Malayer, the land of Aryans

Extracted from Rasekhoon
Malayer is one of the southern cities of Hamedan province with the center of Malayer, located 418 km from Tehran, 85 km from Hamedan and adjacent to Lorestan and Markazi provinces.
Malayer is a mountainous region with a cold and temperate climate located in the valley and mountains of the Zagros bases. This area, along with Boroujerd, forms the area between the Lorestan and Alvand mountains and is located among the cities of Nahavand, Boroujerd, Arak, Tuyserkan and Hamedan.
Malayer is one of the southern cities of Hamedan province with the center of Malayer, located 418 km from Tehran, 85 km from Hamedan and adjacent to Lorestan and Markazi provinces.
The city is bounded to the city of Hamedan from the north, to the city of Arak (Markazi province) from the east, to Borujerd (Lorestan province) from the south and to the cities of Tuyserkan and Nahavand from the west. The city of Malayer can be considered as a mountainous area located in the Zagros Mountains and in these mountains, the natural effects have created special beauties.
The city is devided into the central part with the villages of Jozan, Shahr-e-Rood Aliya, Mauzaran, Mount Sardeh and Malayer as a city point, the Jokar section with the al-Mahdi, Eastern Turk, Wester Turk/ Jokar and Azandarian districts as the urban spot, the Samen section with the villages of Urzaman, lower Haram Rud, Samen and Sefidkouh as urban area and Zand section with the lower Kamazan, upper Kamazan, and middle Kamazan villages and urban point of Zanganeh.
Malayer residents speak Farsi with Lori's dialect and their religion is Islam and Shiite religion.
The economy of this city, based on importance of occupations, is based on agriculture, livestock, horticulture and handicrafts, and other prominent activities are done along with agricultural work. Handicrafts are one of the most important economic activities of the people of this region, and carpets and rugs of Jozan and Hussein Abad have a special reputation. There are also carpets known as "Kasb and Nanj" (two villages of Malayer) that have a special reputation that are exported.
In some of the villages of this city, woodwork is also common, which includes sofa, chair and table, and is the main export of this city to Tehran and other parts of the country.
Historians have presented different views about the Malayer signification. For example, during the time of the Medes by turning fire on the hills and mountains, it would bring news to other areas, hence it was called the hill of fire (Mel Ager). Another narrative says that during the Arab invasion to Iran, they did not get water while crossing the area, which is why they called it “Ma Layeri" (in Arabic it means: no water is available), and the city is known by the same name.
Linguists say Malayer means the eagle's nest. A group of linguists described Malayer as follows: Mel + Ayer, Mel means Territory and Ayei means territory of Aryans. Malayer was called “Mal Ager” in the old times that means the fire house due to the presence of the famous Temple of the Medes, which is now located on the ancient hill of Nowshijan.
Historical studies show that the emergence of Malayer was from the Qajar period and with the attention of the Qajar princes it began to develop, and the building of the current Malayer city is simultaneous with the rule of Fath'ali Shah Qajar in 1188 AH which was made by Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlatshah, firstly it was called as its founder “Dollet Abad” but it was renamed to Malayer after the extinction of the Qajar dynasty during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. In the past, in the east and west of the present town of Malayer, and in a little distance from it, there were two villages that now have ruins of their fortresses. These neighborhoods formed the core of Malayer, and their castles are part of the current neighborhood of the city. Studies have shown that the castle probably has 7 entrance paths around it, each of which is for a particular purpose and for different people, especially at certain times.
The importance of Malayer in the pre-Islamic period (Ancient Iran) is due to the castles and its population centers. When the Aryans migrated to the land of Iran from the north of Russia (Siberia), one of their tribes, Mede, the most powerful Aryan people, settled in the western part of Iran, and began the history of ancient Iran. These people were warriors and stockmen, and their land which was a lush green garden was like a dream for them. Subsequently, the Medes built the country of Mada or Mah in the west of Iran and formed the first human civilization, and the country of the Medes or the Mah included areas such as Arak, Ray, Qom, Isfahan, Saveh, Malayer, Nahavand, Hamedan, Kermanshah, and back of the present Lorestan mountain, which later they called the area the mountainous state of Jebel and then Persian Iraq.
According to the works remaining in present-day Hamadan and the words of the greatest historian of ancient Iran, Herodotus the Greek, the capital of Medes country was Hegmataneh or Ekbatan (current Hamadan).Accordingly, Malayer and the areas close to this city have been very important. In this period, Malayer had a special position due to the importance of transportation and geography. With the entry of the Medes into the area and the formation of a government by them, Malayer also created castles and population centers where the fortresses protected security and rule, and demographic centers were small villages engaged in livestock, agriculture and primary industries due to Malayer's well-being and its proper climate. Like: Dawijan village, Gurab, Deh now city and the Shurkat Avarzaman plain.
Malayer before the Sassanid period was a part of Ekbatan area and in the Sassanid era it was one of the Nahavand’s areas. One of the major events taking place in the Sassanid era in Malayer is the defeat of Khusro Parviz from Bahram Choobineh (Gur) in the current area of Malayer and the other event was Hazgerd the III hiding in a castle on a mountain a few kilometers to the present Malayer town when Arabs attacked. It is still known as Mount Yazdgerd.
Bahram Gur, the prominent commander of Khosrow Parviz, rebelled against his king after gaining great victories in the territory of Rome, defeating Khosrow Parvish in the war in the current Malayer district and Khosrow runs away. According to the traditions of that era, Bahram Gur makes the castle in this place to commemorate this great victory. Bahram Gur’s hunting ground has also been in this area. Later in the Qajar period, they built the city of Dolatabad on this castle. The castle was well until about 40 years ago.
Ten kilometers from the road Malayer-Boroujerd there is a mountain called Yazdgerd Mountain where the remains of the ruined castle still remain. In the history it has been said that Yazdgerd III, the last of the Sassanid king, fled to Nahavand when he defeated the Arabs in Al-Madain to revive and gather the army. Since Malayer was one of the Nahavand’s parts at that time, this naming was wise, and this place was the last refuge of Yazdgerd III.
The city of Malayer has many historical and spectacular places. Ancient Temple and Nowshijan Hill, Agh Gol Lagoon, Lashgar Wildlife habitat, Archeological Lake and Kowsar Complex, Mirafta glacier, Sifieh Garden, Ancient Pathpeh Hill, Lotfaliyan Museum, Gorab Castle, Malayer Bazar, Anuj Castle, Saif Al-Doleh Tomb, Historical Bath of Kahkadan Village, the Wallnut Gardens of Samen and the village of Zanganeh are among the most important sights and historical places in the city of Malayer.