Dinavar

Dinavar (also spelled Dinawar and Daynavar; ) was a major town between the 7th and 10th centuries, located to the northeast of Kermanshah in western Iran. The ruins of the town is now located near Shir Khan, in Dinavar District, Sahneh County, Kermanshah Province.

== History == Located in the centre of the ancient region of Media, Dinavar is first attested in history as a town founded by the Greek Seleucid Empire (312 BC–63 BC), but it may have been older. Like the neighbouring town of Kangavar, Dinavar also hosted a Greek population. Under the Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651), Dinavar served as an important fortified place, and was reportedly attacked by the Khazars in the early 6th-century. In 642, following the defeat of the Sasanians against the Arabs at the Battle of Nahavand, Dinavar was conquered. During the reign of the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (), the town was renamed Mah al-Kufa and made one of the two districts of Jibal (Media). Dinavar consisted of the northern areas, whilst Karmisin (Kermanshah) consisted of the southern areas. Dinavar bordered Hulwan in the west; Masabadhan in the south; Hamadan in the east; and Adharbayjan in the north. The "Mah" in the Mah al-Kufa probably refers to Media.