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Hamedān or Hamadān (Persian: همدان , Old Persian: Hagmatana, Ancient Greek: Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. It had an estimated population of 550,284 in 2005.[1]

Hamadan is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities and one of the oldest in the world.

Hamadan has a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3574-meter Alvand Mountain, in the midwest part of Iran. The city is 1850 meters above sea level.

The special nature of this old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately 360 km southwest of Tehran.

The main symbols of this city are Ganjnameh board, Avicenna monument and Babataher mounument.

The Ganjnameh, a cuneiform inscription in Hamadan



According to an inscription from the first Assyrian king, Hamadan's construction is dated at 1100 BC, but some historians believe it dates back to 3000 BC.

Hamadan was established by the Medes and was the capital of the Median empire. It then became one of several capital cities of the Achaemenid Dynasty.

Hamadan is mentioned in the biblical book of Ezra as the place where a scroll was found giving the Jews permission from King Darius to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezra 6:2). Its ancient name of Ecbatana is used in the Ezra text. Because it was a mile above sea level, it was a good place to preserve leather documents.

During the Parthian era, Ctesiphon was the capital of the country, and Hamadan the summer capital and residence of the Parthian rulers. After the Parthians, the Sassanids constructed their summer palaces in Hamadan. In the year 633 the battle of Nahavand took place and Hamadan fell into the hands of the Muslim Arabs.

During the Buwayhids , the city suffered much damage. In the 11th century, the Seljuks shifted their capital from Baghdad to Hamadan.

Gonbade Alavian in Hamadan




The city of Hamadan, its fortunes following the rise and fall of regional powers, was completely destroyed during the Timurid invasion. During the Safavid era the city thrived. Thereafter, in the 18th century, Hamadan was surrendered to the Ottomans, but due to the courage and chivalry of Nader Shah Afshar, Hamadan was cleared of invaders and, as a result of a peace treaty between Iran and the Ottomans, it was returned to Iran. Hamadan stands on the Silk Road, and even in recent centuries the city enjoyed strong commerce and trade as a result of its location on the main road network in the western region of Persia and Iran.

During World War I, the city was the scene of heavy fighting between Russian and Turko-German forces. It was occupied by both armies, and finally by the British, before it was returned to control of the Iranian government at the end of the war in 1918.

Hegmatane ancient city in Hamadan



Golden Rhyton from Iran's Achaemenid period from Ecbatana. National Museum of Iran



The Shrine of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, Iran



Hamadan province lies in a temperate mountainous region to the east of Zagros. The vast plains of the north and northeast of the province are influenced by strong winds, that almost last throughout the year. The various air currents of this region are: the north and north west winds of the spring and winter seasons, which are usually humid and bring rainfall. The west-east air currents that blow in the autumn, and the local winds that develop due to difference in air-pressure between the elevated areas and the plains, like the blind wind of the Asad Abad region.

Hamadan is in the vicinity of the Alvand mountains and has a cold, mountainous climate, with snowy winters. In fact, it is one of the coldest cities in Iran. The temperature may drop below -30°C on the coldest days. Heavy snowfall is common during winter and this can persist for periods of up to two months. During the short summer, the weather is mild, pleasant, and mostly sunny.

Landscape in Hamadan Province



Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.

Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets.

Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists 207 sites of historical and cultural significance in the city of Hamadan alone.

Legend has it that the biblical Esther is buried in Hamadan.

The scientist and writer known in the west as Avicenna (Abu Ali Sina) is buried in Hamadan.

The 11th century Persian poet Baba Taher is also interred in Hamadan.

It is the birthplace of Badi` al-Zaman al-Hamadhani, author of the Maqamat.

A potter - Lalejin



The residents of Hamadan are very proud of the city's historical heritage. Another source of their pride is Avicenna (aka Bouali, Buali, Ebn-e-sina, Pur-e-Sina) who is buried in Hamadan. Primary schools, high schools, and the main city's university are named after him. Even shops and businesses are named after him. Bouali Street is a very busy one and a favorite pastime of Hamadanians is to stroll up and down the street where they frequently bump into their acquaintances. The city has a population of around 600,000 including its outer suburbs. Hamadan is generally a prosperous city; the northern districts are mainly lower middle-class or working class, whereas the southern half of city is where the upper middle class and the rich live.

Tomb of Baba Taher in Hamadan



Biography

Baba Taher is known as one of the most revered and respectable early poets in Persian literature. Most of his life is clouded in mystery. He probably lived in Hamadan, the capital city of the Hamedan Province in Iran. He was known by the name of Baba Taher-e Oryan (The Naked), which suggests that he may have been a wandering dervish. Legend tells that the poet, an illiterate woodcutter, attended lectures at a religious school, where he was not welcomed by his fellow-students. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. One source indicates that he died in 1019. If this is accurate, it would make Baba Taher a contemporary of Ferdowsi and Pour Sina (Avicenna) and an immediate precursor of Omar Khayyam. Another source reports that he lived between 1000 and 1055, which is most unlikely. Reliable research notes speculate that Baba Taher lived for seventy-five years. Rahat al-sodur of Ravandi (completed 603/1206), describes a meeting between Baba Taher, and the Saljuq conqueror Togrel (pp. 98-99). According to L. P. Elwell-Sutton: He could be described as the first great poet of Sufi love in Persian literature. In the last two decades his do-bayt^s have often been put to music.

