A settlement began here c 6,000 BCE as part
of the Central Plateau Culture. The settlement was used as a capital by the
Medes called Rhaga. In Classical Roman geography it was called Rhagae. It is
mentioned several times in the Apocrypha. Its name dates back to the pre-Median.
Some historians attribute its building to ancient mythological monarchs, and
some others believe that Ray was the seat of a dynasty of Zoroastrian leader.
