Iranian budget deficits have been a chronic problem, in part due to large-scale state subsidies–totaling some $7.25 billion per year–including foodstuffs and especially gasoline. gasoline district.]] On March 20, 2006, Iran plans to participate in a new International Oil Bourse, trading oil priced as Petroeuros, rather than Petrodollars, as oil is traded in all other markets (as of 2005). This attempt to rebalance trading relationships in the world economy may trigger a series of far reaching consequences. A few observers, especially among peak oil production theorists who believe that an oil crisis is imminent, argue that there is a potential for a resource war with the United States of America over the flow of both dollars and oil. Others, including military leaders and peak oil theorists who believe that a crisis is further off, argue that the results of war game scenarios cast doubt on the argument that a war is the most likely result of the Oil Bourse. The services sector has seen the greatest long-term growth in terms of its share of GDP, but the sector remains volatile. State investment has boosted agriculture, however, with the liberalization of production and the improvement of packaging and marketing helping to develop new export markets. Large-scale irrigation schemes, together with the wider production of export-based agricultural items such as dates, flowers and pistachios, produced the fastest economic growth of any sector in Iran over much of the 1990s, although successive years of severe drought in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 have held back output growth substantially. Agriculture remains one of the largest employers, accounting for 22% of all jobs according to the 1991 census. According to the U.N. World Drug Report for 2005, Iran has the highest proportion of opiate addicts in the world–2.8 percent of the population over age 15. Only two other countries–Mauritius and Kyrgyzstan–pass the 2 percent mark. With a population of about 70 million and some government agencies putting the number of regular users close to 4 million, Iran has no real competition as world leader in per capita addiction to opiates, including heroin.

Demographics

heroin

Ethnic groups

The majority of Iran's population speak one of the Iranian languages, though only Persian is an official language. While the number, percentage, and definition of the different Iranian peoples is disputed, the major ethnic groups and minorities in Iran include the Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmen people (2%), Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Assyrians and others.

Religion

Assyrians Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 10% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in most Muslim countries. Non-Muslim religious minorities include the Bahá'í Faith, Zoroastrians, as well as Jews, Christians, and Mandeans. The latter three are officially recognised minority religions and have reserved seats in the Majlis (Parliament). Iran's population size increased dramatically during the latter half of the 20th century. Iran hosts more than one million foreign refugees, more than any other country on earth.

Culture

earth and guardians of an ancient and sophisticated culture.]] Like all ancient civilizations, culture constitutes the focal point and heart of Iranian civilization. The art, music, architecture, poetry, philosophy, traditions, and ideology of Iran have made it a continuously important nation in the global community. In fact, many Iranians believe their culture to be the one and only reason why their civilization has continuously survived thousands of years of plethoric calamities.

Miscellaneous topics

Notes and references


-
-
- Please note that the numbers are according to the 2004 edition of CIA's The World Factbook. Different claims include higher numbers for Persian-speaking groups and respectively lower numbers for Turkic-speaking groups or vice versa. Some people in the first group claim that the CIA statistics are based on guesses made around 1964, while the CIA claims that their numbers are based on information from January 2004.
-
- Additional references and bibliography can be found in the more detailed articles linked to in this article.

External links

Official Government Links

The following websites belong to the various branches of government, or are directly operated by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- [http://www.leader.ir Official site of the Supreme Leader], [http://www.wilayah.org/ (Qom office)]
- [http://www.president.ir Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran] - Official website.
- [http://www.irisn.com/ The Council of Guardians], Official website.
- [http://mellat.majlis.ir/ The Majlis], Iran's parliament. [http://www.majlis.ir/ (2)].
- [http://www.iranjudiciary.org/ The Judiciary of The Islamic Republic of Iran]
- [http://www.mfa.gov.ir Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
- [http://www.ershad.gov.ir/ Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance]
- [http://www.mod.ir/ Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces]
- [http://www.freezones.ir/ Secretariat of The High Council of Iran Free Trade Industrial Zones]
- [http://www.iranculture.org Secretariat of The High Council of The Cultural Revolution]
- [http://www.spk-gov.ir/ Official Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran]
- [http://www.aeoi.org.ir/ Islamic Republic of Iran Atomic Energy Organization]
- [http://www.iranmiras.ir/ Islamic Republic of Iran Cultural Heritage Organization]
- [http://www.rcs.ir/en Islamic Republic of Iran Red Crescent Society]
- [http://www.irib.com Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting], official website.
- [http://www.shahid.ir/ Bonyad e Shahid Foundation]
- [http://www.iran-bonyad.com/ Bonyad e Mostazafeen Foundation]

