Kangavar is the name of a small district in the province of Kermanshah in Iran, as well as of the town that is the district's administrative capital. Hercules Statue, carved about 153 B.C. Kermanshah (Persian: کرمانشاه, Gorani Kurdish: کرماشان), is the capital city of Kermanshah Province, located 525 kilometers (324 miles) from Tehran in the western part of Iran. ...

The district, which lies in the Kangavar river valley, is very fertile and contains 30 villages. Kangavar township is 47 miles from Hamadan on the high road to Kermanshah. Avicennas tomb in Hamedan Hamadan or Hamedan ( Persian: همدان ) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. ... Hercules Statue, carved about 153 B.C. Kermanshah (Persian: کرمانشاه, Gorani Kurdish: کرماشان), is the capital city of Kermanshah Province, located 525 kilometers (324 miles) from Tehran in the western part of Iran. ...

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

The Kangavar archaeological complex

Today, the town is best known for the archaeological remains of a Hellenic-style edifice. 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. Excavation first began in 1968, by which time the complex had been preemptorily associated with a comment by Isidore of Charax who referred to a temple of Anahita at Concobar (the Greek name of Kangavar, which was then in Lower Medea). 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 Kangavar. Isidorus described obviously another temple of the first century AD, somewhere in the region of Congobar (Kangavar) or at the place of the later platform, which, according to the results of the excavation, seems to be built up in Sasanian times." (Kleiss, 2005) Image File history File linksMetadata Anahita_temple1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Anahita_temple1. ... Isidore of Charax (fl. ... Temple of Anahita: goddess of ancient Persia, Iran. ... Look up media in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate...

Despite the archaelogical findings, the association with the divinity of fertility, healing, and wisdom has made the site a popular tourist attraction.

Bibliography and further reading

• Kleiss, Wolfram. (2005). "Kangavar". Encyclopedia Iranica. Cosa Mesa: Mazda.