Poetry

Baba Taher poems are recited to the present day all over Iran accompanied with setar (in Persian: Seh Tar), three stringed viol or lute. The quatrains of Baba Taher are also written in local languages such as Mazandarani. They say Pahlaviat to these kinds of poems and they are very ancient. Baba Taher songs were originally read in Fahlavi, as well as Luri and Hamadani dialects, taking their present form in the course of time. The quatrains of Baba Taher have a more amorous and mystical connotation rather than philosophical. Baba Taher's poems are of the do-bayti style, a form of Persian quatrains, which some scholars regard as having affinities with Middle Persian verses.[1]. Classical Persian Music is based on Persian Poetry and Baba Taher's poems are the weight that carries a major portion of this music. Baba Tahers poetry is the basis for Dastgahe Shoor and in particular Gooshe of Dashtestani, Choopani and Deylaman.

Writing

Attributed to him is a work by the name Kalemat-e qesaar, a collection of nearly 400 aphorisms in Arabic, which has been the subject of commentaries, one allegedly by Ayn-al-Qozμat Hamadani.[2]. An example of such a saying is one where Baba Taher ties knowledge with gnosis: Knowledge is the guide to gnosis, and when gnosis has come the vision of knowledge lapses and there remain only the movements of knowledge to gnosis”; “knowledge is the crown of the gnostic, and gnosis is the crown of knowledge”; whoever witnesses what is decreed by God remains motionless and powerless.

Sample Poetry

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

خداوندا که بوشم با که بوشم

مژه پر اشک خونین تا که بوشم

همم کز در برانن سو ته آیم

تو کم از در برانی واکه بوشم

Translation:

Lord! who am I, and of what company?

How long shall tears of blood thus blind mine eyes?

When other refuge fails I'll turn to Thee,

And if Thou failest me, whither shall I go?

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مو آن بحرم که در ظرف آمدستم

مو آن نقطه که در حرف آمدستم

بهر الفی الف قدی بر آیه

الف قدم که در الف آمدستم

Translation:

I am that sea and have come into a bowl;

I am that dot and have come into a letter;

in every thousand one straight-as-an-alef (alef-qadd) appears;

I am that straight one, for I came in a thousand

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلم از درد ته دائم غمینه

به بالین خشتم و بستر زمینه

همین جرمم که مو ته دوست دیرم

ز هر کت دوست دیره حال آینه؟

Translation:

Grieving for thee my heart is ever sad,

A brick my pillow, and my couch the earth:

My only sin is loving thee too well:

Surely not all thy lovers suffer so?

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مگر شیر و پلنگی ای دل ای دل

به مو دایم بجنگی ای دل ای دل

اگر دستم فتی خونت وریژم

بوینم تا چه رنگی ای دل ای دل

Translation:

Art thou a lion or leapoard, O Heart, O Heart,

That thou warres ever with me, O Heart, O Heart?

Fall thou into my hands; I'll spill thy blood,

To see what colour it is, O Heart, O Heart!

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

هزارت دل بغارت برده ویشه

هزارانت جگر خون کرده ویشه

هزاران داغ ویش از ویشم اشمر

هنی نشمرده از اشمرده ویشه

Translation:

More than a thousand hearts has thou laid waste,

More than a thousand suffer grief for thee,

More than a thousand wounds of thine I've counted,

Yet the uncounted still are more than these.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

سیه بختم که بختم سرنگون بی

توه روژم که روژم واژگون بی

شدم خار و خس کوه محبت

ز دست دل که یارب غرق خون بی

Translation:

Black is my lot, my fortune's overtuned,

Ruined are my fortunes, for my luck is brought low;

A thorn, a thistle I, on the Mountain of Love,

For my heart's sake. Drown it in blood, O Lord!

