Paveh ( Persian and Kurdish: پاوه) is a city in the Central District of Paveh 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. It is in a region called

Hawraman Avroman or Hawraman, (, ) is a mountainous region located within the provinces of Kurdistan Province, Kurdistan and Kermanshah Province, Kermanshah in western Iran and in north-eastern Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The main part of the Hawraman regio ...

History

An old myth regarding the name of the city is that the Emperor Yazdgerd III sent his son named Pav to this area to renew his religious

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

faith. Both

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

and the local Gorans practiced

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

during 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 ...

from which this myth is derived.

Demographics

Language

The inhabitants of Paveh are

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

and speak Hawrami (also: Gorani). They follow the Shafi‘i branch of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. The first language spoken by the population in the city is mostly Gorani language, but the language that is used in schools and offices is Persian, the official language of

in which almost everyone in the city is fluent.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 19,774 in 5,171 households. The following census in 2011 counted 23,704 people in 6,723 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 25,771 people in 7,932 households.

Geography

Location and topography

Paveh is located in western

and is 112 km far from

. It lies in a sub-region along the Iran-Iraq border commonly referred to as Hewraman, which is situated within the larger geographical region of

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

. The city is considered by inhabitants of the region as the capital of Hewraman.

Climate

The town is encircled by fruit gardens. Paveh is situated along a mountainside like most cities and villages in the Hewraman region. Behind the city is the Shaho mountain and ahead of the city is a view of Atashgah, another mountain that was once the site of pilgrimages for ancient religions in the region. Among the most visited places is the Quri Qaleh caveman which is considered as the longest watery cave in the Middle East. The cave is located around 25 kilometers from Paveh's city center.

Landmarks

Rivers

Sirwan River is one of the biggest rivers in Paveh. It rises near

Sanandaj Sanandaj (; ) is a city in the Central District of Sanandaj County, in the Kurdistan province of Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. With a population of 414,069, it is the second largest Kurdish city a ...

, in 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 ...

of Iran. It then descends through the mountains, where for some 32 km it forms the border between the two countries. It finally feeds into the Tigris below

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Navigation of the upper reaches of the Diyala is not possible because of its narrow defiles, but the river's valley provides an important trade route between Iran and Iraq.

Mountains

Paveh is established among mountains on

. The mountain chain of Shaho is located in the west of Paveh. Shaho is the highest mountain in

province with an elevation of 3390.

Notable people

* Mirza Ebdilqadire Paweyi

Notes

References

External links

Omid Sālehi, ''Customs of the Land of Stone and Wind'' (''Ā'in-e Sar'zamin-e Sang va Bād''), in Persian, Jadid Online, 5 May 2009
(5 min 39 sec). {{Paveh County, state=collapsed Populated places in Paveh County Cities in Kermanshah province Kurdish settlements in Kermanshah province