Khomeyni Shahr (Persian: خمینی شهر, also Romanized as Khomeynī Shahr and Khomeynīshahr; from the 1930s until 1979, known as Homāyūnshahr (Persian: همایونشهر) and Homayoon Shahr; known as Sedeh - (Persian: سده) prior to the 1930s) is a city in and the capital of Khomeyni Shahr County, Isfahan Province, Iran.
At the 2006 census, its population was 218,737, in 57,551 families.
Khomeyni Shahr is now part of the Isfahan Metropolitan area.
The town was originally known as Sedeh.
In the 1930s, the name was changed to Homayunshahr. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the city was renamed again to Khomeyni Shahr (meaning "City of Khomeyni"), in honor of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Locals have continued to refer to the city as Sedeh.
It is commonly believed that the original name, Sedeh (Persian: سده), is derived from Seh-degh, meaning "three castles" in Persian, ("degh" (دژ) means "castle"), and is linked to the formation of the town by the growth of three neighbouring castles.
The three main castles of Kohan Degh, Gar Degh, and .... Degh (locally pronounced kohan degh, gar dar and ...).
It is commonly believed that Seh-degh was a Sassanian military base and an old fireplace (atash gah) based on top of the mountain near the town.
The three main villages of Khouzan (locally pronounced Khizoon), Foroushan (the origin of Foroushan was Parishan (pari (angel) + voshan (face))), and Varnosfaderan (Venesfohoon) remain identifiable parts of the city.
However, there are in fact five former villages forming identifiable parts of the town. This has led to the argument that the name may be linked to the ancient Persian festival of Sadeh.
Reference: www.wikipedia.org