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

نگارینا دل و جونم ته دیری

همه پیدا و پنهونم ته دیری

ندونم مو که این درد از که دیرم

همی ذونم که در مونم ته دیری

Translation:

My Beautiful! thou hast my heart and soul,

Thou hast mine inner and mine outer self;

I know not why I am so very sad,

I only know that thou hold'st the remedy.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلی نازک بسان شیشه ام بی

اگر آهی کشم اندیشه ام بی

سرشکم گر بوه خونین عجب نیست

مو آن دارم که در خون ریشه ام بی

Translation:

My heart is dainty as a drinking cup,

I fear for it whene'er I have a sigh;

It is not strange my tears are as blood,

I am a tree whose roots set in blood.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

مسلسل زلف بر رو ریته دیری

گل و سنبل بهم آویته دیری

پریشان چون کری اون تار زلفون

به هر تاری دوی آویته دیری

Translation:

Thy tangled Curls are scattered o'er thy face,

Mingling the Roses with the Hyacinths;

But part asunder those entangled strand

On ever hair thou'lt find there hangs a heart. (Translation by: E. Heron-Allen)

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلا راه تو پر خار و خسک بی

گذرگاه تو بر اوج فلک بی

گر از دستت بر آیو پوست از تن

بیفکن تا که بارت کمترک بی

Translation:

Briar and thorn beset thy way, o Heart

Beyond the Dome of Heaven is thy road;

If thou art able, then thy very skin

Cast off from thee, and lighten thus thy load

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

ز دست دیده و دل هر دو فریاد

که هرچه دیده وینه دل کنه یاد

بسازم خنجری نیشش ز پولاد

زنم بردیده تا دل گرده آزاد

Translation:

Beneath the tyranny of eyes and heart I cry,

For, all the eyes see, the heart stores up:

I'll fashin me a pointed sword of steel,

Put out mine eyes, and so set free my heart

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

دلت ای سنگدل بر ما نسوجه

عجب نبود اگر خارا نسوجه

بسوجم تا بسوجونم دلت را

در آتش چوب تر تنها نسوجه

Translation:

O heart of Stone, Thou burnest not for me,

That stone burns not, is not, indeed, so strange

But I will burn till I inflame thy heart.

For fresh-cut logs are difficult to burn alone.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

بی ته اشکم ز مژگان تر آیو

بی ته نخل امیدم بی بر آیو

بی ته در کنج تنها شو و روز

نشینم که تا عمرم بر سر آیو

Translation:

When thou’rt away, mine eyes o’erflow with tears,

Barren the Tree of Hope when thou’rt away:

Without thee, night and day, in a solitary corner,

I sit, till life itself come to an end.

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

به گلشن بی تو گل هرگز مرویا

وگر رویا کسش هرگز مبویا

بی شادی بی تو هرکس لو گشایه

لوش از خون دل هرگز مشویا

Translation:

Without-Thee in the Garden, Lord, may no rose bloom,

Or, blooming, may none taste its sweet perfume,

So, should my heart expand when Thou art not nigh,

T were vain! my heart's grief nought could turn to joy

Original Fahlavi/Persian:

چو مو یک سو ته دل پروانه ای نه

جهان را همچو مو دیوانه ای نه

همه مارون و مورون لانه دیرن

من بیچاره را ویرانه-ای نه

Translation:

What blundering Moth in all the World like me?

What madman like me in the Universe?

The very Serpents and the Ants have nests,

But I -- poor wretch - no ruin shelters me.

Avicenna Persian Physician



Abū ‘Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā', known as Abū Alī Sīnā[2][3] (Persian: ابوعلی سینا) or Ibn Sīnā[4] (Arabic: ابن سینا‎), and commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna (Greek: Aβιτζιανός, Abitzianos),[5] (c. 980 - 1037) was a Persian[6] polymath and the foremost[7] physician and philosopher of his time. He was also an astronomer, chemist, geologist, logician, paleontologist, mathematician, physicist, poet, psychologist, scientist and teacher. [8]

Ibn Sīnā studied medicine under a physician named Koushyar. He wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine.[9][10] His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and The Canon of Medicine,[1] which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities.[11] The Canon of Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Montpellier and Louvain as late as 1650.[12] Ibn Sīnā developed a medical system that combined his own personal experience with that of Islamic medicine, the medical system of the Greek physician Galen,[13] Aristotelian metaphysics[14] (Avicenna was one of the main interpreters of Aristotle)[15], and ancient Persian, Mesopotamian and Indian medicine. He was also the founder of Avicennian logic and the philosophical school of Avicennism, which were influential among both Muslim and Scholastic thinkers.

Ibn Sīnā is regarded as a father of modern medicine,[16][17] and clinical pharmacology[18] particularly for his introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology,[19] his discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases,[20] the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials,[21] randomized controlled trials,[22][23] efficacy tests,[24][25] clinical pharmacology,[24] neuropsychiatry,[26] risk factor analysis, the idea of the syndrome,[27] and the importance of dietetics and the influence of climate and environment on health.[28] He is also considered the father of the fundamental concept of momentum in physics,[29] and regarded as a pioneer of aromatherapy for his invention of steam distillation and extraction of essential oils.[30] He also developed the concept of uniformitarianism and law of superposition in geology,[31] for which he is considered to be the 'father of geology'.[32]

George Sarton, an author of the history of science, wrote in the Introduction to the History of Science:

"One of the most famous exponents of Muslim universalism and an eminent figure in Islamic learning was Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna (981-1037). For a thousand years he has retained his original renown as one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history. His most important medical works are the Qanun (Canon) and a treatise on Cardiac drugs. The 'Qanun fi-l-Tibb' is an immense encyclopedia of medicine. It contains some of the most illuminating thoughts pertaining to distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy; contagious nature of phthisis; distribution of diseases by water and soil; careful description of skin troubles; of sexual diseases and perversions; of nervous ailments."[20]

Avicenna's tomb in Hamedan, Iran.




