Khorramabad

For the administrative division of Lorestan province, see Khorramabad County. For other places with the same name, see Khorramabad.

Khorramabad خۉرمۊه (Northern Luri) خرم‌آباد (Persian)
City
Montage of Khorramabad, clockwise: Falak-ol-Aflak, Keeyow Lake, Shapuri Bridge, view of Khorramabad, Brick Minaret, panorama of Khorramabad
Seal
The territory of the Khorramabad inside the province of Lorestan
Khorramabad Location within Iran
Coordinates: 33°29′15″N 48°21′22″E
Country	Iran
Province	Lorestan
County	Khorramabad
District	Central
Government
• Mayor	Daryush Barani Beyranvand
Elevation	1,147 m (3,763 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Total	373,416
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Climate	Csa
Website	www.Khorramabad.ir

Khorramabad (Persian: خرم‌آباد; [xorræmɒːˈbɒːd] ^ⓘ; Northern Luri: خۉرمۊه, Northern Luri pronunciation: [xoɾˈmʉ.æ]) is a city in the Central District of Khorramabad County, Lorestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Situated in a scenic valley surrounded by mountains, the city lies approximately 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) east of the Iraqi border.

Etymology

The name Khorramabad (Persian: خرم‌آباد) is a classical Persian compound composed of khorram (خرم, "flourishing" or "pleasant") and the suffix -ābād (ـآباد, "cultivated settlement"), translating to "Pleasant Abode" or "Flourishing City."

The native Northern Luri name for the city, Khormuah (Northern Luri: خۉرمۊه), and its Laki variant, Khormāwe (Laki: خۆڕماوە), are regional phonetic adaptations of the formal Persian name Khorramabad. These localized toponyms developed through standard Western Iranian sound shifts, specifically the lenition (softening) of the intervocalic plosive /b/ into the semivowel /w/, alongside the apocope (dropping) of the final dental stop /d/. While the Laki form retains the distinct medial syllable, the Northern Luri variant exhibits further vowel rounding and contraction, fusing the elements into the localized locative ending -muah (ـمۊه).

A popular modern folk etymology, primarily found in regional journalism, instead interprets the native name as a compound of xor (خور, "sun") and muah (مۊه, "to set" or "to become"), poetically rendering it as "the place where the sun sets" due to the city's deep valley landscape.

History

Prehistoric sites

The Khorramabad Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains evidences from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic periods with remains of Mousterian and Baradostian cultures. Systematic excavations in the valley, notably led by Frank Hole, identified key cave sites such as Yafteh, Kunji, and Gar Arjeneh. These locations yielded distinct Upper Paleolithic Baradostian blade industries with radiocarbon dates ranging between 32,000 and 38,000 years ago, serving as primary material for studying the regional transition from Neanderthals to anatomically modern humans.

Antiquity and Elamite period

During the Neo-Elamite period, the geographic area of modern Khorramabad is widely identified by historians and archaeologists as the location of the ancient city of Khaydalu (also spelled Khaidalu or Haydalu). The settlement functioned as a vital strategic highland fortress defending the northern approaches of the Elamite kingdom. It was eventually captured and plundered by the Assyrian monarch Ashurbanipal during his devastating military campaigns against Elam between 647 and 646 BCE.

Sasanian period

The formal urban planning and foundation of the city occurred under the Sasanian Empire, when it was established under the name Shapurkhwast, meaning "Shapur's Desire." Founded or significantly fortified by Shapur I (or expanded later by Shapur II), the city served as a major military and commercial junction within the Jibal province. During this era, Sasanian engineers laid the stone and brick foundations of the central citadel—which would later become known as Falak-ol-Aflak Castle—on a large rocky outcrop. The fortress was engineered as an unassailable stronghold, featuring thick defensive ramparts and a 50-meter-deep water well carved directly into the solid bedrock to survive prolonged sieges. To support this vital military hub and secure regional trade routes, builders also constructed the monumental Shapuri Bridge south of the fortress to span the valley floor and withstand seasonal flooding across the Khorram-Rud River.

