Kangavar ( fa, كنگاور, ''Kangâvar''; also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...

d as Kangāvar) is a city and capital of

Kangavar County Kangavar County ( fa, شهرستان کنگاور, ''Šahrestâne Kangâvar'') is in Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Kangavar. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 80,215 in 1 ...

, Kermanshah Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. At the 2006 census, its population was 48,901, with 12,220 families. Kangavar is located in the easternmost part of Kermanshah Province, on the modern road from Hamadan to Kermanshah, identical with a trace of the Silk Road, located at the distance of about 75 km from Hamadan and 96 km from Kermanshah.

History

Kangavar was mentioned by

Isidore of Charax Isidore of Charax (; grc, Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Χαρακηνός, ''Isídōros o Charakēnós''; la, Isidorus Characenus) was a Greco-Roman geographer of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of the Parthian Empire, about whom nothi ...

in the 1st century AD, by the name of "Konkobar" or "Concobar" ( el, Κογκοβάρ) in the ancient province of Ecbatana (modern

Hamedan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

). In antiquity, the city was in

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, with a temple of

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

(Isidor. Char. p. 7; Tab. Pent.; Geogr. Rav.) In the early 20th century, Kangāvar was held in fief by the family of a deceased court official, forming a separate government. Anahita temple Iran

Today, the town is best known for the archaeological remains of a mixed

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

and Achaemenid-style edifice. During the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the ruins were misused as a source for building material for the expanding town.. Excavation first began in 1968, by which time the "large structure with its great columns set on a high stone platform". had been associated with a comment by

, that refers to a "temple of Artemis" (''Parthian Stations'' 6) at "Concobar" in Lower Media, on the overland trade route between the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. References to Artemis in Iran are generally interpreted to be references to

Anahita Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...

, and thus Isidore's "temple of Artemis" came to be understood as a reference to a temple of Anahita. Although a general plan of the complex has been compiled, it is still not sufficient to learn about the function and shape of the terrace and the buildings that stood there. Given the lack of archaeological evidence for a temple-like building, "it is questionable whether the emple noted by Isodoreis identical with the ruins of Kangāvar. Isidorus described obviously another temple of the first century AD, somewhere in the region of Congobar (Kangāvar) or at the place of the later platform, which, according to the results of the excavation, seems to be built up in

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

times."

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Kangavar County Populated places in Kangavar County Cities in Kermanshah Province Sasanian cities Kurdish settlements in Kermanshah Province