Ganjnameh | A mixture of history and nature  

Ganjnameh | A mixture of history and nature

Ganjnameh ancient inscriptions are located in 12 kilometers southwest of Hamedan. Dating back to Achaemenid Empire, this place contains both a historical and a natural tourist attraction site.

Geographical location

These two inscriptions are located at the bottom of Abbas Abad Valley, in the beginning of the road to Tuyserkan, on one of Alvand Mountain cliffs. This road was a caravan route in the past, and a branch of the Royal Road that connected Hegmataneh Hill (the summer capital city of Achaemenid Empire) to Babel. Daruish the Great and his son, Xerxes, used to cross through it with their troops. Due to this reason, this road was so busy and secure, that Achaemenid kings chose this place to engrave these inscriptions as a reminder of the greatness of their ancestors, and show their beliefs and ideas.

Characteristics of the inscriptions

The inscription on the left side was engraved by the order of Daruish the Great, about 500 years B.C. and the one on the right, belongs to his son, Xerxes. Each of these inscriptions has 20 lines and 3 columns, which are written in the 3 languages of ancient Persian, Elamite and new Babylonian.

The reason of the naming

These two inscriptions have had different names but the recently used ones are Ganjnameh and Jangnameh. Ganj means treasure, and many people used to think that these words contain a secret of a hidden treasure. However, in the other name Jang means war, and this name is given to these inscriptions under the influence of people’s thoughts and stories of their kings’ wars.

Ganjnameh Waterfall

Being one of the most splendid attractions of Hamedan, Ganjnameh Waterfall is located next to the inscriptions. It has permanent water that falls from a height of 12 meters and creates a magnificent view. The beautiful ice candles of the waterfall in winter, catches the attention of every visitor.

* Written by Arefeh Firouzan.

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