Hamadan (the ancient Ecbatana of Median and Achaemenid Persia) is a major city in northwestern Iran and serves as the regional trade hub for rugs woven across more than 100 surrounding villages. As a result, "Hamadan" is one of the broadest and loosest labels in the entire Persian rug trade — it can refer to weaving from any of dozens of villages with widely varying quality and style.
Characteristics of typical Hamadan-region rugs:
- Single-wefted construction — one weft thread between each row of knots; this is the defining technical feature of Hamadan-region weaving
- All-wool or wool-on-cotton construction
- Symmetric (Turkish) knot — atypical for Persian weaving generally, but characteristic of the Hamadan region's Kurdish and Turkic influence
- Moderate knot density (typically 50–120 KPSI for village production)
- Wide design vocabulary — Herati (Mahi), all-over boteh, medallion-and-corners, geometric tribal motifs
- Smaller average sizes — Hamadan production includes many runners, scatter rugs, and small area pieces
Notable Hamadan-area weaving villages, each producing distinctive styles:
- Bibikabad — long-format, medallion-and-corners
- Borchalu — geometric Kurdish-influenced patterns
- Nahavand — south of Hamadan, finer weaving with Persian floral designs
- Tuiserkan — geometric medallions
- Hosseinabad — village rugs with traditional patterns
- Mehraban — fine village production
- Mazlaghan — long-format rugs with large medallion designs
- Saveh — geometric tribal weavings
- Garahgozloo — Kurdish tribal pieces
For buyers, the practical reality is that "Hamadan" rugs cover an enormous quality range. A village rug from Mehraban or Bibikabad can be a fine piece worth significant money; a more typical Hamadan from a less-known village may be a serviceable but ordinary rug. Specific village attribution makes a meaningful difference in value and is worth asking about.