Biography

Early life

His full name was Hussain ibn Abdullah ibn Hassan ibn Ali ibn Sina. He was born in Afshana, near Bukhara around 980 to a Persian[35] family. He was born in Khurmaithan, a village near Bukhara in Greater Khorasan which was his mother's hometown. His father, Abdullah, was a respected Ismaili[36] [37] scholar from Balkh, an important town of the Persian Empire, in what is today contemporary Afghanistan. Prominent theologian Henry Corbin believed that Ibn Sina himself was a good ismaili himself.[38]. His mother was named Setareh. His father was at the time of his son's birth the governor in one of the Samanid Nuh ibn Mansur's estates. He had his son very carefully educated at Bukhara. Ibn Sina's independent thought was served by an extraordinary intelligence and memory, which allowed him to overtake his teachers at the age of fourteen. As he said in his autobiography, there was nothing that he had not learned when he reached eighteen.

Ibn Sīnā was put under the charge of a tutor, and his precocity soon made him the marvel of his neighbours; he displayed exceptional intellectual behaviour and was a child prodigy who had memorized the Qur'an by the age of 10 (10 or 7? it says 7 in the theology section below) and a great deal of Persian poetry as well.[1] He learned Indian arithmetic from an Indian greengrocer, and he began to learn more from a wandering scholar who gained a livelihood by curing the sick and teaching the young. He also studied Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) under the Hanafi scholar Ismail al-Zahid.[39][40]

As a teenager, he was greatly troubled by the Metaphysics of Aristotle, which he could not understand until he read al-Farabi's commentary on the work.[41] For the next year and a half, he studied philosophy, in which he encountered greater obstacles. In such moments of baffled inquiry, he would leave his books, perform the requisite ablutions (wudu), then go to the mosque, and continue in prayer (salah) till light broke on his difficulties. Deep into the night he would continue his studies, and even in his dreams problems would pursue him and work out their solution. Forty times, it is said, he read through the Metaphysics of Aristotle, till the words were imprinted on his memory; but their meaning was hopelessly obscure, until one day they found illumination, from the little commentary by Farabi, which he bought at a bookstall for the small sum of three dirhams. So great was his joy at the discovery, thus made by help of a work from which he had expected only mystery, that he hastened to return thanks to God, and bestowed alms upon the poor.

He turned to medicine at 16, and not only learned medical theory, but also by gratuitous attendance of the sick had, according to his own account, discovered new methods of treatment. The teenager achieved full status as a qualified physician at age 18,[1] and found that "Medicine is no hard and thorny science, like mathematics and metaphysics, so I soon made great progress; I became an excellent doctor and began to treat patients, using approved remedies." The youthful physician's fame spread quickly, and he treated many patients without asking for payment.

[edit] Adulthood

His first appointment was that of physician to the emir, who owed him his recovery from a dangerous illness (997). Ibn Sina's chief reward for this service was access to the royal library of the Samanids, well-known patrons of scholarship and scholars. When the library was destroyed by fire not long after, the enemies of Ibn Sina accused him of burning it, in order for ever to conceal the sources of his knowledge. Meanwhile, he assisted his father in his financial labours, but still found time to write some of his earliest works.

When Ibn Sina was 22 years old, he lost his father. The Samanid dynasty came to its end in December 1004. Ibn Sina seems to have declined the offers of Mahmud of Ghazni, and proceeded westwards to Urgench in the modern Uzbekistan, where the vizier, regarded as a friend of scholars, gave him a small monthly stipend. The pay was small, however, so Ibn Sina wandered from place to place through the districts of Nishapur and Merv to the borders of Khorasan, seeking an opening for his talents. Qabus, the generous ruler of Dailam and central Persia, himself a poet and a scholar, with whom Ibn Sina had expected to find an asylum, was about that date (1012) starved to death by his troops who had revolted. Ibn Sina himself was at this season stricken down by a severe illness. Finally, at Gorgan, near the Caspian Sea, Ibn Sina met with a friend, who bought a dwelling near his own house in which Ibn Sina lectured on logic and astronomy. Several of Ibn Sina's treatises were written for this patron; and the commencement of his Canon of Medicine also dates from his stay in Hyrcania.

Ibn Sina subsequently settled at Rai, in the vicinity of modern Tehran, (present day capital of Iran), the home town of Rhazes; where Majd Addaula, a son of the last Buwayhid emir, was nominal ruler under the regency of his mother (Seyyedeh Khatun). About thirty of Ibn Sina's shorter works are said to have been composed in Rai. Constant feuds which raged between the regent and her second son, Shams al-Daula, however, compelled the scholar to quit the place. After a brief sojourn at Qazvin he passed southwards to Hamadãn where Shams al-Daula, another Buwayhid emir, had established himself. At first, Ibn Sina entered into the service of a high-born lady; but the emir, hearing of his arrival, called him in as medical attendant, and sent him back with presents to his dwelling. Ibn Sina was even raised to the office of vizier. The emir consented that he should be banished from the country. Ibn Sina, however, remained hidden for forty days in a sheikh Ahmed Fadhel's house, until a fresh attack of illness induced the emir to restore him to his post. Even during this perturbed time, Ibn Sina persevered with his studies and teaching. Every evening, extracts from his great works, the Canon and the Sanatio, were dictated and explained to his pupils. On the death of the emir, Ibn Sina ceased to be vizier and hid himself in the house of an apothecary, where, with intense assiduity, he continued the composition of his works.

Meanwhile, he had written to Abu Ya'far, the prefect of the dynamic city of Isfahan, offering his services. The new emir of Hamadan, hearing of this correspondence and discovering where Ibn Sina was hidden, incarcerated him in a fortress. War meanwhile continued between the rulers of Isfahan and Hamadãn; in 1024 the former captured Hamadan and its towns, expelling the Tajik mercenaries. When the storm had passed, Ibn Sina returned with the emir to Hamadan, and carried on his literary labours. Later, however, accompanied by his brother, a favourite pupil, and two slaves, Ibn Sina escaped out of the city in the dress of a Sufi ascetic. After a perilous journey, they reached Isfahan, receiving an honourable welcome from the prince.

[edit] Later life and death
Avicenna's tomb in Hamedan, Iran.
Avicenna's tomb from the inside,Hamedan, Iran/Persia.
A Latin copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1484, located at the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.

The remaining ten or twelve years of Ibn Sīnā's life were spent in the service of Abu Ja'far 'Ala Addaula, whom he accompanied as physician and general literary and scientific adviser, even in his numerous campaigns.

During these years he began to study literary matters and philology, instigated, it is asserted, by criticisms on his style. He contrasts with the nobler and more intellectual character of Averroes. A severe colic, which seized him on the march of the army against Hamadan, was checked by remedies so violent that Ibn Sina could scarcely stand. On a similar occasion the disease returned; with difficulty he reached Hamadan, where, finding the disease gaining ground, he refused to keep up the regimen imposed, and resigned himself to his fate.

His friends advised him to slow down and take life moderately. He refused, however, stating that: "I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length". On his deathbed remorse seized him; he bestowed his goods on the poor, restored unjust gains, freed his slaves, and spent every third day till his death listened to the reading of the Qur'an. He died in June 1037, in his fifty-eighth year, and was buried in Hamedan, Iran.

Avicenna's tomb from the inside,Hamedan, Iran/Persia.



A Latin copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1484, located at the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.



A copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1593



Avicennian science

[edit] Medicine and pharmacology

Though the threads which comprise Unani healing can be traced all the way back to Claudius Galenus of Pergamum, who lived in the second century of the Christian Era, the basic knowledge of Unani medicine as a healing system was developed by Hakim Ibn Sina in his medical encyclopedia The Canon of Medicine. The time of origin is thus dated at circa 1025 AD, when Avicenna wrote The Canon of Medicine in Persia. While he was primarily influenced by Greek and Islamic medicine, he was also influenced by the Indian medical teachings of Sushruta and Charaka.[42]

[edit] The Canon of Medicine
Main article: The Canon of Medicine

About 100 treatises were ascribed to Ibn Sina. Some of them are tracts of a few pages, others are works extending through several volumes. The best-known amongst them, and that to which Ibn Sina owed his European reputation, is his 14-volume The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world up until the 18th century.[43] The book is known for its introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology,[19] the discovery of contagious diseases and sexually transmitted diseases,[20] the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of infectious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, clinical trials,[21] neuropsychiatry,[26] risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases,[27] and hypothesized the existence of microrganisms.[28] It classifies and describes diseases, and outlines their assumed causes. Hygiene, simple and complex medicines, and functions of parts of the body are also covered. In this, Ibn Sīnā is credited as being the first to correctly document the anatomy of the human eye, along with descriptions of eye afflictions such as cataracts. It asserts that tuberculosis was contagious, which was later disputed by Europeans, but turned out to be true. It also describes the symptoms and complications of diabetes. Both forms of facial paralysis were described in-depth. In addition, the workings of the heart as a valve are described.[citation needed]

