Kangavar () is a city in the Central District of Kangavar County,

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 ...

province,

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 ...

, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Kangavar is in the easternmost part of Kermanshah province, on the modern road from

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 ...

, identical with a trace of the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

, 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 (; , ''Isídōros o Charakēnós''; ) was a Greek geographer of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of the Parthian Empire, about whom nothing is known but his name and that he wrote at least one work. Name Isidore ...

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

Hamedan 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 antiquity, the city was in

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 ...

, with a temple of

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

(Isidor. Char. p. 7; Tab. Pent.; Geogr. Rav.) In the early 20th century, Kangavar was held in fief by the family of a deceased court official, forming a separate government. Today, the town is best known for the

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

remains of a mixed

Sassanid 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 ...

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 the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 associat ...

, 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 Kangavar. Isidorus described obviously another temple of the first century AD, somewhere in the region of Congobar (Kangavar) 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 Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

times."

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 48,901 in 12,220 households. The following census in 2011 counted 53,449 people in 15,021 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 51,352 people in 15,762 households.

Notes

References

Bibliography