Other links


-
- [http://www.irpedia.com/ Iran Travel and Tourism Guide]
- [http://www.cais-soas.com Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS)]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/default.stm BBC News - "Iran, Who holds the power?"]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ir.html CIA World Factbook - Iran]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/c2404.htm US State Department - Iran] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Middle_East/Iran/ Open Directory Project - Iran] directory category
- [http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=iran Yahoo! News Full Coverage Iran] headline links
- [http://www.gooya.com Directory of Iranian online newspapers]
- [http://www.iranoilgas.com/ Iran Oil and Gas]
- [http://www.iranmilitaryforum.com Iran Military Forum]
- [http://www.iranmilitaryforum.com Iran Military Side]
- [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/221/ Freedom of Expression in Iran] - IFEX
- [http://cns.miis.edu/research/wmdme/iran.htm List of alleged weapons]
- [http://www.islam.org.au/articles/24/iran.htm The Dismal Reality of Ahlus Sunnah in Iran ]
- [http://www.thepersiangulf.org Iran, The Persian Gulf] - Iran in the Persian Gulf
- List of [http://www.irpedia.com/iran/touristinfo.php?ID=1203 Iranian High Commissions, embassies and consulates] around the world.
- [http://www.farhangsara.com/ Farhangsara.com] - an independently-produced Iran encyclopedia Category:Persian Gulf states Category:Iranian people Category:Near Eastern countries Category:Middle Eastern countries Category:Southwest Asian countries zh-min-nan:Iran ko:이란 ms:Iran ja:イラン simple:Iran th:ประเทศอิหร่าน

Iranian

The term Iranian may refer to:
- the inhabitants of the modern nation of Iran, which includes several ethnolinguistic groups.
- the Iranian peoples, in which case Iranian is an over-arching term for various peoples and their languages, which share descent in common from a particular branch of the ancient Aryans (Iranians), as discerned from the relationship between their languages (see Iranian languages), as well as between some of their other inherited core cultural features. The term is based upon the membership of the main language of Iran in this group, as well as upon an etymological connection between the words Iran and Aryan. Iranian, in this ethno-linguistic usage, are most of the peoples of the modern nation of Iran, but are included as well such groups as the Afghans/PashtunsTats, Kurds, Baluchis, Ossetes, etc. Some ancient peoples such as the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans are also widely believed to have belonged to the Iranian group, based upon scant evidence regarding their languages and the identity of their modern-day descendants. No origin for any of these peoples or their languages in the region of the modern nation of Iran is implied, or should be construed, from this particular use of the word Iranian. The Iranian language group is itself a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian group, which is in turn a sub-branch of the Indo-European. The Indo-Iranian group includes besides Iranian, also Indo-Aryan and Nuristani.
- The term Iranian (Persian: ایرانیان) is cognate to the term Aryan (Persian: آریایی). Category:Ancient peoples Category:Iranian peoples

Persian

Persian may mean:
- Persian language, an Iranian language
- Persians, an ethnic group
- Persian (cat), a breed
- Persian (Pokémon), a character
- the Western name for Iranian (see Iran/Persia naming controversy)

See also


- Persia (disambiguation page)
- List of Persia-related topics
- List of Iran-related topics ja:ペルシア帝国 ko:페르시아

Alvand

Alvand , Alwand or Alvand Kuh is a mountain chain in western Iran. This mountain chain is located near Hamadan, with a summit of 3580 m, and consists mainly of intrusive rocks (granite, granitoid and diorite). The range bears a trilingual ancient inscription (Neo Elamite, Neo Babylonian and Old Persian) of King Darius the great and king Xerxes I, called Ganj nameh, 10km south of Hamadan.

Tehran

Tehran (also transcribed Teheran) (تهران in Persian), population 9,000,000 (metropolitan: 14,000,000), and a land area of 254 square miles, the capital of Iran (Persia) and the center of Tehran Province. Tehran is located at . [http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/cntry_files.html] More than half of the country's industry is based there. Industries include the manufacturing of cars, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is an oil refinery nearby. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in western Asia. It is also the hub of the country's railway network. The city has numerous large museums, art centers, palace complexes and cultural centers. Besides Persians there are Azeri, Armenian, Kurdish and Jewish communities in Tehran. 98.3 percent of Tehran's residents speak Persian [http://www.hamshahri.org/ostans/iraninfo/tehran/farbomi/leftfar.htm]. The city is dotted with mosques. There are some churches and synagogues. The word Tehran in Persian means "warm mountain slope" (دامنه گرم).

