Kashan, Iran"s Museum of Architecture

The Reason for Naming the City as Kashan

Knowing the reason for giving a particular name to somebody/ something has always been the subject of interest of people and they try to find out the reason and origin of these names. Sometimes they search the origin in the people"s common beliefs and sometimes they guess it. Kashan is not an exception to this rule. There are many stories about the origin of the name. In Islamic sources the name of the city is Ghashan or Ghasan and it is one the ancient cities of Iran. According to the studies of researchers and archeologists, Sialk Hills located 4 km far from the west of Kashan is considered as one of the original civilization centers and place of residence for human being. Kashan was a populated and developed region during the Sasanids. According to the Islamic geographers, the ancient name of Kashan was Chehl Hesaran (forty castles). When ancient Sialk Hills were ruined, many big and small villages were established in the shape of castles and fortresses and they were known as Chehel Hesaran. According to another saying, the root of the word is "Key Ashian". Some linguists believe that the name of Kashan is originated from the word "Gatheha", the oldest work written by Zoroaster

Source: (HOMA)Iranian Air Inflight Magazine No.47 Aug. Sep.2007