{{Short description|City in Kermanshah province, Iran}}
{{for|the administrative division of Kermanshah province|Ravansar County}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement | official_name = Ravansar | native_name = {{langx|fa|روانسر}} | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = Ravansar Lake 2020.jpg | image_caption = Ravansar Lake | pushpin_map = Iran | mapsize = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Iran | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Kermanshah | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Ravansar | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = Central | leader_title = | leader_name = | established_title = | established_date = | area_total_km2 = | area_footnotes = | population_as_of = 2016 |population_footnotes = <ref name="2016 Kermanshah Province"/> | population_total = 24527 | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone = IRST | utc_offset = +3:30 | coordinates = {{coord|34|42|56|N|46|39|07|E|dim:1km|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=34.715556&mlon=46.651944&zoom=15#map=15/34.71556/46.65194|website=OpenStreetMap |title=Ravansar, Ravansar County|date=12 December 2024|access-date=12 December 2024|lang=fa}}</ref> | elevation_m = | website = | area_code = | footnotes = }}
'''Ravansar''' ({{langx|fa|روانسر}}){{efn|Also romanized as '''Ravānsar''' and '''Rawānsīr'''; {{langx|ku|ڕوانسەر}}<ref>{{GEOnet3|-3080921}}</ref>}} is a city in the Central District of Ravansar County, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district.<ref name="Ravansar County Establishment">{{cite report|title=Reforms of national divisions in Kermanshah province|language=fa|website=rc.majlis.ir|via=Research Center of the System of Laws of the Islamic Council of the Farabi Library of Mobile Users|url=https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/124532|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709065324/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/124532|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Political-Defense Commission of the Government Board|last=Aref|first=Mohammad Reza|archive-date=9 July 2013|date=18 April 1392|orig-date=Approved 24 September 1383|id=Proposal 1.4.42.53658; Letter 58538/26118H; Notification 15891/T29267K|access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>
==Archaeology and history== ===Archaeology=== Ravansar has important prehistoric and historical sites, and in this respect, it has a special place in the archaeology of the west of Iran. The earliest evidence of human habitation around Ravansar extends back to the Middle Paleolithic that continues to the end of the glacial period (at least from about 50,000 years to 12,000 years ago), whose remains were found in the caves of the Kulian and Jawri, as well as the Garab River (Awi Kher).<ref>Biglari, F., Taheri, K. 2000. The discovery of Upper Paleolithic remains at Mar Kulian and Mar Dalan caves, Rawansar. In: Taheri, K. (Ed.), Essays on the Archaeology, Geology, and Culture of Rawansar Area, Kermanshah. Taq-e Bostan Publications, pp. 7-27 (In Persian).</ref> Another important discovery in the region is an elephant molar tooth that dates back to the Pleistocene era and has been discovered near Ravansar. Another important archaeological site is the Musaei mound and its two nearby smaller mounds, it has been inhabited since the end of the Neolithic period (about 8,000 years ago).
left|thumb|A typical Kurdish house with columned terrace at Ravansar In the course of the Assyrian campaigns into Zagros, Ravansar was one of the bases of this Mesopotamian government that called '''Nikour''', and it was used as a military base in which Assyrian soldiers gathered horses and other goods that were sent to Assyria.<ref>Parpola, S. & M. Porter (2001) The Helsinki Atlas of the Near East in the Neo-Assyrian Period, Edited by: Simo Parpola & Michael Porter, The Casco Bay Assyriological Institute The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Finland.</ref> Stronach and Calmeyer proposed Ravansar as a possible candidate for the place of Bit-Istar, an Assyrian town and a local kingdom (c. 12th century BC - c. 710 BC) at western Zagros.<ref>Radner, K., (2003) "A Median Sanctuary at Bit-Ištar". In Giovanni B. Lanfranchi,<!--- not the 17th century bishop ---> M. Roaf & R. Rollinger (ed.), Continuity of Empire: Assyria, Media, Persia. History of the Ancient Near East Monographs 5 (Padova 2003) 119-130.</ref> The rock-cut tomb of Ravansar or Dekhmeh Rawansar, which local people call "Kōshk", is located in the eastern face of limestone rock in the northeast of Ravansar, which dates back to Achaemenid period.<ref>Calmeyer, Peter 1978, “Das Grabrelief von Ravansar,” AMI N.S. 11, pp. 73–85.</ref> The tomb consists of a small chamber that opens to the east and overlooks the slope. The figure of Ahura Mazda, a person, and mass of firewood appears on the right side of the entrance to this tomb. There is also a pillar base next to the Goni Khani Spring, called "Takhti Zangi", which may have been created at the same time as the tomb, indicating the presence of a palace or smaller buildings near the spring.<ref>Golzari, Massoud., 1994 The Ravansar rock-cut tomb, and three Islamic tombstones. Proceedings of the First Archaeological Symposium in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, Susa, 14–17 April 1994.</ref> Therefore, during the Achaemenid period, Ravansar was probably one of the important centers of this government in the west of the country. In the Parthian period, Ravansar was a small town in the west of the present town which today is close to a spring called Kani Wayan (near the police station). From the Sassanid period, a collection of silverware has been discovered in Quri Qala Cave. There was also a cemetery from the Safavid period on the northern slopes of Qola Mount. The gravestones exhibit the Kofi scripts, and have been looted or broken in recent decades. This Safavid cemetery shows the importance of Ravansar in the Safavid period.
