Kangavar
Persian: كنگاور‎
City
Kangavar is located in Iran
Kangavar
Kangavar
Coordinates: 34°30′04″N 47°57′28″E / 34.50111°N 47.95778°E / 34.50111; 47.95778[1]
CountryIran
ProvinceKermanshah
CountyKangavar
DistrictCentral
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total51,352
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)

Kangavar (Persian: كنگاور; Kurdish: که‌نگاوه‌; also Romanized as Kangāvar)[3] is a city in the Central District of Kangavar County, Kermanshah province, Iran, and serves as both capital of the county and of the district.

At the 2006 National Census, its population was 48,901 in 12,220 households.[4] The following census in 2011 counted 53,449 people in 15,021 households.[5] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 51,352 people in 15,762 households.[2]

Kangavar is located in the easternmost part of Kermanshah Province, on the modern road from Hamadan to Kermanshah, identical with a trace of the Silk Road, located at the distance of about 75 km from Hamadan and 96 km from Kermanshah.[6]

History

Kangavar was mentioned by Isidore of Charax in the 1st century AD, by the name of "Konkobar" or "Concobar" (Greek: Κογκοβάρ) in the ancient province of Ecbatana (modern Hamedan).[7] In antiquity, the city was in Media, with a temple of Artemis (Isidor. Char. p. 7; Tab. Pent.; Geogr. Rav.)[8]

In the early 20th century, Kangāvar was held in fief by the family of a deceased court official, forming a separate government.

The columns of the remains of the "Anahita Temple".

Today, the town is best known for the archaeological remains of a mixed Sassanid and Achaemenid-style edifice.[9] 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.[10] Excavation first began in 1968, by which time the "large structure with its great columns set on a high stone platform"[11] had been associated with a comment by Isidore of Charax, that refers to a "temple of Artemis" (Parthian Stations 6) at "Concobar" in Lower Media, on the overland trade route between the Levant and India. References to Artemis in Iran are generally interpreted to be references to Anahita, 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 [temple noted by Isodore] is identical with the ruins of Kangāvar. Isidorus described obviously another temple of the first century AD, somewhere in the region of Congobar (Kangāvar) or at the place of the later platform, which, according to the results of the excavation, seems to be built up in Sasanian times."[10]

References

  1. ↑ OpenStreetMap contributors (14 July 2023). "Kangavar, Kangavar County" (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 05. Archived from the original (Excel) on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ↑ Kangavar can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3069549" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  4. ↑ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 05. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011)" (Excel). Iran Data Portal (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 05. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Wolfram Kleiss, "Kangavar", Encyclopaedia Iranica; accessed 31 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "Temple of Anahita at Kangavar". Archived from the original on 1 November 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  8. ↑  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Concobar". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
  9. ↑ "Konkobar (Kangavar)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. 1 2 Kleiss 2005.
  11. ↑ Kawami 1987:326.

Bibliography

  • Huff, D. (1987), "Architecture: Sasanian", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 329–334
  • Kawami, T. (1987), "Architecture: Seleucid", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 326–327
  • Keall, E. J. (1987), "Architecture: Parthian", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 327–329
  • Kleiss, Wolfram (2005), "Kangāvar", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. OT 7, Costa Mesa: Mazda
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