This article is about the Mazandaran Province of Iran. For the historical region, seeTabaristan. For the region mentioned in Shahnameh, seeMazandaran (Shahnameh).
The province has diversenatural resources, notably large offshore reservoirs ofoil andnatural gas.[10] The diverse natural habitats of the province include plains, prairies, forests and rainforest[11] stretching from the sandy beaches of the Caspian Sea to the rugged and snowcapped Alborz sierra,[12] includingMount Damavand, one of the highestpeaks andvolcanoes inAsia.[13]
Mazandaran is a major producer offarmed fish,[14] andaquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance ofagriculture.[15] Another important contributor to the economy is thetourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.[16] Mazandaran is also a fast-growing centre forbiotechnology.[10]
Literally "the gate or the valley of the giants" from مازن (mâzan) + در (dar) + ـان (ân), fromAvesta (Avestan:𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬀,romanized: mazainiia,lit. 'giant'). The name has been used inShahnameh 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.
Sasanian silver-gilt plate with scene of musicians playing. Seventh century.
Human habitation in the area dates back at least 75,000 years.[17] Recent excavations inGohar Tape inRostamkola 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.[18] It has played an important role incultural andurban development of the region.[19]
In the early 20th century,Reza Shah connected northernElbourz 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" inPersian).Mazandaran province was made part of the Region 1 upon the division of the provinces intofive regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014.[1]
Map of theMedian Empire (600 BCE) showing the relative locations of the Amardian tribe
Before the arrival of theIranian-speakers to Iran, native people of this area were subsistence hunters and cattle herders.Archaeological studies in caves belt andHutu man inBehshahr in the Mazandaran date toca. 9500 BCE. TheAmard were a tribe living along the mountainous region bordering theCaspian Sea, including current dayAmol.Tapuri[21] were a tribe in theMedes south of the Caspian Sea mentioned byPtolemy andArrian.[22]Ctesias refers to the land ofTapuri between the two lands ofCadusii andHyrcania.[23]
Hyrcanian Golden Cup, dating from the 9th century BCE). It was excavated atKalardasht in Mazandaran
The territory known as Mazandaran has changed hands among various dynasties from early in its history. There are severalfortresses remaining from theParthian Empire andSasanian Empire, and many oldercemeteries scattered throughout the province. During this era, Mazandaran was part ofHyrcania, which was one of the important provinces.
In 662 CE, ten years after the death ofYazdegerd III, the last Sasanian emperor, a largeMuslim army under the command ofHassan ibn Ali invaded Tabarestan.
With the advent of the Sasanian Empire, the King of Mazandaran (Tabaristan andPadashkhwargar) was Gushnasp,[24] whose ancestors had reigned in the area (under theParthian empire) since the time ofAlexander the Great. In 529–536, Mazandaran was ruled by the Sasanian princeKawus, son ofKawadh.[24]Anushirawan, the Sasanian king, defeated Zarmihr, who claimed his ancestry from the legendaryblacksmith Kaveh.[24] This dynasty ruled the area till 645 AD, whenGil Gilanshah (a descendant of the Sasanian kingJamasp and a grandson ofPiruz) joined Mazandaran toGilan.[24]
In 651 the Sasanid Empire fell, and all of the Sasanid domains gradually came underArab control, except for the Caspian region of Iran (among which Tabaristan).
Tabaristan maintained an existence independent of theUmayyad Caliphate which supplanted the Sasanian Empire in the early seventh century, with independentZoroastrian houses like theBavand andKaren fighting an effective guerilla warfare against the Ummayads. A short-livedAlidShiite state collapsed before the subsequent take-over by theZiyarid 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.[24]
Gohar Tape Archaeological site
TheKarinids claimed descent from Karin, brother of Zarmihr who was the pre-Islamic ruler under the Sasanians.[24] Their last representativeMazyar was put to death in 839.[24]
In the 9th-11th century AD, there were repetitively military raids undertaken bythe Rus' between 864 and 1041 on theCaspian Sea shores ofIran,Azerbaijan, andDagestan as part of theCaspian expeditions of the Rus'.[25] Initially, the Rus' appeared inSerkland in the 9th century traveling as merchants along theVolga 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 ofGorgan as well as Mazandaran andGilan, taking slaves and goods.
