Mazandaran province (pronunciationⓘ, Persian: استان مازندران, romanized: Ostân-e Mâzandarân; Mazanderani: مازِرون اوستان, romanized: Mâzerun Ustâne) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range, in central-northern part of the country.[6] The province, founded in 1937, covers an area of 23,842 km2.[7][8]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province had a population of 2,893,087 in 783,169 households.[9] The following census in 2011 counted 3,073,943 people in 931,007 households.[10] At the most recent census in 2016, the population had risen to 3,283,582 in 1,084,798 households.[3] Mazandaran is one of the most densely populated provinces in Iran.[11]
The province has diverse natural resources, notably large reservoirs of oil and natural gas.[12] The diverse natural habitats of the province include plains, prairies, forests and rainforest[13] stretching from the sandy beaches of the Caspian Sea to the rugged and snowcapped Alborz sierra,[14] including Mount Damavand, one of the highest peaks and volcanoes in Asia.[15]
Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish,[16] and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture.[17] Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.[18] Mazandaran is also a fast-growing centre for biotechnology.[12]
Literally "the gate or the valley of the giants" from مازن (mâzan) + در (dar) + ـان (ân), from Avesta (Avestan: 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬀, romanized: mazainiia, lit. 'giant'). The name has been used in Shahnameh to refer to a land inhabited by divs or (daevas) and sorcerers and is difficult to conquer.
In Mazandaran, there are places named Div Asiyab, Div Cheshmeh, Div Kela, Div Hamam, etc.
History
Sasanian silver-gilt plate with scene of musicians playing. Seventh century.
Human habitation in the area dates back at least 75,000 years.[19] Recent excavations in Gohar Tape in Rostamkola provide proof that the area has been urbanized for more than 5,000 years, and the area is considered one of the most important historical sites of Iran.[20] It has played an important role in cultural and urban development of the region.[21] Mazandaran is one of the oldest areas without a significant nomadic heritage, thus culturally sedentary.
In the early 20th century, Reza Shah connected northern Elbourz to the southern slopes by constructing seven new roads and railways, the provinces of Mazandaran and Gilan became known as Shomal by all Iranians (meaning "the North" in Persian). Mazandaran is a Caspianprovince in the north of Iran.[23] Located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, it is bordered clockwise by Russia (across the sea), Golestan, Semnan, Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, and Gilan provinces. Sari is the largest city and the capital of Mazandaran province.
Mazandaran province was made part of the Region 1 upon the division of the provinces into five regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014.[1]
Map of the Median Empire (600 BCE) showing the relative locations of the Amardian tribe
Before the arrival of the Iranian-speakers to Iran, native people of this area were subsistence hunters and cattle herders. Archaeological studies in caves belt and Hutu man in Behshahr in the Mazandaran date to ca. 9500 BCE. The Amard were a tribe living along the mountainous region bordering the Caspian Sea, including current day Amol. Tapuri[24] were a tribe in the Medes south of the Caspian Sea mentioned by Ptolemy and Arrian.[25]Ctesias refers to the land of Tapuri between the two lands of Cadusii and Hyrcania.[26]
Hyrcanian Golden Cup, dating from the 9th century BCE). It was excavated at Kalardasht in Mazandaran
The territory known as Mazandaran has changed hands among various dynasties from early in its history. There are several fortresses remaining from the Parthian Empire and Sasanian Empire, and many older cemeteries scattered throughout the province. During this era, Mazandaran was part of Hyrcania, which was one of the important provinces.
In 662 CE, ten years after the death of Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian emperor, a large Muslim army under the command of Hassan ibn Ali invaded Tabarestan.
With the advent of the Sasanian Empire, the King of Mazandaran (Tabaristan and Padashkhwargar) was Gushnasp,[27] whose ancestors had reigned in the area (under the Parthian empire) since the time of Alexander the Great. In 529–536, Mazandaran was ruled by the Sasanian prince Kawus, son of Kawadh.[27]Anushirawan, the Sasanian king, defeated Zarmihr, who claimed his ancestry from the legendary blacksmith Kaveh.[27] This dynasty ruled the area till 645 AD, when Gil Gilanshah (a descendant of the Sasanian king Jamasp and a grandson of Piruz) joined Mazandaran to Gilan.[27]
In 651 the Sasanid Empire fell, and all of the Sasanid domains gradually came under Arab control, except for the Caspian region of Iran (among which Tabaristan).
