Kermanshah or Kermashan (Persian: کرمانشاه, Kermānshāh; Kurdish: کرماشان, Kirmaşan), is the capital city of Kermanshah Province, located 525 km from Tehran in the western part of Iran and it is about 120 km from the border of Iraq. Kermanshah has a continental climate. The estimated population of the city is 822,921(year 2005) and the majority of the inhabitants speak Persian as well as Kurdish. The religion of the people is very diverse and there are many Muslims, Assyrians, Bahá'ís, Jews, and Armenians living in Kermanshah but Shi'a Muslims are leading in the number.
Kermanshah
History
Given its antiquity, attractive landscapes and rich culture, Kermanshah is considered as one of the cradles of prehistoric cultures such as Neolithic villages. According to archaeological surveys and excavation, Kermanshah area has been occupied by prehistoric people since the Lower Paleolithic period, and continued to later Paleolithic periods till late Pleistocene period. The Lower Paleolithic evidence consists of some handaxes found in the Gakia area to the east of the city. The Middle Paleolithic remains have been found in the northern vicinity of the city in Tang-e Kenesht and near Taq-e Bostan. The known Paleolithic caves in this area are Warwasi, Kobeh, and Do-Eshkaft. The region was also one of the first places in which human settlements including Asiab, Qazanchi, Tappeh Sarab, Chia Jani, and Ganj-Darreh were established between 8000-10.000 years ago. This is about the same time that the first potteries pertaining to Iran were made in Ganj-Darreh, near present-day Harsin.
Before Arabs Attacks
In ancient Iranian myths, construction of the city is attributed to Tahmoures Divband, the fabulous king of Pishdadian dynasty, however it is believed that the Sassanids have constructed Kermanshah. It was a glorious city in Sassanid period about the 4th century AD when it became the capital city and a significant health center serving as a summer resort for Sassanid kings. In A.D. 226, following a two-year war led by the Persian Emperor,Ardashir I, against Kurdish tribes in the region, the empire reinstated a local Kurdish prince, Kayus of Medya, to rule Kermanshah. Within the dynasty known as the House of Kayus (also Kâvusakân) remained a semi-independent Kurdish kingdom lasting until A.D. 380 before Ardashir II removed the dynasty's last ruling member.
After Arabs Attacks
Kermanshah was conquered by the Arabs in A.D. 640. Under Seljuk era in the 11th century, it was a major cultural and commercial centre in Western Iran and the southern Kurdish region as a whole. The Safavids fortified the town, and the Qajars repulsed an attack by the Turks during Fath Ali Shah's rule (1797–1834). Kermanshah was occupied by Ottomans between 1723-1729 and 1731-1732.
Recent
Occupied by the Turkish army in 1915 during World War I, it was evacuated in 1917. Kermanshah played an important role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution during the Qajar period and the Republic Movement in Pahlavi period. The City was hit hard during the Iran–Iraq War, and although it was rebuilt, it has not fully recovered, yet.
Naming Dispute
There are many stories on the naming of the city. Some believe Kermanshah was named after Bahram IV, the Sassanid emperor of Persia who was called Kermanshah because he had been governor of Kerman before his accession to the throne. According to another, Kermanshah is related to Kurmanji, which is one of the main Kurdish dialects.
After The Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s, the city and its province (called Kermanshahan) were shortly renamed Bakhtaran, apparently owing to the use of "Shah" in the name. After the Iran–Iraq War, however, the city was renamed Kermanshah.
Climate
Kermanshah has a continental climate, slightly modified by the proximity of the Zagros mountains. The city's altitude makes precipitation a little bit high. Kermanshah experiences rather cold winters and there are usually rainfalls in the fall and spring. Snow cover is seen for at least a couple of weeks during the winter. Summers in Kermanshah are fairly hot.
|
Weather averages for Kermanshah, Iran |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Average high °C (°F) |
2 |
7 |
13 |
18 |
25 |
32 |
36 |
36 |
31 |
23 |
15 |
8 |
21 |
|
Average low °C (°F) |
-3 |
-1 |
3 |
8 |
12 |
16 |
22 |
20 |
16 |
12 |
5 |
1 |
10 |
|
Precipitation cm (inches) |
6.5 |
6.1 |
8.6 |
7 |
3.6 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
2.6 |
5.1 |
6.6 |
48.5 |
Sight Seeings _______________________________________
Taq-e Bostan
One of the most impressive reliefs inside the largest grotto or ivan is the gigantic equestrian figure of the Sassanid king Khosrau II (591-628 CE) mounted on his favorite charger, Shabdiz. Both horse and rider are arrayed in full battle armor. The arch rests on two columns that bear delicately carved patterns showing the tree of life or the sacred tree. Above the arch and located on two opposite sides are figures of two winged angles with diadems. Around the outer layer of the arch, a conspicuous margin has been carved, jagged with flower patterns. These patterns are also found in the official costumes of Sassanid kings. Equestrian relief panel measured on 16.08.07 approx. 7.45m across by 4.25 m high
Behistun
Behistun inscription is considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون ; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's place or land") is a multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun.The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. A British army officer, Henry Rawlinson, had the inscription transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843. Rawlinson was able to translate the Old Persian cuneiform text in 1838, and the Elamite and Babylonian texts were translated by Rawlinson and others after 1843. Babylonian was a later form of Akkadian: both are Semitic languages. In effect, then, the inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script.The inscription is approximately 15 metres high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana). It is extremely inaccessible as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion. The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a bow as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The prostrate figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-metre figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. Faravahar floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius' beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with iron pins and lead.
Mo'avenalmolk Mosque
This mosque is unique because it has many pictures on the walls that relate to shahnameh,despite some of its more religious ones.
Khaja Barookh's
House
Khaja Barookh's House, is a house located in the old district of Faizabad in a Jewish neighborhood of Kermanshah. It was built by Barookh, a Jewish merchant of the Qajar period. The house, importasnt in its Iranian architecture, is now known as Randeh-Kesh house, after the last owner, is a "daroongara"(pro-interior)house and is connected through a vestibule to the exterior yard and through a corridor to the interior yard. Surrounding the interior yard are rooms, brick pillars making the iwans(porches) of the house, and step-like column capitals decorated with brick-stalactite work. This house is among the rare Qajar houses with a private bathroom.
Industry
Kermanshah is now a fairly important industrial center; industries include petrochemical refinery, textile manufacturing, food processing, oil refining, carpet making, sugar refining, and the production of electrical equipment and tools.