===Main archaeological sites===
* Musaei mounds, (from the end of the Neolithic Age - about 8,000 years ago - up to Islamic period) * Kulian Cave and Jawri Cave (from the Middle Paleolithic Period - about 50 thousand years ago - until the end of the Epialeolithic Period - about 12 thousand years ago) * Rock-cut tomb of "Koshk" (Achaemenid Period) * Kani Wayan (the Parthian Period) * Islamic Cemetery (Safavid Period and Qajar)<ref>Mohammadi, A. H. (2023). Rock sources for gravestones at the Islamic cemetery of Ravansar: A geological perspective. Journal of Pars Arian Territories, 1(1), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.61186/jpat.2024.1.5</ref>
===Modern history=== Ravansar seems to have been a large village during the Safavid period. There was a cemetery from the Safavid period with tombstones with inscriptions in Kufic script on the northern slopes of Qoleh rock, which has been destroyed or looted in recent years. Ravansar was also part of the territory of Ardalan rulers during the 19th centurey. The name Ravansar was first mentioned in written sources about 400 years ago in Sharafnama, in which Ravansar is mentioned as the possessions of the Dar-Tang rulers.<ref>Bitlîsi, S. A. D. (2005). The Sharafnama Or the History of the Kurdish Nation. Ahmed-i Khani’s (1694), Mem u Zin Epic.</ref>
Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda who was a prominent Iranian linguist and lexicographer described Ravansar in the 1960s as follows. "The central town of Ravansar is part of Sanandaj, and next to the Kermanshah-Paveh highway and the southeastern promontory of Shahu Mountain. It has a cold climate, but due to numerous springs, there are many swamps and sludges in the summer. There is a clinic in the town that is always ready to receive patients. The district offices, the finance agency, the statistics, the checkpoint, the armed customs guard, and the gendarmerie are located in the town and it has one primary school and eight shops. Its main products are grains, fruits, rice, and dairy products, and there is a daily commute between this town and Kermanshah."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vajje.com/en/search?query=%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%B1 |title = روانسر meaning - واژه}}</ref>
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==Climate== {{Weather box | name = | width = auto | collapsed = | open = | metric first = yes | single line = yes | trace = | location = Ravansar (WMO ID: 40764) (normals for 1988-2010, extremes 1988-2021) | temperature colour = | Jan record high C =17.6 | Feb record high C =20.6 | Mar record high C =27.2 | Apr record high C =30.4 | May record high C =35.0 | Jun record high C =40.2 | Jul record high C =41.4 | Aug record high C =41.8 | Sep record high C =40.2 | Oct record high C =34.6 | Nov record high C =28.0 | Dec record high C =21.0 | year record high C = <!-- Average high temperatures --> | Jan high C =5.8 | Feb high C =7.7 | Mar high C =13.4 | Apr high C =19.4 | May high C =25.4 | Jun high C =32.3 | Jul high C =36.5 | Aug high C =36.3 | Sep high C =31.6 | Oct high C =24.6 | Nov high C =15.6 | Dec high C =9.6 | year high C = <!-- Mean daily temperature --> | Jan mean C =1.3 | Feb mean C =3.2 | Mar mean C =8.1 | Apr mean C =12.9 | May mean C =18.0 | Jun mean C =24.1 | Jul mean C =28.7 | Aug mean C =28.2 | Sep mean C =22.9 | Oct mean C =17.4 | Nov mean C =9.8 | Dec mean C =4.8 | year mean C = <!-- Average low temperatures --> | Jan low C =-2.9 | Feb low C =-2.3 | Mar low C = 1.7 | Apr low C = 6.4 | May low C = 10.2 | Jun low C = 15.2 | Jul low C = 20.9 | Aug low C = 19.7 | Sep low C = 13.9 | Oct low C = 9.9 | Nov low C = 3.9 | Dec low C = 0.0 | year low C = | Jan record low C =-22.5 | Feb record low C =-22.5 | Mar record low C =-13.0 | Apr record low C =-8.6 | May record low C =-1.0 | Jun record low C =5.4 | Jul record low C =9.2 | Aug record low C =14.0 | Sep record low C =8.0 | Oct record low C =1.8 | Nov record low C =-6.2 | Dec record low C =-14.8 | year record low C =
| precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm =85.8 | Feb precipitation mm =73.0 | Mar precipitation mm =97.9 | Apr precipitation mm =68.6 | May precipitation mm =25.3 | Jun precipitation mm =2.3 | Jul precipitation mm =0.8 | Aug precipitation mm =0.0 | Sep precipitation mm =0.6 | Oct precipitation mm =21.4 | Nov precipitation mm =64.7 | Dec precipitation mm =83.8 | year precipitation mm = | unit precipitation days = 0 | precip days colour = | Jan precipitation days =12.0 | Feb precipitation days =12.3 | Mar precipitation days =11.3 | Apr precipitation days =10.8 | May precipitation days =6.4 | Jun precipitation days =1.0 | Jul precipitation days =0.5 | Aug precipitation days =0.2 | Sep precipitation days =0.7 | Oct precipitation days =4.7 | Nov precipitation days =8.6 | Dec precipitation days =10.0 | year precipitation days =
| humidity colour = green | time day = | daily = | Jan humidity =68 | Feb humidity =68.5 | Mar humidity =59.3 | Apr humidity =55.5 | May humidity =49.8 | Jun humidity =30.9 | Jul humidity =21.9 | Aug humidity =20.3 | Sep humidity =22 | Oct humidity =31.4 | Nov humidity =53.5 | Dec humidity =63 | year humidity =
