Editing Tafresh

{{Short description|City in Markazi province, Iran}}
{{for|the administrative division of Markazi province|Tafresh County}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox settlement
|name                    = Tafresh
|native_name             = {{langx|fa|تفرش}}
|native_name_lang        = fa
|settlement_type         = City
|image_skyline           = Tafresh in winter.jpg
|imagesize               = 
|image_alt               = 
|image_caption           = Tafresh in winter
|image_flag              = 
|flag_alt                = 
|image_seal              = 
|seal_alt                = 
|image_shield            = 
|shield_alt              = 
|etymology               = 
|nickname                = 
|motto                   = 
|image_map               = 
|map_alt                 = 
|map_caption             = 
|pushpin_map             = Iran
|pushpin_map_alt         = 
|pushpin_map_caption     = 
|pushpin_label_position  = 
|coordinates             = {{Coord|34|41|39|N|50|01|16|E|dim:1km|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes   = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=34.694167&mlon=50.021111&zoom=15#map=15/34.69417/50.02111|website=[[OpenStreetMap]] |title=Tafresh, Tafresh County|date=5 January 2025|access-date=5 January 2025|lang=fa}}</ref>
|subdivision_type        = Country
|subdivision_name        = [[Iran]]
|subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of Iran|Province]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[Markazi province|Markazi]]
|subdivision_type2       = [[Counties of Iran|County]]
|subdivision_name2       = [[Tafresh County|Tafresh]]
|subdivision_type3       = [[Bakhsh|District]]
|subdivision_name3       = [[Central District (Tafresh County)|Central]]
|established_title       = 
|established_date        = 
|founder                 = 
|leader_title            = 
|leader_name             = 
|leader_title1           = 
|leader_name1            = 
|unit_pref               = Metric
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
|area_footnotes          = 
<!-- square kilometers -->
|area_total_km2          = 
|elevation_footnotes     = 
|elevation_m             = 
|population_footnotes    = <ref name="2016 Markazi Province"/>
|population_as_of        = 2016
|population_total        = 16493
|population_density_km2  = auto
|population_note         = 
|population_demonym      = 
|timezone                = [[Iran Standard Time|IRST]]
|utc_offset              = +3:30
|postal_code             = 
|area_code               = 
|website                 = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|module                  = 
|footnotes               = 
}}

'''Tafresh''' ({{langx|fa|تفرش}}){{efn|Also [[romanize]]d as '''Tafreš'''<ref>{{GEOnet3|-3086584}}</ref>}} is a city in the [[Central District (Tafresh County)|Central District]] of [[Tafresh County]], [[Markazi province|Markazi]] province, [[Iran]], serving as capital of both the county and the district.<ref name="Markazi Province Structure">{{cite report|title=Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of Markazi province's divisions to the citizenship of Arak city|language=fa|website=lamtakam.com|via=Lam ta Kam|url=https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113046|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118143614/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113046|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Political Commission of Defense of the Government Board|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|archive-date=18 January 2024|date=c. 2024|orig-date=Approved 21 June 1369|id=Proposal 3233.1.5.53; Notification 84900/T123K|access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> Tafresh is located amidst high mountains {{convert|222|km|mi}} 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 Empire|Sasanian Iran]] during the [[Early Muslim conquests|Islamic conquest]] and has given name to the village [[Delaram, Markazi|Delaram]] nearby Tafresh. Today the village is also called [[Teraran]].

