Dinavar

دینور
Dinavar Shown within Iran
Location	Shir Khan,Kermanshah Province,Iran
Type	Settlement
Site notes
Condition	In ruins

Dinavar (also spelledDinawar andDaynavar;Persian:دینور) was a major town between the 7th and 10th centuries, located to the northeast ofKermanshah in westernIran. The ruins of the town is now located nearShir Khan, inDinavar District,Sahneh County,Kermanshah Province.

Located in the centre of the ancient region ofMedia, Dinavar is first attested in history as a town founded by the GreekSeleucid Empire (312 BC–63 BC), but it may have been older. Like the neighbouring town ofKangavar, Dinavar also hosted a Greek population.^[1] Under theSasanian Empire (AD 224–651), Dinavar served as an important fortified place, and was reportedly attacked by theKhazars in the early 6th-century. In 642, following the defeat of the Sasanians against the Arabs at theBattle of Nahavand, Dinavar was conquered.^[2] During the reign of theUmayyadcaliphMu'awiya I (r. 661–680), the town was renamedMah al-Kufa and made one of the two districts ofJibal (Media). Dinavar consisted of the northern areas, whilst Karmisin (Kermanshah) consisted of the southern areas. Dinavar borderedHulwan in the west; Masabadhan in the south;Hamadan in the east; andAdharbayjan in the north.^[1] The "Mah" in the Mah al-Kufa probably refers to Media.^[1][2]

Dinavar had some importance due to its geographical location, serving as the entrance to Jibal as well as a crossroad between the culture of Iran and that of the inhabitants on the other side of theZagros Mountains.^[3] The town flourished under the Umayyad andAbbasid caliphates. According to the Arab writerIbn Hawqal (died after 978), Dinavar was only one-third less smaller than Hamadan in the 10th-century.^[1]

Dinavar historically has produced many scholars includingIbn Qutaybah,Fakhr-un-Nisa, andAbu Hanifa Dinawari. Dinavar was also the center of theKurdish principality of theHasanwayhids. It was sacked byMardavij in 931. According toIbn Athir it was plundered byTurkmen of the Iva tribe in 1172/73. According to the 14th-century geographerHamdallah Mustawfi (died after 1339/40) in hisNuzhat al-Qulub, Dinavar was a small town during his lifetime. However, it was later destroyed byTimur by the end of the 14th-century. Today only field of ruins are available.^[2]

• Ibn Qutaybah (died 889), 9th-century scholar, best known for his contributions toArabic literature
• Abu Hanifa Dinawari (died 896), 9th-century scholar who wrote theKitāb al-akhbār al-ṭiwāl, possibly the most apparent early effort to combine Iranian and Islamic history

• Bosworth, C. Edmund (1995)."Dīnavar". InYarshater, Ehsan (ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VII/4: Deylam, John of–Divorce IV. In modern Persia. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 416–417.ISBN 978-1-56859-022-6.
• Lockhart, L. (1965)."Dīnawar". InLewis, B.;Pellat, Ch. &Schacht, J. (eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume II: C–G. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 299–300.OCLC 495469475.
• Pezeshk, Manouchehr (2017)."al-Dīnawarī, Abū Ḥanīfa". InMadelung, Wilferd;Daftary, Farhad (eds.).Encyclopaedia Islamica Online. Brill Online.ISSN 1875-9831.

34°35′N47°26′E / 34.583°N 47.433°E /34.583; 47.433

• Populated places in Sahneh County
• Former cities in Iran
• Destroyed populated places
• Ruins in Iran
• Buildings and structures in Kermanshah province

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