Nahavand

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Nahāvand (Persian نهاوند ) is a city in the province of Hamadan in Iran. It is located south of Hamadan, east of Malayer and southwest of Borudscherd. Nahāvand is one of the oldest existing cities of Iran.

Name

The name was variously written in books and sources: Nahavad (Persian نهاوند; Nahāvand ); also transliterated as Nahavend, Nahawand, Nehavand, Nihavand or Nehavend; formerly: Mah - Nahavad.

The ancient name was Laodicea ( ancient Greek Λαοδικεια; Arabic Ladhiqiyya ) called in media or Laodicea in Persis, also Laodiceia and Laodicea, Laodicea.

Other names were Antioch in Persis, Antioch of Chosroes ' ( ancient Greek Αντιόχεια του Χοσρόη ), Antioch in Media (old Greek Αντιόχεια της Μηδίας ) Nemavand and Niphaunda.

History

Nahāvand was founded together with the achämenischen cities Apamea and Xerxes by Darius I in media. According to Pliny the Elder, the city was the extreme limit of the Medes and was re-founded by Xerxes I ( Volume VI. Naturalis Historia of ).

642 the city was the site of the Battle of Nehawend that marked the conclusion of the decline of Sassanidenreichs and the Islamic conquest of Iran.

Among the well-known residents of Nahāvand include Benjamin Nahawandi, a key figure in the development of Karaite Judaism in the early Middle Ages, and Ahmad Nahavandi, an astronomer at the Academy of Gundischapur from the 8th century.

In 2012 Nahāvand has a projected population of just under 76,000 residents. Nahāvand gave its name to a type of melody in the Arab, Iranian and Turkish music.