Hamadan (/ˌhæməˈdæn/ HAM-ə-DAN;[4] Persian: همدان, pronounced [hæmeˈdɒːn])[a] is a city in western Iran.

Because it was a mile above sea level, it was a good place to preserve leather documents.

In 642 the Battle of Nahavand took place and Hamadan fell into the hands of the Muslim Arabs.

During World War I, the city was the scene of heavy fighting between Russian and Turko-German forces.

It was occupied by both armies, and finally by the British, before it was returned to the control of the Iranian government at the end of the war in 1918.

The city experiences hot, dry summers, and cold, snowy winters.

Before the Persian Constitutional Revolution, education in Hamadan was limited to some Maktab Houses and theological schools.

Alliance and Lazarist were also the first modern schools founded by foreign institutions in Hamadan.

Among the pre-Islamic celebrities in Hamadan is Mandana, the mother of Cyrus the Great and the daughter of the last king of Media, Ishtovigo.

The event resulted in the loss of life of the bank manager Abdulrahman Nafisi, his family, and a security guard.

Despite being under torture, he pleaded with the robbers to take his personal belongings instead of the people's money.