History

Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BC. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rages which was flourishing nearby in the pre-Mongol era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Rages by Mongols, many of its inhabitants fled to Tehran. In some sources of the Mongol era the city is mentioned as "Rages's Tehran" (طهرانِ ری). The city is later mentioned in Hamdollah Mostowfi's Nezhat ol-Gholoob (written in 1340) as a famous village. 1340 No one knows for sure how the city got its name, but one accepted explanation is that Tehran means "a warm place", as opposed to "a cool place", called Shemiran - a cooler district in northern Tehran. Don Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian ambassador, was probably the first European to visit Tehran, stopping in July 1404, while on a journey to Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan) and the Mongol capital at the time. At this time, the city of Tehran was unwalled. Tehran became a residence of the Safavid rulers in the 17th century. Tahmasp I built a bazaar and a wall around the city, but it somewhat fell out of favour after Abbas I turned sick when he was passing the city to go to a war with the Uzbeks. In the early 18th century, Karim Khan Zand ordered a palace, a harem, and a government office to be built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital, but later moved his government to Shiraz. Tehran finally became the capital of Persia in 1795, when the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan was crowned in the city. It remains the capital to this day. During World War II, British and Soviet troops entered the city. Tehran was the site of the Teheran Conference in 1943, attended by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. On September 8 1978, demonstrations against the Shah led to riots. The army reportedly opened fire on the demonstrating mob. Martial law was installed in the wake of the ensuing revolution, from 1978-80. During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, Tehran was the scene of repeated Scud missile attacks and air strikes against random residential and industrial targets within the city, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties.

About Tehran

19781978 The Azadi Tower is the first thing visitors come across when coming from the Mehr-abad International Airport. The tower has become an icon of sorts for Tehran and Iran. Tehran suffers from extremely serious traffic congestion and pollution problems. Respiratory ailments such as asthma are now very common. Tehran has become so congested in the past 10 years, that the government has considered moving the nation's capital to another city to alleviate these problems and help de-centralize the economy and population. This is especially true in light of predictions of an imminent major earthquake in Tehran, situated on top of three major faultlines. But because Iran's economy and politics is so centralized, millions have little choice but to live and work in Tehran despite these problems. The Peacock Throne of the Persian Shahs can be found in Tehran's Golestan Palace. Some of the important museums are National Museum of Iran, Sa'dabad Palaces Complex, Glassware and Ceramics Museum of Iran, The Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran's Underglass painting Museum, and Niavaran Palace Complex. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is also appealing to many because it features the works of great artists such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. The huge Tehran International Fair organises many expositions. Its book expositions are especially popular. Tehran is also the seat of Iran's Parliament (the Majles). And Tehran is also home to the world's fourth tallest free standing structure, the Milad Tower. The Tehran Stock Exchange which is a full member of the FIBV and a founding member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, was one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in recent years.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3129995.stm]. But since the election win of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it has seen a sharp fall and is now seen as one of the least profitable exchanges in the world.

Neighborhoods and Districts of Tehran

FIBV The city of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative centers. Within these 22 districts, Tehran contains the following major neighborhoods : Abbas Abad, Afsariyeh, Amir Abad, Bagh Feiz, Baharestan, Darakeh, Darband, Dardasht, Dar Abad, Dehkadeh Olampik, Ekhtiyariyeh, Elahiyeh, Evin, Gholhak, Gisha, Gomrok, Hasan Abad, Jamaran, Jannat Abad, Javadiyeh, Jomhuri, Jordanne, Narmak, Navvab, Nazi Abad, Niavaran, Park Shahr, Pasdaran, Punak, Ray, Sa'adat Abad, Sadeghiyeh, Shahrara, Shahreziba, Shahrak-e Gharb, Shemiran, Tehranpars, Vanak, Yaft Abad, Yusef Abad, etc. For full list, see List of the localities around Tehran.

The older neighborhoods of Tehran

Tehran's old city fabric changed dramatically during the first Pahlavi era. Some of the older remaining districts of Tehran are: Udlajan, Sangelaj, Bazaar, Chaleh Meydan, Dowlat. Chaleh Meydan is the oldest neighborhood of the aforementioned.

