page_title: Kashan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kashan / History
context_page_description: Kashan is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families.
  Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from the Kasian, the original inhabitants of the city, whose remains are found at Tapeh Sialk dating back 9,000 years; later this was changed to "Kashian", hence the town name. Between the 12th and the 14th centuries Kashan was an important centre for the production of high quality pottery and tiles. In modern Persian, the word for a tile comes from the name of the town.
  Kashan is divided into two parts, mountainous and desert. In the west side, Kashan is cited in the neighbourhood of two of highest peaks of Karkas chain, Mount Gargash to the southwest of Kashan and Mount Ardehaal in the west of Kashan, also known as "Damavand of Kashan" and the highest peak of Ardehaal mountains.
  In the east side of the city Kashan opens up to the central desert of Iran. Kashan is also known for Maranjab Desert and Caravanserai located near the namak lake. Today Maranjab and the surrounding Shifting Sands is a visitor destination at the weekends for safaris.
context_section_description: Earliest evidence of human presence around Kashan date back to Paleolithic period that have been found at Niasar, Kaftar Khoun and Sefid-Ab. Middle Paleolithic stone tools were discovered at travertine spring of Niasar and the travertine of Kaftar Khoun. Upper Paleolithic groups were living around Sefid-Ab spring at SW of Kashan.
  Archeological discoveries in the Sialk Hillocks which lie 4 km west of Kashan reveal that this region was one of the primary centers of civilization in pre-historic ages. Hence, Kashan dates back to the Elamite period of Iran. The Sialk ziggurat still stands today in the suburbs of Kashan after 7,000 years.
  The artifacts uncovered at Sialk Mahan Pasha reside in the Louvre in Paris and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iran's National Museum.
  By some accounts, although not all, Kashan was the origin of the three wise men who followed the star that guided them to Bethlehem to witness the nativity of Jesus, as recounted in the Bible. Whatever the historical validity of this story, the attribution of Kashan as their original home testifies to the city's prestige at the time the story was set down.
  Abu-Lu'lu'ah/Pirouz Nahāvandi, the Persian soldier who was enslaved by the Islamic conquerors and eventually assassinated the caliph Umar al-Khattab in AH 23 (643/4 CE), reportedly fled to Kashan after the assassination. His tomb is one of Kashan's conspicuous landmarks (see gallery below).
  Sultan Malik Shah I of the Seljuk dynasty ordered the building of a fortress in the middle of Kashan in the 11th century. The fortress walls, called Ghal'eh Jalali still stand today in central Kashan.
  Kashan was also a leisure vacation spot for Safavi Kings. Bagh-e Fin (Fin Garden), specifically, is one of the most famous gardens of Iran. This garden with its pool and orchards was designed for Shah Abbas I as a classical Persian vision of paradise. The original Safavid buildings have been substantially replaced and rebuilt by the Qajar dynasty although the layout of trees and marble basins is close to the original. The garden itself however, was first founded 7000 years ago alongside the Cheshmeh-ye-Soleiman. The garden is also notorious as the site of the murder of Mirza Taghi Khan known as Amir Kabir, chancellor of Nasser-al-Din Shah, Iran's king in 1852.
  The earthquake of 1778 leveled the city of Kashan and all the edifices of Shah Abbas Safavi, leaving 8000 casualties. But the city started afresh and has today become a focal tourist attraction via the numerous large houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrating the finest examples of Qajari aesthetics.
caption: a view of Kashan around 17th century from Jean Chardin.
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