Hamadan

Hamadan, a town of Persia, in the province of Irak Ajemi, is situated at the northern base of Mount Elwend, 160 miles WSW. of Teheran. It contains some notable tombs—e.g. Avicenna's (q.v.) and others affirmed to be those of Mordecai and Esther. Being the centre of converging routes from Bagdad, Erivan, Teheran, and Ispahan, it is the seat of a large transit trade; and it carries on extensive manufactures of leather, and in a less degree of coarse carpets and woollen and cotton fabrics. Pop. 30,000. Hamadan is generally believed to occupy the site of the Median Ecbatana (q.v.).