Transportation

Chaleh MeydanIn 2001 a metro system that had been in planning since the 1970s opened the first two of seven envisaged lines -- even though the city is prone to earthquakes. Work has been slow and coverage remains very limited. Development of the Tehran metro system had been interrupted by the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Problems arising from the late completion of the metro led to buses taking on the role of the metro lines, serving mainly long distance routes. Taxis filled the void for localised routes, not carrying passengers to their final destinations but operating along main routes and arteries. This has all led to extreme congestion and air pollution within the city. Tehran is served by Mehrabad International Airport, the old airport which doubles as a military base located in the western part of the city, and Imam Khomeini International Airport, 50 kilometers south, which handles flights from the Persian Gulf but which will eventually handle all international flights. The new airport is overdue and over budget, and Britain and Australia have warned their nationals not to use it because of safety concerns. Tehran also has a central train station with connecting services round the clock to various cities in the country. There are four bus terminals that also provide connections at low fares. These are the South, East, West, and Bei-haghi Park-Drive Terminals. While the center of the city contains the government ministries and headquarters, the commercial centers are more located toward Taleghani Ave. and Beheshti Ave. further north. Although administratively separate, Rey, Shemiran, and Karaj are often considered part of the larger Tehran metropolitan area. See also: List of Tehran metro stations

Colleges and universities

List of Tehran metro stations Ever since the establishment of Darolfonoon, Tehran has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education. Some of these institutions have played crucial roles in the unfolding of Iranian political events. There are 45 major colleges and universities in total today in Tehran, listed below:

- [http://www.kntu.ac.ir/ K.N.Toosi University of Technology]
- [http://www.atu.ac.ir/ Allameh Tabatabaii University]
- Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) ([http://www.aku.ac.ir/ website])
- Alzahra University ([http://www.alzahra.ac.ir/ website])
- [http://www.bmsu.ac.ir/ Baghiatollah University]
- [http://www.ihu.ac.ir/ Imam Hossein University]
- [http://www.isu.ac.ir/ Imam Sadegh University]
- Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM) [http://www.ipm.ac.ir (website)]
- [http://www.iums.ac.ir/ Iran University of Medical Sciences]
- Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)[http://www.iust.ac.ir (website)]
- [http://www.kiau.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Karaj]
- Islamic Azad University of Roodehen
- [http://www.iautmu.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Medical Sciences]
- [http://www.iaunt.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Tehran-North]
- [http://www.azad.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Tehran-South]
- [http://www.iauctb.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Central]
- [http://www.iauro.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Tehran-Region one]
- [http://www.shahed.ac.ir/ Shahed University]
- Shahid Beheshti University ([http://www.sbu.ac.ir/ website])
- Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences [http://www.sbmu.ac.ir (website)]
- Sharif University of Technology ([http://www.sharif.ac.ir/ webiste])
- Tarbiat Modares University[http://www.modares.ac.ir/ (website)]
- [http://www.tums.ac.ir/ Tehran University of Medical Sciences]
- [http://www.tmu.ac.ir/ Tehran University of Tarbiat Moallem]
- [http://www.art.ac.ir/ University of The Arts]
- [http://www.uswr.ac.ir/ University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences]
- University of Tehran [http://www.ut.ac.ir/ (website)]
- [http://www.emamreza.ac.ir/ University of Emam Reza]
- [http://www.hadith.ac.ir/ Hadith College of Tehran]
- Imam Ali University for Army Officers
- [http://www.itrws.com/ Comprehensive University of Technology]
- [http://www.uast.ac.ir/ Tehran University of Applied Science and Technology]
- [http://www.coe.ac.ir/ Tehran College of Environment]
- [http://www.bou.ac.ir/ Bagher Aloloum University]
- [http://www.iranu.com/ International University of Iran]
- [http://www.ictfaculty.ir/ Iran College of Tele-communications]
- Medical University for the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army
- NAJA University of Police
- [http://www.sea.ac.ir School of Economic Affairs (SEA)]
- [http://www.sir.ac.ir School of International Relations (SIR)]
- Shahed University of Medical Sciences
- Shahid Sattari University of Aeronautical Engineering
- University of Islamic Sects
- [http://www.ripi.ir/en/ The Research Institute of The Petroleum Industry]
- [http://www.iranpolymerinstitute.org/ Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute]
Tehran also contains Iran's largest military academy, and several religious schools and seminaries.

