Tafresh (, Tafreš) is a city and the capital of Tafresh County, in Markazi Province, Iran. As of the 2011 census, its population was 25,912 (including 12,884 men and 13,028 women). Tafresh is located amidst high mountains southwest of Tehran. The flight distance between Tehran and Tafresh is 170 km towards southwest. The average altitude of Tafresh is 1912 meters above sea level, with a continental and semi-arid climate with an annual rainfall of 270 mm. Despite its small size Tafresh is known in Iran for being the cradle of science, literature, culture and art, as well as a land of mountains and plains, springs and waterfalls. History Tafresh is believed to be one of the oldest regions in the present Markazi province and constituted a Zoroastrian stronghold in antiquity. A famous general by the name Delaram of Tafresh fought in the defense of Sasanian Iran during the Islamic conquest and has given name to the village Delaram nearby Tafresh. Today the village is also called Teraran. There are fifty historical monuments in Tafresh that have been listed as part of Iranian national heritage. These include ruins of Zoroastrian places of worship and burial sites (so-called dakhmas) in and around the town, particularly on the summits of the surrounding mountains and hills. There are also remains of Zoroastrian dakhmas in nearby villages, such as in Kaburan and Khalchal. Tafresh appears in the Nuzhat al-Qulub of the 14th-century author Hamdallah Mustawfi, who reported that the town encompassed of 13 villages, the largest ones being Fam and Tarkhuran. He further reported that the town was assessed for a tax value of 6000 dinars, and the inhabitants were adherants of Twelver Shi'ism. Learning and culture Tafresh has provided Iran with many notable figures such as poets, ministers, statesmen, scientists and calligraphers, especially from Qajar times and onwards. The Qajar statesmen Amir Kabir and Ghasem Magham Farahani hailed from the Tafresh Province. The strong tradition of learning reassured the early establishment of Modern Schools in the early 20th century. Famous scientists from Tafresh include Mahmoud Hessaby, the father of modern physics in Iran, Ahmad Parsa, the father of Iranian botanics, Abbas Sahab, the father of cartography in Iran, Mohammad Gharib, the father of pediatrics in Iran, and Abdolkarim Gharib, the father of modern geology in Iran. For this reason Tafresh has received the nickname "City of Iran's Fathers" (Shahr-e pedarān-e Irān). The city has