Islamic history
Tabaristan maintained an existence independent of the Umayyad Caliphate which supplanted the Sasanian Empire in the early seventh century, with independent Zoroastrian houses like the Bavand and Karen fighting an effective guerilla warfare against the Ummayads. A short-lived AlidShiite state collapsed before the subsequent take-over by the Ziyarid princes. During the post-Islamic period the local dynasties fell into three classes: local families of pre-Islamic origin; the ʿAlid sayyid; and local families of secondary importance.[27]
Gohar Tape Archaeological site
The Karinids claimed descent from Karin, brother of Zarmihr who was the pre-Islamic ruler under the Sasanians.[27] Their last representative Mazyar was put to death in 839.[27]
In the 9th-11th century AD, there were repetitively military raids undertaken by the Rus' between 864 and 1041 on the Caspian Sea shores of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan as part of the Caspian expeditions of the Rus'.[28] Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the 9th century traveling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves. The first small-scale raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged the westernmost parts of Gorgan as well as Mazandaran and Gilan, taking slaves and goods.
Map of the Mazandaran Alavid emirate (864-929 AD).
The Bavandids, who claimed descent from Kawus, provided three dynasties.[27] The first dynasty (665–1007) was overthrown on the conquest of Tabaristan by the Ziyarid Kabus b. Wushmgir.[27] The second dynasty reigned from 1073 to 1210, when Mazandaran was conquered by 'Ala al-Din Muhammad Khwarzamshah.[27] The third ruled from 1237 to 1349 as vassals of the Mongols.[27] The last representative of the Bavandids was killed by Afrasiyab Chulawi.[27]
The Paduspanids claimed descent from the Dabuyids of the north.[27] They came to prominence around 660 and during the rule of the ʿAlids were their vassals. Later, they were vassals of the Buyids and Bavandids, who deposed them in 1190.[27] The dynasty, restored in 1209–10, survived until the time of Timur; the branch, claiming descent from Kawus the son of Kayumarth reigned until 1567 and the other, that of Iskandar the son of Kayumarth, until 1574.[27]
In the Safavid era (1501–1736) Mazandaran was settled by very large numbers of Georgians, Circassians, Armenians, and other Peoples of the Caucasus, whose descendants still live or linger across Mazandaran. Towns, villages and neighbourhoods in Mazandaran still bear the name "Gorji" (i.e., Georgian) in them, although most of the large amounts of Georgians, Armenians, and Circassians are already assimilated into the mainstream Mazandaranis. The history of Georgian settlement is described by Iskandar Beg Munshi, the author of the 17th century Tarikh-e Alam-Ara-ye Abbasi, and both the Circassian and Georgian settlements by Pietro Della Valle, among other authors.[29]
Tabaristan remained independent until 1596, when Shah Abbas I, Mazandarani on his mother's side, incorporated Mazandaran into his Safavid empire, forcing many ArmeniansCircassians, Georgians, to settle in Mazandaran. Pietro della Valle (1586–1652), who visited a town near Firuzkuh in Mazandaran, noted that Mazandarani women never wore the veil and didn't hesitate to talk to foreigners. He also noted the extremely large amount of Circassians and Georgians in the region, and that he had never encountered people with as much civility as the Mazandaranis.
Today, Persia proper, Fars, Mazanderan on the Caspian Sea and many other lands of this empire are all full of Georgian and Circassian inhabitants. Most of them remain Christian to this day, but in a very crude manner, since they have neither priest nor minister to tend them.
After the Safavid period, the Qajars began to campaign south from Mazandaran with Agha Mohammad Khan who already incorporated Mazandaran into his empire in 1782. On 21 March 1782, Agha Mohammad Shah proclaimed Sari as his imperial capital. Mazandaran was the site of local wars in those years, which led to the transfer of the capital from Sari to Tehran by Fath Ali Shah. In Modern era at Mazandaran make new house and bridge in Amol and Sari. In along the beach and in the forest built Villa and modern settlements.
In the 19th century, during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, the verdant region of Mazandaran was paid due attention as a recreational area.
The top provincial official referred to the existence of three international airports and three major sea ports in the province and the visit of millions of Iranian and foreign tourists to Mazandaran, including health tourists.