Sports

Tehran was the first city in the Middle East to host the Asian Games. The 7th Asian Summer Games in 1974, was held with the participation of 2363 athletes and officials from 25 countries. Tehran is also the site of Iran's national football stadium on Azadi Sport Complex with 100000 seating capacity. Many of the top matches of Iran's Premier League are held here. In 2005, FIFA ordered Iran limit spectators allowed into Azadi stadium because of a fatal crush and inadequate safety procedures. Azadi Sport ComplexWithin 10 minutes of driving distance from Tehran lies a ski resort. Tochal is the world's fifth highest ski resort at over 3730m at its highest 7th station. The resort was completed in 1976 shortly before the overthrow of the Shah. Here, one must first ride the eight km (five mile) long gondola lift which covers a huge vertical. The 7th station has three slopes. The resort's longest slope is the south side U shaped slope which goes from the 7th station to 5th station. The other two slopes are located on the north side of the 7th station. Here, there are two parallel chair ski lifts that go up to 3900m near Tochal's peak (at 4000m), rising higher than the gondola 7th station station. This altitude is higher than any of the European resorts. From the Tochal peak, one has a spectacular view of the Alborz range, including the 5671 metre (18606 ft) high Mt. Damavand, a dormant volcano. At the bottom of the lifts in a valley behind the Tochal peak is Tochal hotel, located at 3500m altitude. From there a T lift takes skiers up the 3800 metres of Shahneshin peak, where the third slope of Tochal is. Tochal 7th station has skiing eight months of the year. But there are also some glaciers and year-round snow fields near Tehran where skiing began in 1938, thanks to the efforts of two German railway engineers. Today, 12 ski resorts operate in Iran, but the most famous are Tochal, Dizin, and Shemshak, all within one to three hours of Tehran. See also: Sports in Iran

Football

In football (soccer), Tehran is host to six football clubs in Iran's Premier Football League, namely:

- Esteghlal
- Saba Battery
- Saipa
- Rah Ahan
- Pas Tehran
- Pirouzi/Persepolis
These clubs have on numerous occasions won Asian titles, and some of their players are known internationally.

Outdoor

Pirouzi/Persepolis
- [http://www.tochalcomplex.com Tochal Ski resort]
- Darband hiking trail
- Chitgar Park
- Mellat Park
- Laleh Park
- Jamshidieh Park
- Niavaran Park
- Sa'ei Park
- Shahr-e Bazi amusement park.
- Shatranj Park
- Darabad hiking trail
- Darakeh hiking trail
- Jahan-e Kudak Park
- Azadi Sports complex
- Enghelab Sports Complex and Golf course
- Several caves, springs, and waterfalls outisde Tehran.
- Latyan Lake
- Lavizan Forest Park
- Vardavard Forest Park
- Khajeer National Park
- Kavir National Park
- Tar Lake
- Amir Kabir Lake
- Lar Protected Natural Habitat
- Varjeen Protected Natural Habitat

Culture

Tehran, as Iran's showcase and historical capital city, has a wealth of cultural attractions, some of which are listed below.
Image:Azadi2.jpg|Azadi Sport Complex Image:Bagh-melli.jpg|Bagh-e Melli (National Garden) Image:Museh Melli3.jpg|A bowl from the 4th Millennium BCE in the National Museum of Iran. Image:Teheran golestan.jpg|Golestan Palace

Palaces

Golestan Palace
- Golestan Palace and Takht-e Marmar. [http://www.golestanpalace.org/ (website)]
- Niavaran Palace Complex [http://niavaranpalace.org/ (website)]
- Sadabad Palace [http://www.saadabadpalace.org/ (website)]
- Saltanat Abad Palace
- Firouzeh Palace, (which belongs to Tehran's Zoroastrian community)
- Soleymaniyeh Palace
- Baharestan Palace, (where Iran's first parliament was located at)
- Morvarid Palace, Karaj, designed by The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. [http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2004/June/Design/]

Museums


- [http://www.saadabadgallery.ir/ Sa'd Abad Gallery of Fine Arts]
- [http://www.glasswaremuseum.ir/ Glassware Museum of Tehran]
- Iran's National Rug Gallery [http://carpetmuseum.ir/ (website)]
- [http://www.rezaabbasimuseum.ir/ Reza Abbasi Museum]
- Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art [http://www.ir-tmca.com/ (website)]
- Tehran Theater of the Performing Arts (Te'atr e Shahr)
- Talar Vahdat Theater
- National Museum of Iran, [http://www.nationalmuseumofiran.ir (website)]
- Dar-abad Nature & Wildlife Museum
- National Library of Iran