Hazaraspids

The founder of the Hazaraspid dynasty was Abu Tahir ibn Muhammad, a descendant of the Shabankara chieftain Fadluya. Fadluya was initially a commander of the Salghurids of Fars and was appointed governor of Kuhgiluya, but eventually gained independence in Lorestan and extended his realm as far as Isfahan. Following this era, Khorramabad developed into the formal capital of the independent Atabegs of Little Lorestan (Lor-e Kuček), who ruled the region from 1184 to 1596. The town suffered almost total destruction during successive Mongol and Timurid invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries, which forced the surviving local population to relocate and permanently consolidate the urban center at the immediate base of the valley's central monolithic fortress rock.

Safavid era

During the Safavid era, Khorramabad was the administrative center of the velayat (semi-autonomous province) of Lorestan. This permanent integration into the centralized imperial state occurred in 1006 AH (1597–1598 CE) when Shah Abbas I executed Shahverdi Khan, the final independent ruler of the Khorshidi Atabeg dynasty, subsequently replacing the local line with a centrally appointed governor (vāli). Shah Abbas appointed Huseyn Khan Solvizi (Feyli) as the first of these new hereditary viceroys, and Khorramabad functioned as the political and military seat for the Walis of Lorestan. During this campaign, Safavid forces seized the valley's central citadel—frequently referred to in historical travelogues as the Bala Hissar (present-day Falak-ol-Aflak Castle)—which featured 22.5-meter-high defensive walls, eight mighty towers, and a 50-meter-deep water well cut into the solid bedrock, having long been regarded as an impregnable obstacle to regional aggressors. Historical surveys track the ancient landscape surrounding this fortress core during the period, documenting the historic Shapuri Bridge with its twenty-eight stone arches spanning the river, as well as the remnants of a quadrangular brick tower featuring a Naskh inscription dated to 1123 CE.

In the wake of the demise of the Safavids, after the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople (1724) with Imperial Russia, the Ottoman Turks conquered Khorramabad on the 6 September 1725.

Qajar and modern eras

Following the brief Ottoman occupation, Khorramabad was recaptured and restored to Persian sovereignty under Nader Shah Afshar. By the rise of the Qajar dynasty in the late 18th century, the city solidified its role as a premier military stronghold and regional center for southwestern Iran. During the 19th century, Qajar governors heavily renovated and expanded the central fortress complex, officially renaming it Falak-ol-Aflak ("Sky of Skies"), where it functioned as a garrison and a provincial gubernatorial seat. Throughout the 20th century, the city expanded rapidly beyond its medieval footprint, modernizing its municipal infrastructure while retaining its role as the official capital of modern Lorestan Province.

Demographics

Language

The city population is predominantly Lur and the largest Luri-speaking city in the country.

The linguistic composition of the city:

Khorramabad linguistic composition (2022)

Language			percent
Luri			44%
Laki			25%
Persian			25%
Silakhori			5%
Other			1%

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 328,544 in 75,945 households. The following census in 2011 counted 348,216 people in 94,747 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 373,416 people in 109,231 households.

Geography

Khorramabad is in the Zagros Mountains. Khorramabad Airport is 3 km south of the city proper.

Climate

Khorramabad has a mild and semi-humid Mediterranean climate with high amounts of rainfall during spring and winter. It is the sixth cities in Iran having high level of annual rainfall.

Khorramabad has what is classed under the Köppen climate classification as a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) climate. Its elevation is 1147.8 above sea level. Average annual precipitation is 511.06 and its average annual temperature is 17.21 Celsius.

Highest recorded temperature: 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) on 14 August 1960 and 23 July 1961
Lowest recorded temperature: −14.6 °C (5.7 °F) on 25 January 1990.

