Ray, in modern Iran, was known in antiquity as Rhagae and stood on routes linked to the Silk Road.
Ray developed near present-day Tehran, south of the Alborz Mountains. Its location connected the Iranian plateau with Central Asian routes, Mesopotamia, and northern regions around the Caspian Sea.
The city appears in ancient Greek and Roman sources as Rhagae or Rhages. It later flourished under Islamic rule and was associated with trade, administration, scholarship, and crafts. Its position made it an important stop even though it was not the only major Iranian city on east-west routes.
Ray is sometimes confused with nearby Tehran, which became Iran’s capital much later. Ray is the older settlement; Tehran grew into the dominant modern metropolis while incorporating the historic region around it.