Tehran is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in Western Asia. Tehran is famous for its numerous ski resorts on the Alborz slopes, large museums, art centers, and palace complexes.

Tehran is the largest city in the Middle East and is the second most populated city in South Western Asia with a population of 7,088,287 and approximately 13.4 million in Greater Tehran. Most Iranian industries are headquartered in Tehran. The industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electrical equipment, military weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products.

It is also a leading center for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is also an oil refinery located in south of the city. In the 20th century, Tehran faced a large migration of people from all around Iran.

Today, the city contains various religious minorities, and has many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples. The origin of the name Tehran is unknown. Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BC.[citation needed] Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rhages (Ray) which was flourishing nearby in the early era.

In the 13th century, following the destruction of Ray by Mongols, many of its inhabitants escaped to Tehran. In some sources of the early era, the city is mentioned as "Rhages's Tehran" . The city is later mentioned in Hamdollah Mostowfi's Nuz'hat al-Qulub (written in 1340) as a famous village.

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