Tafresh

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City in Markazi province, Iran

title: "Tafresh" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tafresh", "cities-in-markazi-province", "populated-places-in-tafresh-county"] description: "City in Markazi province, Iran" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafresh" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary City in Markazi province, Iran ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameTafresh
native_name
native_name_langfa
settlement_typeCity
image_skylineTafresh in winter.jpg
image_captionTafresh in winter
pushpin_mapIran
coordinates
coordinates_footnotes
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameIran
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Markazi
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2Tafresh
subdivision_type3District
subdivision_name3Central
unit_prefMetric
population_footnotes
population_as_of2016
population_total16493
population_density_km2auto
timezoneIRST
utc_offset+3:30
website
::

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Tafresh () is a city in the Central District of Tafresh County, Markazi province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Tafresh is located amidst high mountains 222 km southwest of Tehran.

History

Tafresh is believed to be one of the oldest regions in the present Markazi province and constituted a Zoroastrian stronghold in antiquity. A famous general by the name Delaram of Tafresh fought in the defense of Sasanian Iran during the Islamic conquest and has given name to the village Delaram nearby Tafresh. Today the village is also called Teraran.

There are fifty historical monuments in Tafresh that have been listed as part of Iranian national heritage. These include ruins of Zoroastrian places of worship and burial sites (so-called dakhmas) in and around the town, particularly on the summits of the surrounding mountains and hills. There are also remains of Zoroastrian dakhmas in nearby villages, such as in Kaburan and Khalchal.

Tafresh appears in the Nuzhat al-Qulub of the 14th-century author Hamdallah Mustawfi, who reported that the town encompassed of 13 villages, the largest ones being Fam and Tarkhuran. He further reported that the town was assessed for a tax value of 6000 dinars, and the inhabitants were adherents of Twelver Shi'ism.

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 13,914 in 4,254 households. The following census in 2011 counted 16,447 people in 4,928 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 16,493 people in 5,232 households.

Geography

The flight distance between Tehran and Tafresh is 170 km towards southwest. The average altitude of Tafresh is 1912 meters above sea level, with a continental and semi-arid climate with an annual rainfall of 270 mm.

Learning and culture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/قلمزنی_تفرش.jpg" caption="artistic metalworking"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Inside_Ab_anbar_Bolur_Tafresh_-_panoramio.jpg" caption="The ceiling inside the drinking water reservoir [[Ab anbar]]-e Bolur in Tafresh."] ::

Despite its small size, Tafresh is known in Iran for being the cradle of science, literature, culture and art, as well as a land of mountains and plains, springs and waterfalls.

Tafresh has provided Iran with many notable figures such as poets, ministers, statesmen, scientists and calligraphers, especially from Qajar times and onwards. The Qajar statesmen Amir Kabir and Ghasem Magham Farahani hailed from the Tafresh Province. The strong tradition of learning reassured the early establishment of Modern Schools in the early 20th century.

Famous scientists from Tafresh include Mahmoud Hessaby, the father of modern physics in Iran, Ahmad Parsa, the father of Iranian botanics, Abbas Sahab, the father of cartography in Iran, Mohammad Gharib, the father of pediatrics in Iran, and Abdolkarim Gharib, the father of modern geology in Iran.

For this reason Tafresh has received the nickname "City of Iran's Fathers" (Shahr-e pedarān-e Irān). The city has preserved its position as an important Iranian scientific and literary center in the 21st century due to its modern universities.

The village of Delaram, with a population today of about 250 people, is famous as the "Village of physicians" (Dehkade-ye pezeshkān) since it has produced more than 175 physicians.

Traditional handicrafts

Tafresh is famous for its traditional carpet weaving and artistic metalworking. The Tafresh carpet is of the Hamadan type but the quality is finer than the average production of that area.

Universities

Three universities are situated in Tafresh:

Notable people

Notes

References

Sources

References

  1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)). (5 January 2025). "Tafresh, Tafresh County".
  2. {{GEOnet3. -3086584
  3. Habibi, Hassan. (c. 2024). "Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of Markazi province's divisions to the citizenship of Arak city". Ministry of the Interior, Political Commission of Defense of the Government Board.
  4. "Khalchal Castle, only Zoroastrian burial structure in middle Islamic centuries". IRNA.
  5. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Markazi Province". The Statistical Center of Iran.
  6. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Markazi Province". The Statistical Center of Iran.
  7. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Markazi Province". The Statistical Center of Iran.
  8. "Tafresh: City of Science, Literature and Tourism".
  9. "Professor Mahmoud Hessaby". Iran Chamber Society.
  10. "SAḤĀB, ʿAbbās". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  11. (18 April 2016). "175 physicians and professors in Delaram, a village of 250 inhabitants". Fars News.
  12. "The Persian Empire".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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