Religious centers


- Soltani Mosque, built by Fath Ali Shah
- Atiq Mosque, built in 1663.
- Mo'ezz o-dowleh mosque, built by Fath Ali Shah
- Haj Seyd Azizollah mosque, built by Fath Ali Shah
- Al-javad mosque, Iran's first modernist design mosque.
- The Old Sepahsalar mosque, another prominent Qajar era mosque.
- The new Sepahsalar mosque (Madreseh e Motahari)
- Filsuf o-dowleh Mosque, Qajar era
- Moshir ol-Saltaneh Mosque, Qajar era
- Mo'ayyer ol-Mamalik Mosque, Qajar era
- Shahr Banu Mausopleum
- Javan-mard Qassab Mausoleum, a pre-Islamic semi-mythical hero
- Dozens of Imam-zadeh shrines, hundreds of years old, including that of Imam Zadeh Saleh.
- Dozens of Saqa Khanehs: traditional places of prayer
- Several Tekyehs: traditional places for mourning Muharram ceremonies for Husayn ibn Ali.
- Ibn Babviyeh cemetery, where many Iranian giants such as Takhti and Ali Akbar Dehkhoda are buried.
- Zahir o-dowleh cemetery, where many Iranian giants of art and culture such as Iraj Mirza, Mohammad Taghi Bahar, Forough Farrokhzad, Abolhasan Saba, Ruhollah Khaleghi, and Darvish-khan are buried.
- Kordan Tomb, Seljuqi era, Karaj.
- Maydanak Tomb, 13th century, Karaj
- The Polish cemetery 1-north of Tehran in British Gholhak garden, where numerous World War II western allied soldiers are buried. 2- polish cemetery (catholic cemetery)Dulab south of Tehran
- orthodox Cemetery.Dulab/The Russian unknown soldier's Tomb(Cenotaph) is located there with red star over it

Churches


- Surep Georg Church, 1790
- Thaddeus Bartoqimus Church, 1808
- Tatavus Church, from the Qajar era
- Enjili Church, 1867
- Assyrian Church
Image:Khalvat Karimkhani Golestan2.jpg|Khalvat-e Karimkhani, Golestan Palace. Image:Tehran cemetary WW2.jpg|Tehran's WW2 Cemetery of Allied Forces Image:Borj-toghrul.jpg|Toghrol Tower, 13th century. Image:Melli Library.jpg|National Library of Iran, Niavaran branch.

Castles and Forts


- Arzhang Fort, Taleqan, 1149CE
- Iraj Fort, Varamin
- Gol e Khandan Fort, Rudehen, Sassanid era
- Rashkan Fort, Ray, Parthian era
- Tabbarok Fort, Abbasid era
- Sorkheh-Hesar Fort, Seljuqi era.
- Kei-Ghobad Fort, Taleqan, Ismaili era
- Gabri Fort, Parthian era, Ray.
- Several other forts and castle ruins, such as Ghal'eh Dokhtar Tang Goseel, near Karaj. Like all the other forts of this area, these have been ruined by earthquakes. Seljuqi era.
- Harun Prison. Sassanid era. South of Tehran.
- Bagh e Melli foreign ministry compound.

Traditional Houses

Dozens of houses of antiquity with splendid traditional architectural design remain standing in Tehran today. Most are from the Qajar era. Some of these are:
- Etehadiyeh House, Qajar era
- Amir Bahador House, Qajar era
- Emam Jomeh House, 1863CE
- Amin ol-Soltan House, Qajar era
- Shaghaghi (Kushak) House, Qajar era
- Emarat e Bagh e Ferdows, Qajar era
- Emarat Farmaniyeh, Qajar era
- Shahid Modarres House, Uladjan district.
- Vothuq House, 1837CE
- Moshir o-Dowleh Pir Nia House However, there exist plenty of houses of historical heritage also open to the public, such as: House of Nima Yooshij, House of Mohammed Mossadegh, House of Ayatollah Taleghani, House of Ghavam o-Dowleh, House of Imam Khomeini, and House of Mahmoud Hessaby.

