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According to historical sources, Markazi Province was a part of Median Empire in the first millennium B.C. which included all central and western parts of Iran. It was one of the ancient human settlements in the Iran plateau. In Seleucidian era, this area, especially the northern part (Khorheh village), was paid due attention to by the Greek rulers. During the reign of Khosrow Parviz the Sassanid ruler, Iran was divided into four parts: north, east, south, and west. The central province was located in the west. In the early centuries of the Islamic era the name of this area was changed to Jebal or Qahestan province. In the 2nd century A.H., this area along with Hamedan, Ray, and Esfahan was named Iraq-e-Ajam. In the early 4th century A.H., Khorheh became one of the famous cities of Jabal province. Late in this century, Tafresh was one of the famous urban centers, and Khorheh and Khomein ranked as the next famous urban areas. The mentioned cities were active and flourishing in the Safavid period. During the Qajar dynasty the central part of Arak began flourishing. During the recent decades, the expansion of the railroad and the setting up of several major factories and huge industrial units, this area developed considerably. Due to the new divisions of the country and the formation of the Province of Tehran, this province was formed and Arak is its capital. From the cultural and religious point of view this province is one of the major centers for training scholars, scientists, poets, politicians, and Gnostics. To be more specific, Fakhr-Adin Araqi, Mamalek, Farahani, Mirza Abulqasem Qaem Maqam, Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani, Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir, Qaem Maqam Farahani, Professor Mahmoud Hessabi, Imam Khomeini, Ayatollah Araki, Ayatollah Nooredin Hosseini, Molla Ahmad Naraqi and Molla Mehdi Naraqi, can be named. |
