Dinavar (also spelled Dinawar and Daynavar; ) was a major town between the 7th and 10th centuries, located to the northeast of

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

in western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The ruins of the town is now located near Shir Khan, in Dinavar District,

Sahneh County Sahneh County () is in Kermanshah province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Sahneh. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acqu ...

Kermanshah Province Kermanshah province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, bordering Iraq. Its capital is the city of Kermanshah. According to a 2014 segmentation by the Ministry of Interior (Iran), Ministry of Interior, it is the center of Regions of Iran ...

. The people of this city speak

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is proper ...

History

Located in the centre of the ancient region of

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

, Dinavar is first attested in history as a town founded by the Greek

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

(312 BC–63 BC), but it may have been older. Like the neighbouring town of Kangavar, Dinavar also hosted a Greek population. Under the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

(AD 224–651), Dinavar served as an important fortified place, and was reportedly attacked by the

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

in the early 6th-century. In 642, following the defeat of the Sasanians against the Arabs at the

Battle of Nahavand The Battle of Nahavand ( ', '), also spelled Nihavand or Nahawand, was fought in 642 between the Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun Muslims, Muslim Rashidun army, forces under Caliphate, caliph Umar and Sasanian Empire, Sasanian Persian armies under ...

, Dinavar was conquered. During the reign of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(), the town was renamed Mah al-Kufa and made one of the two districts of

Jibal Jibāl (), also al-Jabal (), was the name given by the Arabs to a region and province located in western Iran, under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. Its name means "the Mountains", being the plural of ''jabal'' ("mountain, hill"), highlight ...

(Media). Dinavar consisted of the northern areas, whilst Karmisin (

) consisted of the southern areas. Dinavar bordered Hulwan in the west; Masabadhan in the south;

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

in the east; and Adharbayjan in the north. The "Mah" in the Mah al-Kufa probably refers to Media. Dinavar had some importance due to its geographical location, serving as the entrance to Jibal as well as a crossroad between the culture of Iran and that of the inhabitants on the other side of the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

. The town flourished under the Umayyad and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

caliphates. According to the Arab writer

Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Al-Jazira (caliphal province), Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronic ...

(died after 978), Dinavar was only one-third less smaller than Hamadan in the 10th-century. Dinavar historically has produced many scholars including

Ibn Qutaybah Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī al-Marwazī better known simply as Ibn Qutaybah (; c. 828 – 13 November 889 CE/213 – 15 Rajab 276 AH) was an Islamic scholar of Persian people, Persian descent. He served as a q ...

, Fakhr-un-Nisa, and Abu Hanifa Dinawari. Dinavar was also the center of the Kurdish principality of the Hasanwayhids. It was sacked by Mardavij in 931. According to Ibn Athir it was plundered by Turkmen of the Iva tribe in 1172/73. According to the 14th-century geographer Hamdallah Mustawfi (died after 1339/40) in his '' Nuzhat al-Qulub'', Dinavar was a small town during his lifetime. However, it was later destroyed by

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

by the end of the 14th-century. Today only field of ruins are available.

Notable figures

(died 889), 9th-century scholar, best known for his contributions to

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

* Abu Hanifa Dinawari (died 896), 9th-century scholar who wrote the ''Kitāb al-akhbār al-ṭiwāl'', possibly the most apparent early effort to combine Iranian and Islamic history

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Populated places in Sahneh County Former cities in Iran Destroyed populated places Ruins in Iran Buildings and structures in Kermanshah province