Qazvin

Qazvin (also Ghazvin, Persian: قزوین, historically also rendered as Kazvin, Kasvin, Casbeen, and Casbin in the West) is a city in Iran, some 165 km northwest of Tehran, in Qazvin Province. It is at an altitude of about 1800 meters above sea level, and is a city with a cool but dry climate being south of the rugged Alborz range.
The city was the location of a former capital of the Persian Empire and contains over 2000 architectural and archeological sites. It is a provincial capital today that has been an important cultural center throughout history.
Archeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. The name “Qazvin” or “Kasbin” is derived from Cas, an ancient tribe which lived south of the Caspian Sea a thousand years ago. The Caspian Sea itself in fact derives its name from the same origin. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages.