found in Nahavand, believed by
Ernst Herzfeld to originally belong to the
House of Karen. by
Eugène Flandin (19th century drawing) During the
Achaemenid period (550–330 BC), Nahavand was located in the southernmost part of
Media, on the fertile
Nisaean plain. The ancient geographer and historian
Strabo wrote that it was "(re-)founded" by Achaemenid King
Xerxes the Great ( BC). It lay kilometers from
Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan), on the
trunk road from
Babylonia through Media to
Bactria. In the
Seleucid period, Nahavand was turned into a Greek with magistrates and a Seleucid governor. In the 20th century, a stone
stele was found near Nahavand. The stele bore a copy of the dynastic cult inscription of Seleucid ruler
Antiochus III the Great ( BC), which he had created for his wife, Queen
Laodice III. The stele, dated to 193 BC, revealed the
terminus ante quem of the foundation of the Greek of Laodiceia. According to the polymath
Abu Hanifa Dinawari, who flourished in the 9th century, in the
Parthian period, Nahavand was the seat of the Parthian prince Artabanus, who later reigned as
Artabanus I of Parthia ( BC). During the
Sasanian period, the district of Nahavand was bestowed upon the
House of Karen. There was also a
fire temple in the city. In 642, during the
Arab conquest of Iran, a
famous battle was fought at Nahavand. With heavy losses on both sides, it eventually resulted in a Sasanian defeat, and as such, opened up the doors of the
Iranian plateau to the invaders. In the early Islamic period, Nahavand flourished as part of the province of
Jibal. It first functioned as administrative center of the
Mah al-Basra ("Media of the Basrans") district. Its revenues were reportedly used for the payment of the troops from
Basra that were stationed in Nahavand. Medieval geographers mention Nahavand as an affluent commercial hub with two
Friday mosques. When the 10th-century Arab traveller Abu Dulaf travelled through Nahavand, he noted "fine remains of the [ancient] Persians". Abu Dulaf also wrote that during the reign of Caliph
al-Ma'mun (813–833), a treasure chamber had been found, containing two gold caskets. In the course of the subsequent centuries, only few events in Nahavand were recorded. The Persian
vizier of the
Seljuk Empire,
Nizam al-Mulk, was assassinated in 1092 near Nahavand. According to the historian and geographer
Hamdallah Mustawfi, who flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries, Nahavand was a town of medium size surrounded by fertile fields where corn, cotton and fruits were grown. Mustawfi added that its inhabitants were mainly
Twelver Shia Kurds. In 1589, during the
Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578–1590, Ottoman general
Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha built a fortress at Nahavand for future campaigns against
Safavid Iran. By the
Treaty of Constantinople (1590), the Safavids were forced to cede the city to the Turks. In 1602/3, Nahavand's citizens revolted against the Ottoman occupiers. Coinciding with the
Celali revolts in
Anatolia, the Safavids recaptured Nahavand and expelled the Ottomans from the city, thus restoring Iranian control. The Safavid governor of
Hamadan, Hasan Khan Ustajlu, subsequently destroyed the Ottoman fort. In the wake of the collapse of the Safavids in 1722, the Turks captured Nahavand once more. In 1730, they were ousted by
Nader-Qoli Beg (later known as
Nader Shah; 1736–1747). Nader's death in 1747 led to instability. Over the next few years, Nahavand was exploited by local
Bakhtiari chiefs. In ,
Karim Khan Zand defeated the Bakhtiari chieftain
Ali Mardan Khan Bakhtiari at Nahavand. ==Demographics==