Archeological sites

An abundance of ancient archeological historicl sites exists in and around Tehran. Some of the more prominent ones are:
- Cheshme Ali Teppe, 5th millennium BCE. Excavated by Jacques de Morgan.
- Shoghali Teppe, 6th millennium BCE.
- Qeytariyeh ancient Cemetery, 2nd millennium BCE.
- Teppe Meel, excavated by Jacques de Morgan, believed to be the temple of the legendary ancient leader Bahram Gur.
- Vavan Teppe, Sassanid era
- Ghareh Teppe, 6th millennium CE, excavated by the British Burton Brown.
- Ozbaki Teppe, Hashtgerd.

Others

Sassanid
- Iran National Library
- Borj-e Milad
- Darolfonoon institute of higher education
- Morvarid Canon, Afsharid dynasty era
- Tughrul Tower, Seljuqi era
- Tehran's Grand Bazaar, 1523CE.
- Several bridges of antiquity. Example: Pol e Rumi, located in Northern Tehran, from the Safavid era, today a property of the Embassy of Turkey.
- Alborz High School
- Firouz Bahram High School
- Stodan Of Zoroastrian. Located in Aminabad area.

The Mayor of Tehran

See main article: Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf See also: List of mayors of Tehran

Sister cities

List of mayors of Tehran
- List of mayors of TehranLos Angeles, USA (linked before 1979)

2005 plane crash

On December 6th 2005 a military plane crashed into a ten story building killing 128 people and injuring 90 many others are left homeless.

See also


- Tehran International Fair
- Tehran Stock Exchange[http://www.tse.ir/]

External links


- [http://www.tehran.ir/ Tehran Municipality website]
- [http://www.tehrangis.com Tehran Geographic Information Center]
- [http://www.tehrancouncil.com/ Tehran's Islamic City Council] (in Persian)
- [http://www.ketabeavval.ir Urban Information Database (Yellow Pages)]
- [http://www.farsinet.com/tehran/history.html Farsinet's information on the history of Tehran]
- [http://www.tehranmetro.com Tehran Metro]
- [http://www.wikitravel.org/en/article/Tehran WikiTravel - Travel guide to Tehran (English)]
- [http://www.iles.umn.edu/faculty/bashiri/Courses/Tehran.html About Tehran]
- [http://www.tehranavenue.com/ Tehran Avenue (English)]
- [http://ganjineh.com/gallery/?page=iran,tehran&cat=place Tehran Gallery - Ganjineh.com]
- [http://www.tehran24.com/ Largest collection of photos from Tehran]
- [http://www.tehrantraffic.com/ Tehran Traffic Control Center]
- [http://www.iranian.com/Clips/2005/May/tehran.html Real Audio clip of the documentary: "Ancient Tehran: 8,000 years"]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=35.678494,51.407776&spn=0.269707,0.468361&t=k&hl=en Satellite picture by Google Maps] Category:Capitals in Asia Category:Cities along the Silk Road Category:Cities in Iran Category:Tehran Category:Iranian provincial capitals ko:테헤란 ja:テヘラン

Assyrian

Assyrian may refer to:
- Someone from Assyria
- The Assyrian people
- The Assyrian language

Achaemenid dynasty

The Achaemenid Dynasty (Hakamanishiya in the Old Persian (Avestan ??) language - transliterated Hakamanshee in Modern Persian) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. At the height of their power, around 500 BC, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly encompassing parts of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Bulgaria, small part of Greece, Egypt, Syria, Northern India/Pakistan, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Caucasia, Central Asia, Arabia, and Libya. Darius I ("Darius the Great") was the first to speak of Achaemenes, who he claimed was an ancestor of Cyrus II ("Cyrus the Great", ca. 576 - 529 BC), and therefore the progenitor of the entire line of Achaemenid rulers. However, some scholars hold that Achaemenes was a fictional character used to legitimize Darius' rule, and that Darius I usurped the Persian throne. In any case, the name Achaemenid has been commonly accepted for the line of Persian kings beginning at least with Darius I. When the name refers to the entire line of early Persian rulers, including Cyrus II and his son Cambyses, the Achaemenid era stretches from about 650 to 330 BC. At different times, the Achaemenids also ruled Egypt, although the Egyptians twice regained their independence from Persia. After the practice of Manetho, Egyptian historians refer to the period in Egypt when the Achaemenid dynasty ruled as the Twenty-Seventh (525 BC - 404 BC) and Thirty-First Dynasties (343- 332 BC). The last Achaemenid king was Darius III (336 BC - 330 BC), who was defeated by Alexander III of Macedon. After the Macedonian conquest, the Persian Empire was annexed by Alexander (See "Achaemenid rulers" below for full list of rulers).

