Kermanshah

Kermanshah is a city situated in the western part of Iran, positioned 525 kilometres from Tehran. Serving as the capital of Kermanshah Province, the county, and the Central District, the urban center anchors a region historically shaped by its geography.

Framed by mountain topography and valleys that sheltered Paleolithic populations in sites like Tang-e Kenesht, Tang-e Malaverd, and Do-Ashkaft Cave, the surrounding landscape defines the setting of Kermanshah Province. This western territory, featuring ancient elevations near Taq-e Bostan and early settlement locations such as Asiab and Sarab, connects the modern municipality to ancient traditions rooted in the regional terrain.

Within this environment, the culinary practices of Kermanshah reflect the agricultural yields of the surrounding valleys and plains. As a historic hub in western Iran and southern Kurdish-inhabited areas, the city incorporates local ingredients harvested across the provincial landscape into its food culture.

Kermanshah is a city in the Central District of Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. Situated in the western part of the country, it lies 525 kilometres from Tehran.

The geography of the surrounding region is defined by ancient limestone cliffs, such as Mount Behistun, where the multi-lingual Behistun Inscription is carved one hundred meters up a rock face. Prehistoric human activity shaped the local landscape, leaving lower Paleolithic hand axes in the Gakia area east of the city. Middle Paleolithic remains and Neanderthal skeletal evidence emerged from northern valley shelters including Tang-e Kenesht, Tang-e Malaverd, and the vicinity of Taq-e Bostan, alongside Paleolithic caves such as Warwasi, Qobeh, Malaverd, and Do-Ashkaft Cave.

During the Sassanid era, the region served as a significant health center and a summer resort for Sasanian kings. The ancient terrain hosted early human settlements like Asiab, Qazanchi, Sarab, Chia Jani, and Ganj-Darreh, while archaeological mound sites including Chogha Kaboud, Chogha Golan, Morad Hasel, and Tappa Gawri remain embedded directly within the modern city limits.

Arts

Kermanshah is a city in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Serving as the capital of its province, the county, and the district, the city sits within a historical landscape marked by ancient mountains and rocky shelters.

The geographic setting of Kermanshah frames its deep cultural heritage and artistic expression. Northern vicinities such as Tang-e Kenesht, Tang-e Malaverd, and the area near Taq-e Bostan preserve significant Middle Paleolithic remains within the region's dramatic terrain. Nearby, Mount Behistun elevates a monumental limestone cliff high above an ancient road, holding the ancient Behistun inscription 100 meters up its rugged face.

The artistic legacy of Kermanshah flourishes against this backdrop of limestone cliffs, prehistoric caves, and high-altitude elevations. The city has produced notable creative figures across literature, music, and the visual arts, including novelists such as Ali Mohammad Afghani and Ali Ashraf Darvishian, master musicians like Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Akbar Moradi, and modern painters such as Nicky Nodjoumi and Guity Novin. Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature, was also born in Kermanshah.

Kermanshah is a major city located in the western part of Iran, positioned 525 kilometres from Tehran. Serving as the administrative capital of Kermanshah Province, the county, and the Central District, the urban center supports a population measured at 946,651 during the 2016 National Census, with a 2025 estimate reaching 1,117,000 inhabitants.

Set against the backdrop of the rugged Zagros region, the city is defined by ancient geographic surroundings that have sheltered human occupation since the Lower Paleolithic period. Archaeological investigations across the northern vicinity, including sites such as Tang-e Kenesht, Tang-e Malaverd, and the rocky terrain near Taq-e Bostan, reveal a rugged landscape historically rich in caves and rock shelters like Warwasi, Qobeh, Malaverd, and Do-Ashkaft Cave. This topography marks a foundational cradle of prehistoric cultures where early human settlements, including Asiab, Qazanchi, Sarab, Chia Jani, and Ganj-Darreh, first emerged between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago.

The environmental context of the area extends deeply into antiquity, where the broader regional continuum spans valleys and mountain ranges that witnessed the production of some of the earliest potteries in Iran at Ganj-Darreh near present-day Harsin. Historical chronicles note that the surrounding terrain provided a strategic setting, functioning historically as a Sassanid summer resort and a significant health center for ancient monarchs. The geographic reach of Kermanshah connects ancient prehistoric routes with the modern linguistic landscape, where residents predominantly communicate in Southern Kurdish varieties such as Kermashani alongside Kermanshahi Persian.

Geographically anchored within the western territories of the country, the municipality maintains its administrative prominence over the surrounding county and province. Academic studies in the Encyclopaedia Iranica highlight the Zagros region as the broader expanse across which these Southern Kurdish dialects circulate, reinforcing the environmental and cultural identity intrinsic to the municipality. The terrain bridging the ancient caves of the Paleolithic era to the contemporary urban neighborhoods underscores a continuous habitation stretching across millennia within the Iranian highlands.