Shahre Ray, Shahr-e Ray, Shahre Rey, or Shahr-e Rey (, ) or simply Ray or Rey (), is the capital of Rey County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of municipal Tehran, the capital city of the country.
Historically known as Rhages (), Rhagae, and Arsacia, Ray is the oldest existing city in Tehran Province. In the classical era, it was a prominent city belonging to Media, the political and cultural base of the Medes. Ancient Persian inscriptions and the Avesta (Zoroastrian scriptures), among other sources, attest to the importance of ancient Ray. Ray is mentioned several times in the Apocrypha. It is also shown on the fourth-century Peutinger Map. The city was subject to severe destruction during the medieval invasions by the Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. Its position as a capital city was revived during the reigns of the Buyid Daylamites and the Seljuk Turks. Ray is richer than many other ancient cities in the number of its historical monuments. The Neolithic site of Cheshme-Ali, the reconstructed Median-era Rey Castle, the Parthian-era Rashkan Castle, the Sasanian-era Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Bahram, and the once Zoroastrian and now Islamic Shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu are among the many archaeological sites in Ray.
Ray has been home to many historical figures, including royalty, merchants, scholars and poets. The medieval Persian scholar Rhazes, one of the most important figures in medical science, was from Ray. One of the etymologies proposed for the name of the Radhanites—a group of merchants, some of Jewish origin, who kept open the Eurasian trade routes in the early Middle Ages—links them to Ray.
Ray today has many industries and factories in operation. It is connected via the rapid transit system of Tehran Metro to the rest of Greater Tehran.
Geography
Mountain ranges
Ray County is located in the plain and its mountains are not very tall. These mountains are:
1. Bibi Sharbanu (): Bibi Sharbanu Mountains are located in the east of Ray City, measuring 1535 meters above sea level.
2. Arad mauntain (): located in the center of Ray County, on the border between Kahrizak and Fashapoye parts, its height is 1428 meters. This range also appears in a map dated to 1307 AH, during the era of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, drawn by two Iranian engineers of the time. In the book Detailed Geography of Iran, Mount Arad is mentioned with the name of mountains Hasanabad and Kanargard ().
3. Mar_e (mære): located in the southwest of Ray City and in the south of the cities of Hassanabad and Rudshur. Its height is 1503 meters.
4. Kūh-e Qarah Bologh (): This mountain is located at the intersection of four cities, Zarandiyeh, Saveh, Ray and Qom.
Rivers
1. Karaj River: The Karaj River originates from Mount Alborz and flows into the Salt Lake after passing through several cities in Tehran Province. This river runs in a northwest-southeast direction throughout Ray City and after joining one of the branches of Jajroud flows into the salt lake. It is the second largest river after Zayandarud in the central plateau region.
2. Jajrud river: Jajroud river is one of the permanent and important rivers of Tehran province, which flows along the southern direction and finally into the salt lake. A branch of this river passes through the eastern border of Ray City.
3. Shur Fashapoye River: The Shore River originates from Zanjan province and after passing through Qazvin province, the southwest of Tehran province and Zarandieh city, it reaches Ray City. This river crosses the width of Ray city in a northwest-southeast direction. The river is permanent and is 420 kilometers long.
Vegetation
The climate of the city is semi-desert and it does not have natural forest, and its hand-planted forest is 387 hectares. But in terms of pasture, it is relatively rich and has 166,200 hectares of pasture.
Name
Shahr-e Rey (, ) is Persian for "City of Ray". Ray or () derives from Old Persian (), related to Persian (red). It is recorded in Ancient Greek as () and () and in Latin as and . It was once renamed () under the Seleucid Empire.
The name is spelled in various forms, including Ray, Rey, Rayy and Rhay. Encyclopædia Iranica uses Ray.
In the past, the people of Ray were called "Razi".