Mazandaran is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. It is bordered clockwise by Golestan, Semnan and Tehran provinces.[30] This province also borders Qazvin and Gilan to the west.
Mazandaran province is geographically divided into two parts: the coastal plains, and the mountainous areas. The Alborz Mountain Range surrounds the coastal strip and the plains abutting the Caspian Sea like a huge wall. Due to the prevailing sea breeze and local winds of the southern and eastern coasts of the Caspian Sea, sandy hills are formed, causing the appearance of a low natural barrier between the sea and plain.
There is often snowfall in the Alborz regions, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea's southern coast, dividing the province into many isolated valleys. The province enjoys a moderate, subtropical climate with an average temperature of 25 °C in summer and about 8 °C in winter. Although snow may fall heavily in the mountains in winter, it rarely falls at sea level.
The total wood production from these forests is estimated at 269,022 cubic metres (9,500,400 cu ft). Golestan National Park and Shastkolateh forest watershed are located in Golestan province and Mazandaran province (the total area of the Hyrcanian forest is estimated at 965,000 ha (2,380,000 acres). From these forests, 487,195 ha (1,203,890 acres) are used commercially, 184,000 ha (450,000 acres) are protected and the rest are regarded as forest lands or over-used forests. The total of the forest woods used in this province is estimated at 770,551 cubic metres (27,211,800 cu ft). The Kojoor, Dohezar and Sehezar forest watersheds are located in Mazandaran province.
The Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of the Caspian Sea, stretching across northern Iran from the Azerbaijan border to near the Turkmenistan border. It covers 63,300 square kilometres (24,400 sq mi) and encompasses the southern and eastern slopes of the Alborz Mountains as well as their summits. The Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion, with its lush green mountainsides and plains that receive moisture from the Caspian Sea, forms this ecoregion's northern border. The vast Central Persian desert basin ecoregion forms its southern border. The Alborz range is composed of a granite core overlain with sedimentary rock including limestones, shales, sandstones, and tuffs. Metamorphic rocks such as schists, marbles, and amphibolite are also widely found.[31] The climate is arid with annual precipitation varying from 150 mm to 500 mm, falling mostly as winter snow.
Unlike the rest of Iran, Mazandaran is watered by numerous rivers, or mountain torrents, all running from the mountains to the sea. The German traveller Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin, who visited this country in 1771, says that in the space of eight miles, on the road from Resht to Amot, 250 of such streams are to be seen, many of them being so exceedingly broad and deep, that the passage across is sometimes impracticable for weeks together.
Climate
Central Alborz mountain range in Mazandaran province
Mazandaran province naturally comes under the influence of the geographical latitude, the Alborz mountain range, elevation from sea level, distance from the sea, and the southern barren areas of Turkmenistan, local and regional air currents, and versatile vegetation cover. These conditions result in the climatic division of the province into three types:[32]
Moderate Caspian climate with hot, humid summers and mild, humid winters.
This climate is found in the western and central plains of the province between the Caspian sea and the foothills the Alborz mountains. Rainfall is significant in this climate zone and is highest in autumn. the annual accumulation decreases from west to east. Frost occasionally occurs during winters.
moderate mountainous climate generally in the altitude between 1,500 to 3,000 metres (4,900 to 9,800 ft) meters and is characterized by a decrease in both precipitation and monthly temperatures. winters are long, cold and freezing and summers are mild and short.
Cold mountainous climate with long freezing winters with long periods of frost and short cool summers. There is often snowfall during most of the seasons in the latter region, which continues till mid-summer. The climate is mainly found at an altitude above 3,000 m (9,800 ft), such as the top of Mount Damavand and Alam-Kuh, where the conditions are suitable for mountain glacier
The population of the province has been steadily growing during the last 50 years. The following table shows the approximate province population, excluding the Golestan province, which has separated as an independent province in 1998.
Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni. Their origin goes back to Tapuri people. So their land was called Tapuria, the land of Tapuris. Tapuris were made to migrate to the south coast of the Caspian Sea during the Achaemenid dynasty.[25][35][36]
The eastern Gīlakī dialect is spoken in the entire valley of the Čālūs river, though Kurdish tribes were established in the yeylāq of Kojūr and Kalārdašt in the Qajar period.[39] Today Kurds in Mazandaran are mostly known as Khajevand Kurds and form majority of the cities of Kelardasht, Abbasabad, Nowshahr, Chalus and Kajur. Other Kurdish tribes in Mazandaran province are Modanlu (In Sari), Jahanbeiglou (In Sari), Abdolmaleki (In Behshahr), Jalalvand (In Ramsar) and Amarlu (In Tonekabon).[33]
Mazanderani or Tabari is a Northwestern Iranian language. Various Mazandarani dialects exist which are spoken in Mazandaran province and the neighboring Golestan province such as Mazanderani, and Gorgani and possibly Qadikolahi (Ghadikolahi) and Palani. Today, Mazandaranis also use Persian (Western Persian).[4] The educated can communicate and read Persian well.[43]
Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni. Their origin goes back to Tapuri people. So their land was called Tapuria, the land of Tapuris. Tapuris were made to migrate to the south coast of the Caspian Sea during the Achaemenid dynasty.[25][35][36]
The people residing in Chalus speak Mazanderani language. The dialect of Kalarestaqi[44] is spoken in the west of Chalus and the dialect of Kojuri[45] in the east.
The closely related Gilaks form the largest minority in Mazandaran. They speak the Gilaki language and are concentrated in Ramsar,[40][41] and Tonekabon.[42] The native people in Ramsar are Gilaks although there are also Mazandarani people living there. They speak the Gilaki language although the style they speak has been influenced by the Mazandarani language, making it slightly different from the Gilaki spoken in Gilan.
The eastern Gīlakī dialect is spoken in the entire valley of the Čālūs river (Bazin and Bromberger, p. 13), though some Kurdish tribes were established in the yeylāq of Kojūr and Kalārdašt in the Qajar period (Planhol, p. 38).[39]
Mazandaran is served by the North Railway Dept. of the Iranian Railways. The department connects the province to Tehran to the south and Gorgan to the east. The cities of Sari, Qaemshahr, and Pol-e Sefid are major stations of the department.
The Trans-Iranian Railway was a major railway building project started in 1927 and completed in 1938, under the direction of the Iranian monarch, Reza Shah, and entirely with indigenous capital. It links the capital Tehran with the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea.
In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:
بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت
از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد
In the second section, a region called Mazandaran is mentioned in the Kai Kavoos era; it is an area which is mostly inhabited by Div (demons). The legendary Iranian Shah Kaykavoos, as well as the Iranian hero Rostam, each take turn to go to Mazandaran in order to battle the demons.
In a verse from Shahnameh, Zal tells Kai Kavoos: "I heard troubling news that the king is planning to go to Mazandaran".
However, this Mazandaran is not considered identical to the modern province of Mazandaran, and is instead a land to the west of Iran. The current province was simply considered a part of Tabaristan; the name Mazandaran is a later development, perhaps based upon local terminology.[49]
In Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, one of the characters was formerly the daroga (chief of police) of Mazanderan.
Nowruz
The Tabarian New Year, or Neowrez, occurs in the pintek days of the Tabarian Calendar.
In the Mazandarani language of Iran in the Mazanderani calendar, the year is divided into 12 thirty-day months and one pentad of days, often beginning on March 21. Neowrez Khani is one of the strongest and most popular traditions of the Mazanderani people.[citation needed]
Ceremonies and events
Tirgan is a mid summer Iranian festival, celebrated annually on Tir 13 (July 3, 4, or 5). It is performed by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach soup and shole-zard. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children.
Other famous events like, Varf chal, traditional ceremony with almost 800 years old as one of the unique rituals of Mazandaran associated with water was held in the village of Ab Ask and Lochu Wrestling game in different time.
Music and dance
Music in this region relates to the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the melodies revolve around issues such as the forests, cultivation or farming activities and herding. The most famous dance of this area is the Shomali dance, not forgetting the stick dance that the men perform. Popular music in the province, known as the Taleb and Zohre, Amiri Khani and Katuli.
Tourism
Over 15 million Iranian and some 400,000 foreign tourists visit the province annually. More than 800 registered historical and cultural sites, 338 kilometers of shorelines, mineral springs in jungles and mountains, waterfalls, and caves are among the major tourism attractions in the Mazandaran province.[50][51]
Mazandaran has been picked as the tourism capital of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members states in 2022.[52]
Mazandaran has 65 hotels, 51 motels, 91 apartment hotels, 293 eco-lodge complexes, 4,939 guest houses, 8 recreational complexes, 123 beach facilities, and 12 camping sites, with a total capacity of 1,246,177 people per night.[53]
Abu'l Tayyeb Tabari[56] was jurisconsult, judge (qāżī), and professor of legal sciences; he was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the leading Shafeʿites of 5th/11th century Baghdad.