There are fifty [[historical monument]]s in Tafresh that have been listed as part of [[Iranian national heritage]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}} These include ruins of [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] places of worship and burial sites (so-called ''[[dakhma]]s'') 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Khalchal Castle, only Zoroastrian burial structure in middle Islamic centuries |url=http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82428114 |access-date=7 January 2019 |agency=IRNA |publisher=IRNA}}</ref>

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 [[dinar]]s, and the inhabitants were adherents of [[Twelver Shi'ism]].{{sfn|Le Strange|1919|p=72}}

==Demographics==
===Population===
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 13,914 in 4,254 households.<ref name="2006 Markazi Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Markazi Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/00.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920084413/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/00.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 16,447 people in 4,928 households.<ref name="2011 Markazi Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Markazi Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Markazi.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119170600/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Markazi.xls|archive-date=19 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 16,493 people in 5,232 households.<ref name="2016 Markazi Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Markazi Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_00.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017052005/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_00.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=17 October 2020}}</ref>

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

== Learning and culture ==
[[File:قلمزنی تفرش.jpg|thumb|right|Tafresh is famous for its [[Toreutics|artistic metalworking]]]]
[[File:Inside Ab anbar Bolur Tafresh - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tafresh: City of Science, Literature and Tourism |url=http://www.ion.ir/news/237998/ |website=Iran Online |access-date=8 January 2019 |language=fa}}</ref>

Tafresh has provided Iran with many notable figures such as poets, ministers, statesmen, scientists and [[Calligraphy|calligraphers]], especially from [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] times and onwards. The Qajar statesmen [[Amir Kabir]] and [[Ghaem Magham Farahani|Ghasem Magham Farahani]] hailed from the [[Tafresh County|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,<ref>{{cite web |title=Professor Mahmoud Hessaby |url=http://www.iranchamber.com/personalities/mhessaby/mhessaby.php |website=Iran Chamber Society |publisher=Iran Chamber Society |access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref> [[Ahmad Parsa]], the father of Iranian [[botanics]], [[Abbas Sahab]], the father of [[cartography]] in Iran,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Firooznia |first1=Firouz |title=SAḤĀB, ʿAbbās |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sahab-abbas |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref> [[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 [[University|modern universities]].

The village of [[Delaram, Markazi|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=175 physicians and professors in Delaram, a village of 250 inhabitants |url=https://www.farsnews.ir/news/13950129000935/5-پزشک-و-پروفسور-در-روستای-250-نفره-دلارام |access-date=7 January 2019 |agency=Fars News |publisher=Fars News |date=18 April 2016 |language=fa}}</ref>

== Traditional handicrafts ==
Tafresh is famous for its [[Persian carpet|traditional carpet weaving]] and [[Toreutics|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: 
*[[Tafresh University]] (formerly branch of [[Amirkabir University of Technology]]).
*[[Tafresh Azad University|Islamic Azad University]], Tafresh branch.
*[[Payame Noor University]], Tafresh branch.

==Notable people==
*[[Ashk Dahlén]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Axelsson |first1=Pelle |title=The Persian Empire |url=https://intellectinterviews.com/2019/04/the-persian-empire/ |website=Intellect Interviews |access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref> professor, scholar in Iranian Studies, translator
*[[Fereydoun Farrokhzad]], originally from Tafresh, singer, actor, TV host, political figure
*[[Forough Farrokhzad]], originally from Tafresh, poet, film director
*[[Mahmoud Hessabi]], originally from Tafresh, scholar of modern [[physics]]
*[[Ali Mansur]], originally from Tafresh, prime minister
*[[Mehran Modiri]], originally from Tafresh, director and actor
*[[Ali Mosaffa]], originally from Tafresh, movie actor
*[[Ahmad Parsa]], originally from Tafresh, botanist
*[[Abbas Sahab]], pioneer in [[cartography]]
*[[Shaykh Tabarsi]], a [[Persians|Persian]] [[Shia Islam|Shia]] scholar
*[[Parvaneh Vossough]], physician, chiefly known for her work for children with cancer

== See also ==
{{commons category-inline|Tafresh}}

{{Wikivoyage inline|Tafresh}}

{{Portal-inline|Iran}}
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Le Strange|first1=Guy|author-link1=Guy Le Strange |title=The Geographical Part Of The Nuzhat-al-qulub | year=  1919 |publisher=Brill | oclc = 976165251 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283218/page/n1/mode/2up}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Markazi Province|state=collapsed}}

{{Tafresh County|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Tafresh]]
[[Category:Cities in Markazi province]]
[[Category:Populated places in Tafresh County]]