History

Macedon The founder of this dynasty was supposedly Achaemenes (Old Persian Haxāmaniš "Of Friendly Mind"). He was succeeded by his son Teispes (Cišpi), who first took the title King of Anšān after seizing that city from the Elamites. Inscriptions indicate that when Teispes died, two of his sons shared the throne as Cyrus I (Kūru), king of Anšān, and Ariaramnes (Ariyāramna "Having the Iranians at Peace"), king of Parsua (later called Pārsa "Persia", hence Fārsi, the native name for modern Persian). They were succeeded by their respective sons Cambyses I of Anshan (Kambūjiya, "the Elder"), and Arsames (Aršāma "Having a Hero's Might") of Persia. In 559 BC, Cambyses I the Elder was succeeded as king of Anšān by his son Cyrus II the Great, who also succeeded the still-living Arsames as King of Persia, thus reuniting the two realms. Cyrus II is considered to be the first king of the Achaemenid dynasty to be properly called so, as his predecessors were subservient to Media. Cyrus II conquered Media, Lydia and Babylon. His successors were less successful. Cyrus' unstable son Cambyses II conquered Egypt, but died in July 522 BC as the result of either accident or suicide, during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata. Gaumata usurped the throne by pretending to be Smerdis (Pers. Bardiya; Cambyses' brother whom he had secretly had assassinated in 525, before starting out for his Egyptian campaign) until he was overthrown in 522 BC by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, Darius I (Old Persian Dārayawuš "Who Holds Firm the Good", also known as Darayarahush or Darius the Great). According to Herodotus, the native leadership then debated the best form of government for the Empire. He reports that it was decided that oligarchy would divide them against one another, and democracy would bring about mob rule resulting in a charismatic leader resuming the monarchy. Therefore, they decided a new monarch was in order, particularly since they were in a position to choose him. Darius I was chosen monarch from amongst the leaders. He was cousin to Cambyses II and Smerdis, claiming Ariaramnes as his ancestor. Darius attacked the Greek mainland, which had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis; but as a result of his defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490, he was forced to retract the limits of the empire to Asia Minor. The Achaemenids thereafter consolidated areas firmly under their control. It was Cyrus and Darius who, by sound and farsighted administrative planning, brilliant military maneuvering, and a humanistic worldview, established the greatness of the Achaemenids and in less than thirty years raised them from an obscure tribe to a world power. The zenith of Achaemenid power was achieved during Darius' reign (521 BC - 485 BC) and that of his son Xerxes I (485 BC - 465 BC, Old Persian Xšāyaršā "Hero Among Kings"). These two rulers built great, beautiful palaces in the ancient cities of Persepolis, Susa and Ecbatana (Hagmatāna "City of Gatherings"). The Persian Empire reached its greatest extent in this period.

Decline

After the death of Xerxes I (465 BC), the decline of the dynasty began. Persia saw a sequence of weak rulers ruling the empire. Decadence became rampant, and the army, finance and government administration were neglected. The last Achaemenid king was Darius III (336 BC - 330 BC), who was defeated by Alexander III of Macedon. After the Macedonian conquest, the Persian Empire was annexed by Alexander.

System of governing

The Achaemenids were enlightened despots who allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative unit, usually organized on a geographical basis. A satrap (governor) administered the region, a general supervised military recruitment and ensured order, and a state secretary kept official records. The general and the state secretary reported directly to the central government. The twenty satrapies were linked by a 2,500-kilometer highway, the most impressive stretch being the royal road from Susa to Sardis, built by command of Darius I. Relays of mounted couriers could reach the remotest of areas in fifteen days. Despite the relative local independence afforded by the satrapy system, royal inspectors, the "eyes and ears of the king," toured the empire and reported on local conditions. The king also maintained a personal bodyguard of 10,000 men, called the Immortals. The language in greatest use in the empire was Aramaic. Old Persian was the official language of the empire, but was used only for inscriptions and royal proclamations. Darius revolutionized the economy by placing it on a silver and gold coinage system. Trade was extensive, and under the Achaemenids there was an efficient infrastructure that facilitated the exchange of commodities