The Canon of Medicine was the first book dealing with experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, randomized controlled trials,[22][23] and efficacy tests,[44][25] and it laid out the following rules and principles for testing the effectiveness of new drugs and medications, which still form the basis of clinical pharmacology[44] and modern clinical trials:[21]

1. "The drug must be free from any extraneous accidental quality."
2. "It must be used on a simple, not a composite, disease."
3. "The drug must be tested with two contrary types of diseases, because sometimes a drug cures one disease by Its essential qualities and another by its accidental ones."
4. "The quality of the drug must correspond to the strength of the disease. For example, there are some drugs whose heat is less than the coldness of certain diseases, so that they would have no effect on them."
5. "The time of action must be observed, so that essence and accident are not confused."
6. "The effect of the drug must be seen to occur constantly or in many cases, for if this did not happen, it was an accidental effect."
7. "The experimentation must be done with the human body, for testing a drug on a lion or a horse might not prove anything about its effect on man."

A copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1593

An Arabic edition of the Canon appeared at Rome in 1593, and a Hebrew version at Naples in 1491. Of the Latin version there were about thirty editions, founded on the original translation by Gerard de Sabloneta. In the 15th century a commentary on the text of the Canon was composed. Other medical works translated into Latin are the Medicamenta Cordialia, Canticum de Medicina, and the Tractatus de Syrupo Acetoso.

It was mainly accident which determined that from the 12th to the 18th century, Ibn Sīnā should be the guide of medical study in European universities, and eclipse the names of Rhazes, Ali ibn al-Abbas and Averroes. His work is not essentially different from that of his predecessor Rhazes, because he presented the doctrine of Galen, and through Galen the doctrine of Hippocrates, modified by the system of Aristotle, as well as the Indian doctrines of Sushruta and Charaka.[45] But the Canon of Ibn Sīnā is distinguished from the Al-Hawi (Continens) or Summary of Rhazes by its greater method, due perhaps to the logical studies of the former.

The work has been variously appreciated in subsequent ages, some regarding it as a treasury of wisdom, and others, like Averroes, holding it useful only as waste paper. In modern times it has been mainly of historic interest as most of its tenets have been disproved or expanded upon by scientific medicine. The vice of the book is excessive classification of bodily faculties, and over-subtlety in the discrimination of diseases. It includes five books; of which the first and second discuss physiology, pathology and hygiene, the third and fourth deal with the methods of treating disease, and the fifth describes the composition and preparation of remedies. This last part contains some personal observations.

He is ample in the enumeration of symptoms, and is said to be inferior in practical medicine and surgery. He introduced into medical theory the four causes of the Peripatetic system. Of natural history and botany he pretended to no special knowledge. Up to the year 1650, or thereabouts, the Canon was still used as a textbook in the universities of Leuven and Montpellier.

In the museum at Bukhara, there are displays showing many of his writings, surgical instruments from the period and paintings of patients undergoing treatment. Ibn Sīnā was interested in the effect of the mind on the body, and wrote a great deal on psychology, likely influencing Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Bajjah. He also introduced medical herbs.

Avicenna extended the theory of temperaments in The Canon of Medicine to encompass "emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams." He summarized his version of the four humours and temperaments in a table as follows.

Rud-khan castle (also Rood-khan castle), is a brick and stone medieval castle in Iran.

Located 25 km southwest of Foman city north of Iran in Gilan province, it is a military complex which had been constructed during the Seljuk Dynasty by the followers of Ismā'īlī sect. The Castle is built on two tips of a mount, with an area of 50,000 square metres. Its architects have benefited from natural mountainous features in the construction of the fort.

A river known as `Rudkhan Castle River' also exists near the castle, which originates from the surrounding heights and flows from south to north. After crossing a mountainous winding route with dense forests, the first thing that one notices about the castle is its big entrance gate.

Rudkhan Castle sits at the two peaks of a mountain at elevations of 715 and 670 meters and contains strong fortifications and battlements at a length of 1,550 meters. The castle's 42 towers still stand intact.

Prehistory



The history of Esfahan can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. In recent discoveries, archeologists have found artifacts dating back to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages.

Elamite Empire

Ancient Esfahan was part of the Elamite empire. Under the name of Aspandana it became one of the principal towns of the Median dynasty, when Iranian Medes settled there. Subsequently the province became part of the Achaemenid Empire and after the liberation of Iran from Macedonian occupation by the Arsacids, it became part of Parthian Empire. Esfahan was the centre and capital city of a large province, which was administered by Arsacid governors. In the Sassanid era, Esfahan was governed by "Espoohrans" or the members of seven noble Iranian families who had important royal positions, and served as the residence of these noble families as well. Moreover, in this period Esfahan was a military centre with strong fortifications. There were large populations of Jews and Christians concentrated around Esfahan at this time. The city was occupied by Arabs after the final defeat of Iranians.