Climate data for Khorramabad (1991–2020, extremes 1951-2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	24.0 (75.2)	26.0 (78.8)	31.0 (87.8)	37.0 (98.6)	41.0 (105.8)	45.0 (113.0)	47.0 (116.6)	47.0 (116.6)	43.0 (109.4)	37.0 (98.6)	34.0 (93.2)	25.6 (78.1)	47.0 (116.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	11.0 (51.8)	13.3 (55.9)	17.6 (63.7)	22.7 (72.9)	29.2 (84.6)	36.3 (97.3)	39.8 (103.6)	39.6 (103.3)	34.9 (94.8)	27.7 (81.9)	18.5 (65.3)	13.0 (55.4)	25.3 (77.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.5 (40.1)	6.5 (43.7)	10.4 (50.7)	15.0 (59.0)	20.7 (69.3)	26.9 (80.4)	30.4 (86.7)	29.8 (85.6)	24.8 (76.6)	18.5 (65.3)	10.8 (51.4)	6.3 (43.3)	17.1 (62.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−0.9 (30.4)	0.6 (33.1)	3.6 (38.5)	7.5 (45.5)	11.5 (52.7)	15.7 (60.3)	19.6 (67.3)	18.9 (66.0)	14.0 (57.2)	9.8 (49.6)	4.4 (39.9)	0.8 (33.4)	8.8 (47.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−14.6 (5.7)	−11.5 (11.3)	−11.0 (12.2)	−7.0 (19.4)	−1.8 (28.8)	7.0 (44.6)	9.2 (48.6)	8.0 (46.4)	4.6 (40.3)	−1.4 (29.5)	−7.8 (18.0)	−12.0 (10.4)	−14.6 (5.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	70.3 (2.77)	67.8 (2.67)	84.1 (3.31)	74.7 (2.94)	21.6 (0.85)	1.4 (0.06)	0.3 (0.01)	0.2 (0.01)	1.3 (0.05)	29.3 (1.15)	62.9 (2.48)	79.1 (3.11)	493 (19.41)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	7.4	7	7.5	7.4	3.4	0.3	0.1	0	0.2	3	6	7	49.3
Average rainy days	10.9	9.9	11.9	11.3	5.2	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.3	4.5	9.5	10.7	74.9
Average snowy days	2.6	1.5	0.7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.9	5.8
Average relative humidity (%)	68	62	56	56	43	24	21	20	23	37	60	68	44.8
Average dew point °C (°F)	−1.5 (29.3)	−1.3 (29.7)	0.5 (32.9)	4.8 (40.6)	5.1 (41.2)	2.2 (36.0)	3.4 (38.1)	2.8 (37.0)	0.3 (32.5)	1.2 (34.2)	2.0 (35.6)	0.0 (32.0)	1.6 (34.9)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	174	181	213	230	286	346	344	343	309	260	197	170	3,053
Source 1: NCEI
Source 2: (records, snow/sleet days 1955-2010)

Historical monuments

Brick Minaret of Khorramabad

Brick minaret

The Brick Minaret is a cylindrical brick tower from the Seljuk and Buyid eras located inside the ancient city of Shapur Khast, south of Khorramabad.

This minaret is a combination of the Indian Stupa, commemorative columns, and the Central Asian tradition of tower building for defensive and communication purposes.

Sahpuri Bridge

Shapuri Bridge dates back to the Sasanian era and is registered on the list of National Monuments.

Masur Tepe

Masur Tepe is a major archeological site in the south of Khorramabad, with layers extending from the Neolithic to the Islamic periods.

Attractions

Khorramabad is a major tourist destination and possesses several attractions, such as five Paleolithic cave-dwelling sites which were recognised in 2025 as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Colleges and universities

Islamic Azad University of Khorramabad

• Islamic Azad University of Khorram Abad
• Lorestan University
• Lorestan University of Medical Sciences
• Madanni Technical College

Sister cities and twin towns

Country		City	State / Province / Region / Governorate	Date
	Turkey	Afyonkarahisar	Afyonkarahisar Province	2015
	Japan	Yamagata	Yamagata Prefecture	October 2013	December 2020

Photo gallery

• 
  Nojian oak forest, Khorramabad County
• 
  Makhmalkuh Khorramabad County
• 
  Shapur Khast castle
• 
  Keeyow Lake, Khorramabad
• 
  Sarbaz khaneh building
• 
  Building in Khorramabad
• 
  Bisheh waterfall, Khorramabad County
• 
  Khorramabad

See also

• List of World Heritage Sites in Iran
• Khaydalu

Media related to Khorramabad at Wikimedia Commons

Iran portal

External links

• Khorramabad municipality Archived 2015-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Khorremabad" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 780.