Reza Shah Pahlavi He was the Shah of Iran (Persia) from 15 December 1925 until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 16 September 1941.
The cuisine of the province is very rich in seafood due to its location by the Caspian Sea, and rice is present in virtually every meal. Mazandarani cuisine is diverse between regions; the cuisine of coastal regions is different from mountainous regions, as people in the Alborz usually use the indigenous herbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish and Caspian Mazandaran rice with vegetables.
Economy
Caviar
The province is one of the 5 wealthiest in Iran. Oil wealth has stimulated industries in food processing, cement, textiles, cotton, and fishing (caviar). Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists close to 630 sites of historical and cultural significance, many of which are tourist attractions. Rice, grain, fruits, cotton, tea, tobacco, sugarcane, Flower, Mineral water, caviar, Dairy product, Meat industry and silk are produced in the lowland strip along the Caspian shore. Oil wealth has stimulated industries in food processing, cement, textiles, cotton, and fishing (caviar).
Mazandaran, with 230,000 hectares of paddies, produces about one million tonnes of rice a year, or 42 percent of the country's total.[57]
Over 70 kinds of agricultural produce are grown in Mazandaran that meets 40% of domestic demand for rice and 50% of citrus fruits. The province is also the sole domestic supplier of kiwi.[58] Mazandaran has 3,500 industrial and production units. Mazandaran is home to 460,000 hectares of farmland producing around 6 million tons of agro products annually. Over 10% of value-added in Iran's agriculture sector is generated in Mazandaran province.[59]
The textile industry included 212 large and small industrial units operating in the province in 1995. These include the Mazandaran's nassaji company, based in Qaemshahr, the Chitsazi factory of Behshahr, the Gooni bafi of Mahmudabad, and the Chukha factory of Sari.[60] Some of these industrial units are no longer active because of issues happened after being transferred to the private sector in 1990s and 2000s.[61][62][63]
From 1951 to 1978, and particularly after the formation of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the first exploration well was spudded. Up to 1970, 16 wells had been drilled near mud volcanoes. All these wells produced only natural gas and technical studies showed that continuation of these operations would be uneconomical.
10 thousand tons export oil and Uncertain amount of gas exported to Asian countries from Mazandaran.
^Of the lands which lie on the sea and of the others which border on these, Ninus subdued Egypt and Phoenicia, then Coele-Syria, Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Lycia, and also Caria, Phrygia, and Lydia; moreover, he brought under his sway the Troad, Phrygia on the Hellespont, Propontis, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and all the barbarian nations who inhabit the shores of the Pontus as far as the Tanais; he also made himself lord of the lands of the Cadusii, Tapyri, Hyrcanii, Drangi, of the Derbici, Carmanii, Choromnaei, and of the Borcanii, and Parthyaei; and he invaded both Persis and Susiana and Caspiana, as it is called, which is entered by exceedingly narrow passes, known for that reason as the Caspian Gates. 4 Many other lesser nations he also brought under his rule, about whom it would be a long task to speak. But since Bactriana was difficult to invade and contained multitudes of warlike men, after much toil and labour in vain he deferred to a later time the war against the Bactriani, and leading his forces back into Assyria selected a place excellently situated for the founding of a great city.. Diodorus Siculus, Library 1-7 (2.2.3)
^ abcdefghijklmnoMinorsky, V.; Vasmer, R. "Mazandaran" Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online.
^ abWindfuhr, G. L. (1989). "New Iranian languages: Overview". In Rüdiger Schmitt (ed.). Compendium linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. p. 490.
^ ab«تنکابن». دانشنامه جهان اسلام. دریافتشده در ۲۰۱۷-۰۷-۰۷.
^Gordon, R.G., Jr. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th edition. (Dallas, TX: SIL International). Online version "Ethnologue: Languages of the World". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
^Shahnameh/Book of Kings by Abu'L Ferdawsi, edited by Jalal Khaleghi-Motlagh "ریرا". Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
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