Modern age

Today Esfahan, the third largest city in Iran, produces fine carpets, textiles, steel, and handicrafts. Esfahan also has nuclear experimental reactors as well as facilities for producing nuclear fuel (UCF). Esfahan has one of the largest steel producing facilities in the entire region, as well as facilities for producing special alloys.






At Esfahan uranium is converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which in its gaseous form is spun at high speed in the centrifuges to extract the fissile isotope. Esfahan is Iran's only domestic source of UF6. According to IAEA Iran is building hardened bunkers under Esfahan to protect UF6 production.[4]

Ali_Qapu



Fire-temple



Shah_Abbas_I_Chehel_Sotoun



The cities of Najafabad, Khaneh Esfahan, Khomeini-shahr, Shahin-shahr, Zarrinshahr, Mobarakeh, Fouladshahr and Falavarjan all constitute the metropolitan city of Esfahan. The city has an international airport and is in the final stages of constructing its first Metro line.

Kaftar-khooneh



Chehel_Sotoon



Over 2000 companies are working in the area using Esfahan's economic, cultural, and social potentials. Esfahan contains a major oil refinery and a large airforce base. HESA, Iran's most advanced aircraft manufacturing plant (where the IR.AN-140 aircraft is made), is located nearby.[5]

Esfahan hosted the International Physics Olympiad in 2007.

Geography and climate

The city is located in the lush plain of the Zayandeh River, at the foothills of the Zagros mountain range. The city enjoys a temperate climate and regular seasons. No geological obstacles exist within 90 km north of Esfahan, allowing cool northern winds to blow from this direction. Situated at 1590 meters above sea level, Esfahan is still very hot during the summer with maxima typically around 36 °C (97 °F). However, with low humidity and moderate temperatures at night, the climate can be very pleasant. During the winter, days are mild but nights can be very cold and snow is not unknown. However, on the whole Esfahan's climate is extremely dry. Its annual precipitation of 113 millimetres (4.4 in) is only about half that of Tehran or Mashhad and only a quarter that of more exposed Kermanshah.

Bridges

The Bridges of Isfahan

The Zayandeh Rud (river) starts in the Zagros Mountains, flows from west to east through the heart of Isfahan, and dries up in the Kavir desert.

The bridges over the river include some of the nicest architecture in Isfahan. The oldest bridge is the "Pol-e Shahrestan" which was probably built in the 12th century during the Seljuk period. Further upstream is the "Pol-e Khaju" which was built by Shah Abbas II in 1650. It is 123 metres long with 24 arches, and it also serves as a sluice gate. The next bridge is the "Pol-e Jubi". It was originally built as an aqueduct to supply the palace gardens on the north bank of the river. Further upstream again is the Si-o-Seh Pol or bridge of 33 arches. Build during the rule of Shah Abbas the Great, it linked Isfahan with the Armenian suburb of Jolfa. It is by far the longest bridge in Isfahan at 295m.

si_o_seh pol




pol Khajue



Art

Mina
Ghalam Zani
Rug manufacture






Gach bory




Esfahan has long been one of the centers for production of the famous Persian Rug. Weaving in Esfahan flourished in the Safavid era. But when the Afghans invaded Iran, ending the Safavid dynasty, the craft also became stagnant.

Not until 1920s, between two world wars, was weaving again taken seriously by the people of Esfahan. They started to weave Safavid designs and once again became one of the most important nexus of the Iranian rug weaving industry. Esfahani carpets today are among the most wanted in world markets, having many customers in western countries.

Esfahani rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. Rugs and carpets often have very symmetrical and balanced designs. They usually have a single medallion that is surrounded with vines and palmettos and are of excellent quality.

Food
* Fesenjan - a casserole type dish with a sweet and tart sauce containing the two base ingredients, pomegranate molasses and ground walnut cooked with chicken, duck, lamb or beef and served with rice.




* Gaz - the name given to Persian Nougat using the sap collected from angebin, a plant from the Tamarisk family found only on the outskirts of Esfahan. It is mixed with various ingredients including rose water, pistachio and almond kernels and saffron.





* "Khoresht-e mast"(yoghurt stew) is a traditional dish in Esfahan. Unlike other stews despite its name it is not served as a main dish and with rice; Since it is more of a sweet pudding it is usually served as a side dish or dessert. The dish is made with yogurt, lamb/mutton or chicken, saffron, sugar and orange zest. Iranians either put the orange zest in water for one week or longer or boil them for few minutes so the orange peels become sweet and ready for use. People in Iran make a lot of delicate dishes and jam with hull of fruits. This dish often accompanies celebrations and weddings.

* Esfahan is famous for its Beryooni. This dish is made of baked mutton & lungs that is minced and then cooked in a special small pan over open fire with a pinch of cinnamon. Beryooni is generally eaten with a certain type of bread, "nan-e taftton".
See also Biryani.

