The oldest surviving rug is the Altai or Pazyryk rug. It was found in a mountainous region of Siberia, in the grave of a Scythian prince who died five hundred years before the birth of Christ. Grave robbers soon disturbed the grave but chose not to take his rug, leaving the entrance to the burial chamber open, the next heavy rains flooded the grave which soon turned to ice. The rug was found by the Russian archaeologist S.I.Rudenko, who was exploring the region in 1947-1949. The Altai rug is also known as the Pazyryk rug, as that is the name of the valley in which it was discovered. It is now on view in the Hermitage Museum St Petersburg.

Probably the worlds most famous Persian carpet is known as the Ardabil carpet. One of a pair of Persian carpets purchased in 1890 by a British carpet broker from the shrine of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Ardabil Iran. Due to their poor condition parts of one carpet was used to patch up the best of the pair. In 1893 the Ardabil carpet was purchased by the Victoria & Albert museum London.

The Ziegler company was founded in the late nineteenth century in Manchester England. It began the manufacture of rugs and carpets in the Persian city's of Tabriz and Sultanabad. These rugs and carpets were sold as Ziegler's and woven deliberately for the western market. Original antique Ziegler rugs and carpets are highly prized by interior designers and can achieve very large prices if in good condition. The modern Ziegler is a very different article being produced on the boarder between Afghanistan and Pakistan. These rugs and carpets are woven in very soft colours and try to replicate the designs of the antique Ziegler's. Also known in the trade as Chobi the production is plentiful and relatively good value.

Despite the city of Kerman being located in one of the poorest provinces of Iran, it has been producing fine Persian rugs and carpets since the sixteenth century. Shah Abbas chose Kerman to establish one of his elite royal weaving houses probably because of its existing tradition of excellent Persian rug production. To the north of Kerman is the village of Ravar (Laver), this small village has a history of Persian rug weaving at least as long as Kerman, and Persian rugs and carpets from Laver are renowned for their soft colours, and in today's market old Kerman Laver's are highly desired amongst Persian rug and carpet dealers.

Rugs and carpets produced in Afghanistan can be separated into two main groups. Firstly the Turkoman rugs and carpets which are manufactured by the Turkoman tribes who migrated into what became Afghanistan in the seventeenth century. Secondly the modern Afghan rug and carpet group which use traditional designs from tribes such as the Tekke, Beshir, Yomut, Salor, Ersari, and Saryk. these weavers are not Turkoman  but Afghans who have learnt the skills from the Turkoman tribes. New production Afghan rugs and carpets can be quite fine and are known within the trade as Khanmohamadi and Kunduz.

The Persian town of Heriz is located in North West Iran. Famous for its tough hard wearing rugs and carpets with characteristic geometric designs. The modern production of Heriz rugs and carpets is plentiful and good value, but enter into the world of antique Persian Heriz rugs and carpets and a very large price would needed to acquire a fine example in good condition. Other nearby villages that also manufacture rugs and carpets similar to Heriz are Ahar, Sarab, Bakhshaish and Gorevan.

The town of Bidjar is located in Persian Kurdistan, North West Iran. Rugs and carpets from this area are reputed to be the hardest wearing of all the Persian rugs and carpets produced today. They can be so heavy and compact that it can be impossible to fold them. This is due to the knotting technique, one of the two warps surrounded by each knot is directly under the other and the weft is beaten down to produce a very robust structure. Modern Persian Bidjar rugs and carpets are usually found with the Herati design which is also used in the rugs and carpets produced in the Persian city of Tabriz.

Rugs and carpets have been produced in the city of Agra since the early 16th century. Agra was the Mughal capital from 1566 to 1569 and again from 1601 to 1658. Many fabulous rugs and carpets were made during the Mughal Empire and can still be seen in the great museums through out the world. The rugs and carpets manufactured in Agra today are still a great product, being hard wearing and available in very large sizes. Most tourists who venture to the city of Agra will visit the world famous Taj Mahal mausoleum which is still a sight to behold.

The Persian town of Nain located 100 miles north east of Isfahan has only been producing rugs and carpets since the 1930s, despite this short history the weavers of Nain are among the best in the world, and are now famous for producing rugs and carpets with traditional cream or white grounds with intricate blue design which is often inlaid with silk.

Meshed is the capital city of the Iran's largest province Khorasan (land of the rising sun). It has been the third holiest Shia Muslim site since 818AD when Ali ar-Rida was interred near the tomb of Harun-ar-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid caliph (AD 786-809). The rugs and carpets of Meshed are finely woven, with a distinctive burgundy red colouration. Other well known rug producing villages with in the Khorasan province are Asghand, Birjand, Dorosch, Kashmar and Moud.