Semnan province (Persian:استان سمنان)[a] is one of the 31provinces of Iran. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is the city ofSemnan.[6]
The province of Semnan covers an area of 96,816 square kilometers and stretches along theAlborz mountain range, bordering onKavir desert in its southern parts. The province was made part ofRegion 1 on 22 June 2014, as the provinces were grouped into5 regions for coordination and development purposes.[1]
In theMedian andAchaemenid times, Semnan was one of the largest provinces of the empires, and corresponded to the borders of the ancient region ofParthia.
During the Islamic era, Semnan was part of the historical region ofGomess orKomesh.
Various ethnic groups with Kurdish, Turkish, Lor, Arab, Baloch and Gilak origins are settled in this province and it is also known as the Island of the Tribes due to the variety of ethnic groups living in the province.[7]
TheSemnani languages (known also as Komisenian languages) spoken in the province are a group ofNorthwestern Iranian languages,[8] (only 68,700 native speakers in 2019[9]) ofIran. These languages are accorded only "dialect" status in some sources. Most of the Semnani languages are descendants of the extinctParthian while Semnani proper has been placed among theCaspian languages descended from the extinctMedian.[10]
There are six Semnani languages named in the literature, these beingSemnani,Biyabunaki,Sangsari,Sorkhei,Aftari andLasgerdi – of which some may only be dialects, although there has been little published concerning the relationships between them.[11]
Semnani proper (Semnani: سمنی زفون), like other Caspian languages, bears some resemblance to the Old Iranian Median language but was influenced by Parthian in a later process.[12]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 570,835 in 159,791 households.[13] The following census in 2011 counted 631,218 people in 186,114 households.[14] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 702,360 in 215,571 households.[4]
Semnan province is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountain range. The height of the province decreases from north to south until it reaches the desert. The area of this province is 96000 square kilometers and it is 5.6% of the area of Iran.[15]
The population history and structural changes of Semnan province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
The province is divided into two parts: a mountainous region and the plains at the foot of the mountains. The former offers scope for recreational activities as well as being a source for minerals, while the latter encompasses some ancient cities of Iran, including one of the capitals of the ancientParthian Empire.
This forest lies in Semnan province near its border with Golestan province. It is one of the oldest forests in Iran and a remnant of the third geological age. TheIranian Roads Ministry's decision to build a road through the forest sparked widespread protests last year.[when?]
The environmentalists, backed by the country's media, began a wide campaign against the ministry's decision, which finally led the Prosecutor General to order a halt in the construction of the road. However, all these efforts came to naught when it was announced in April 2008 that the government granted permission to the Roads Ministry to construct the road.[citation needed]
^abcdسرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان سمنان [General Population and Housing Census 2016: Semnan Province].مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 17 November 2020. Retrieved19 December 2022.
^Habibi, Hassan (12 September 1990) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369/06/21 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوری استان سمنان به مرکزیت شهر سمنان [Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Semnan province, centered in Semnan city].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board].شناسه [ID] 6E990373-75CA-4068-833E-25F3268CCDCE.شماره دوره [Course number] 69,شماره جلد [Volume number] 3. Archived fromthe original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved24 January 2026.
^Pierre Lecoq. 1989. "Les dialectes caspiens et les dialectes du nord-ouest de l'Iran,"Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Ed. Rüdiger Schmitt. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. pg. 297
^C.F. & F.M. Voegelin,Classification and Index of the World's Languages (1977) lists them as dialects of Persian (pg. 185). Lecoq, pg. 297 lists them as "dialects" as well. Ethnologue lists Semnani, Sorkhei, Lasgerdi, and Sangsari as languages with Biyabunaki as a possible dialect of Semnani and Aftari as a dialect of Sorkhei. Linguasphere lists them together in an outer language called Semnani+Sangisari [58-AAC-f] with Semnani and Sangisari listed as inner languages. Merritt Ruhlen,A Guide to the World's Languages, Volume 1: Classification (1991) lists Semnani and Sangisari as languages in the Semnani subgroup.
^abسرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان سمنان [General Population and Housing Census 2006: Semnan Province].مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved25 September 2022.
^abسرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان سمنان [General Population and Housing Census 2011: Semnan Province].Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University (in Persian).مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived fromthe original(Excel) on 20 January 2023. Retrieved19 December 2022.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (7 August 2011) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 16/5/1390 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویبنامه در خصوص ایجاد شهرستان آرادان به مرکزیت شهر آرادان در تابعیت استان سمنان [Approval decree regarding the establishment of Aradan County with the city of Aradan as its center in Semnan province].مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers].پیشنهاد شماره [Proposal No.] 50184/42/4/1. Archived fromthe original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved24 January 2026.
^Davoodi, Parviz (9 December 2007) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1386/09/18 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویب نامه درخصوص اصلاحات تقسیمات کشوری در استان سمنان [Approval regarding the reforms of national divisions in Semnan province].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board].شناسه [ID] 5B5D84AC-D66D-497B-A9BD-AA6DBDEFA34B. Archived fromthe original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved27 January 2026.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (24 August 2011) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 2/6/1390 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویبنامه در خصوص تقسیمات کشوری در استان سمنان [Resolution regarding national divisions in Semnan province].مرکز پژوهشهای مجلس شورای اسلامی ایران [Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers].پیشنهاد شماره [Proposal No.] 13216/M. Archived fromthe original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved28 January 2026.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (30 September 2012) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 9/7/1391 (Iranian Jalali calendar)].تصویب نامه در خصوص ایجاد شهرستان سرخه به مرکزیت شهر سرخهدر استان سمنان [Approval regarding the establishment of Sorkheh County with Sorkheh city as its center in Semnan province].لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian).وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior].کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board].شماره ابلاغیه 219942/ت48486هـ [Notification number 219942/T48486 AH]. Archived fromthe original on 29 January 2026. Retrieved29 January 2026.