| Jan sun =152.6 | Feb sun =159.6 | Mar sun =185.5 | Apr sun =225.4 | May sun =265.5 | Jun sun =352.7 | Jul sun =366.1 | Aug sun =355.3 | Sep sun =334.1 | Oct sun =276.5 | Nov sun =199.4 | Dec sun =158.7 | year sun =
| source 1 = Iran Meteorological Organization(precipitation and mean max/min temperatures 1988-2005)<ref>{{cite web |title=AVERAGE OF MEAN DAILY TEMPERATURE IN C. for Ravansar (40764) |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/5.asp |website=Chaharmahalmet |publisher=IRIMO |access-date=30 November 2025 |url-status= unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221203920/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/5.asp |archive-date=21 February 2017}} *{{cite web |title=AVERAGE OF MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IN C. for Ravansar (40764) |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/2.asp |website=Chaharmahalmet |publisher=IRIMO |access-date=30 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518093922/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/2.asp |url-status= unfit |archive-date=18 May 2013}} *{{cite web |title=AVERAGE OF MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN C. for Ravansar (40764) |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/3.asp |website=Chaharmahalmet |publisher=IRIMO |access-date=30 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901184805/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/3.asp |url-status= unfit |archive-date=1 September 2013}} </ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MONTHLY TOTAL OF PRECIPITATION IN mm for Ravansar (40764) |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/25.asp |website=Chaharmahalmet |publisher=IRIMO |access-date=30 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518065031/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/25.asp |url-status= unfit |archive-date=18 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Form 30: No. of days with precipitation greater than 0 |url=http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/30.asp |website=Chaharmahalmet |publisher=IRIMO |access-date=30 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123003219/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/keh/RAVANSAR/30.asp |url-status= unfit |archive-date=23 January 2015}}</ref> | source 2 = Kermanshah Meteorological Office (records, humidity, sun)<ref>{{cite web |title=Data and Statistics of the provicne |url=https://www.kermanshahmet.ir/met/amar |website=kermanshahmet |publisher=Applied Meteorological Research Center |access-date=30 November 2025 |language=Persian}}</ref> }}
==Demographics== ===Population=== At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 16,383 in 3,838 households.<ref name="2006 Kermanshah Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Kermanshah 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/05.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920094844/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/05.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 21,250 people in 5,609 households.<ref name="2011 Kermanshah Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Kermanshah 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/Kermanshah.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118172226/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Kermanshah.xls|archive-date=18 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 24,527 people in 7,122 households.<ref name="2016 Kermanshah Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Kermanshah 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_05.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403212203/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_05.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=3 April 2022}}</ref>
==Shrines==
There are several shrines near Ravansar as follows:
*'''Khawr Wa Sar''': Southwest of Torkapan village, Jawanrood route, oak tree, keeper of agricultural implements during migration to winter pasture. *'''Sultan Sheikh Mardar''': Oak tree near Jawanrood, It was visited by patients with rheumatism, back pain, and leg pain. *'''Ferishta Charmeg''' (White angle): near Kani Kawa (blue spring) near the telecommunication tower, on Mount Sarkawa. *'''Hori Mard''': an oak tree near Kani Kawa village, the foothills of Sarkawa Mountain, It was visited by patients with jaundice.
==See also== *Dekhmeh Rawansar *Khanileh, Kermanshah *Jaff tribe *Ardalan *Javanrud *Paveh
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== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}} * {{cite book | first = K | last = Taheri | year = 2000 | title = Essays on the Archaeology, Geology, Geography, and Culture of Rawansar Area. | editor =taheri.kamal | publisher = Taq-e Bostan Publications | location = Kermanshah | isbn = 964-5551-79-X }}
{{Authority control}}
{{Kermanshah Province|state=collapsed}}
{{Ravansar County|state=collapsed}}
Category:Populated places in Ravansar County
Category:Cities in Kermanshah province
Category:Kurdish settlements in Kermanshah province