Geography, History and climate
Masouleh is approximately 60 km southwest of Rasht and 32 km west of Fuman. The village is 1 050 meters above sea level in the Alborz (or Elburz) mountain range, near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. The village itself has a difference in elevation of 100 meters.

The first village of Masouleh is approximately established around 1006 AD, 6 km Northwest of the current village, and it is called Old-Masouleh (Kohneh Masouleh in Persian). People moved from Old-Masouleh to the current village because of Pestilence and neighbor attacks.

Masouheh-Rood-Khan is the river passing through the village with a water fall 200m away from the village. So many other springs are found around Masouleh.

Masouleh is also surrounded by forest from valley to mount.

Fog is the predominate weather feature of Masouleh.Although it has writeen that the community has established around 10 AD but the province of Gilan has a long history.



Architecture

Masouleh architecture is unique. The buildings have been built into the mountain and are interconnected. Courtyards and roofs both serve as pedestrian areas similar to streets. Masouleh does not allow any motor vehicles to enter, due to its unique layout. It is the only village in Iran with such a prohibition. However, the small streets and many stairs simply also wouldn't make it possible for vehicles to enter.

The spectacular architecture of Masouleh is well-known as "The yard of the above building is the roof of the below building".

Yellow clay coats the exterior of most buildings in Masouleh. This allows for better visibility in the fog.

Buildings are mostly 2 stories (1st floor and below floor) made of adobe, rods and bole. Small living room, big Guest room, winter room, Hall, WC and Balcony are usually found in 1st floor. Cold closet, barn and stable are located at below floor that attaches to the upper floor by several narrow steps inside the building.

There are four main local communities at the village named: "Maza-var" (meaning: beside the Mosque) at the south, "Khana-var" (meaning: beside homes) at the East, "Kasha-sar" (meaning: stretched on top) at the North, and, "Assa-mahala" (meaning: Assad community) at the West. Apparently down-town is the Market (Bazaar) area and also the main mosque of the village, named: "O-ne-ben-ne Ali".

The Medes are credited with the unification[2] of Iran as a nation and empire (625[2]–559 BC), the largest of its day, until Cyrus the Great established a unified empire of the Medes and Persians leading to the Achaemenid Empire (559–330 BC), and further unification between peoples and cultures. After Cyrus' death, his son Cambyses continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. Following a power struggle after Cambyses' death, Darius I was declared king (ruled 522–486 BC). Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest and most powerful empire in human history up until that point.[45] The borders of the Persian empire stretched from the Indus and Oxus Rivers in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, extending through Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and Egypt.
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, at about 500 BC

In 499 BC Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against Greece known as the Greco-Persian Wars which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC. During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major advantages and razed Athens in 480 BC, But after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting ended with the peace of Callias in 449 BC.
Persepolis, ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty

The rules and ethics emanating from Zoroaster's teachings were strictly followed by the Achaemenids who introduced and adopted policies based on human rights, equality and banning of slavery. Zoroastrianism spread unimposed during the time of the Achaemenids and through contacts with the exiled Jewish people in Babylon freed by Cyrus, Zoroastrian concepts further propagated and influenced the Abrahamic religions. The Golden Age of Athens marked by Aristotle, Plato and Socrates also came about during the Achaemenid period while their contacts with Persia and the Near East abounded. The peace, tranquility, security and prosperity that were afforded to the people of the Near East and Southeastern Europe proved to be a rare historical occurrence, an unparalleled period where commerce prospered, and the standard of living for all people of the region improved.[46]

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire, defeating the last Achaemenid Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. He left the annexed territory in 328–327. In each of the former Achaemenid territories he installed his own officers as caretakers, which led to friction and ultimately to the partitioning of the former empire after Alexander's death.
A bust from the National Museum of Iran of Queen Musa

Early history (3200 BC – 625 BC)
Main articles: Tappeh Sialk, Jiroft civilization, Elamite kingdom, and Mannaeans
19th century reconstruction of a map of the world by Eratosthenes, c.200 BC. The name Ariana (Aryânâ) was used to describe the region where the Iranian Plateau is found.

Dozens of pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BC,[40][41][42] centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.[43] Proto-Iranians first emerged following the separation of Indo-Iranians, and are traced to the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex.[44] Aryan, (Proto-Iranian) tribes arrived in the Iranian plateau in the third and second millennium BC, probably in more than one wave of emigration, and settled as nomads. Further separation of Proto-Iranians into "Eastern" and "Western" groups occurred due to migration. By the first millennium BC, Medes, Persians, Bactrians and Parthians populated the western part, while Cimmerians, Sarmatians and Alans populated the steppes north of the Black Sea. Other tribes began to settle on the eastern edge, as far as on the mountainous frontier of north-western Indian subcontinent and into the area which is now Balochistan. Others, such as the Scythian tribes spread as far west as the Balkans and as far east as Xinjiang. Avestan is an eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Gathas in c. 1000 BC.