TheBavandids, who claimed descent from Kawus, provided three dynasties.[24] The first dynasty (665–1007) was overthrown on the conquest of Tabaristan by theZiyarid Kabus b. Wushmgir.[24] The second dynasty reigned from 1073 to 1210, when Mazandaran was conquered by 'Ala al-Din Muhammad Khwarzamshah.[24] The third ruled from 1237 to 1349 asvassals of theMongols.[24] The last representative of the Bavandids was killed by Afrasiyab Chulawi.[24]
ThePaduspanids claimed descent from theDabuyids of the north.[24] They came to prominence around 660 and during the rule of the ʿAlids were their vassals. Later, they were vassals of theBuyids and Bavandids, who deposed them in 1190.[24] The dynasty, restored in 1209–10, survived until the time ofTimur; 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.[24]
In theSafavid era (1501–1736) Mazandaran was settled by very large numbers ofGeorgians,Circassians,Armenians, and otherPeoples 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 ofGeorgians,Armenians, andCircassians are already assimilated into the mainstream Mazandaranis. The history of Georgian settlement is described byIskandar Beg Munshi, the author of the 17th centuryTarikh-e Alam-Ara-ye Abbasi, and both the Circassian and Georgian settlements byPietro Della Valle, among other authors.[26]
Tabaristan remained independent until 1596, whenShah Abbas I, Mazandarani on his mother's side, incorporated Mazandaran into his Safavid empire, forcing manyArmeniansCircassians,Georgians, to settle in Mazandaran.Pietro della Valle (1586–1652), who visited a town nearFiruzkuh in Mazandaran, noted thatMazandarani 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 theMazandaranis.
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 withAgha Mohammad Khan who already incorporated Mazandaran into his empire in 1782. On 21 March 1782,Agha Mohammad Shah proclaimedSari as his imperial capital. Mazandaran was the site of local wars in those years, which led to the transfer of the capital from Sari toTehran byFath Ali Shah. In Modern era at Mazandaran make new house and bridge inAmol andSari. In along the beach and in the forest built Villa and modern settlements.
In the 19th century, during the reign ofFath-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.
The population of the province has been steadily growing during the last 50 years. The following table shows the approximate province population, excluding theGolestan 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.[22][29][30]
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.[33] 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).[27]
In recent years the region has seen an influx of Iranians from other regions of Iran, many of them attracted by its nature and seaside.
Mazanderani orTabari is a Northwestern Iranian language. Various Mazandarani dialects exist which are spoken in Mazandaran province and the neighboringGolestan province such as Mazanderani, and Gorgani and possibly Qadikolahi (Ghadikolahi) and Palani. Today, Mazandaranis also use Persian (Western Persian).[5] The educated can communicate and read Persian well.[37]
The people residing inChalus speakMazanderani language. The dialect of Kalarestaqi[38] is spoken in the west of Chalus and the dialect of Kojuri[39] in the east.
The closely relatedGilaks form the largest minority in Mazandaran. They speak theGilaki language and are concentrated inRamsar,[34][35] andTonekabon.[36] 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 inGilan. (Planhol, p. 38).[33]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 2,893,087 in 783,169 households.[41] The following census in 2011 counted 3,073,943 people in 931,007 households.[42] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 3,283,582 in 1,084,798 households.[4] Mazandaran is one of the most densely populated provinces in Iran.[43]
The population history and structural changes of Mazandaran province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
Mazandaran is located on the southern coast of theCaspian Sea. It is bordered clockwise byGolestan,Semnan andTehran provinces.[50] This province also bordersQazvin andGilan to the west.
Mazandaran province is geographically divided into two parts: the coastal plains, and the mountainous areas. TheAlborz 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 theAlborz regions, which run parallel to theCaspian 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 steppeecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of theCaspian Sea, stretching across northernIran from theAzerbaijan border to near theTurkmenistan border. It covers 63,300 square kilometres (24,400 sq mi) and encompasses the southern and eastern slopes of theAlborz Mountains as well as their summits. TheCaspian 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 agranite core overlain withsedimentary rock includinglimestones,shales,sandstones, andtuffs.Metamorphic rocks such asschists,marbles, andamphibolite are also widely found.[51] The climate is arid with annual precipitation varying from 150 mm to 500 mm, falling mostly as winter snow.
The 1971Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat was held in Mazandaran in the city ofRamsar.
Relief map of Mazandaran area
Unlike the rest of Iran, Mazandaran is watered by numerous rivers, or mountain torrents, all running from the mountains to the sea. The German travellerSamuel 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.
CentralAlborz 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:[52]
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 ofMount Damavand andAlam-Kuh, where the conditions are suitable formountain glacier
Mazandaran is served by the North Railway Dept. of theIranian Railways. The department connects the province to Tehran to the south andGorgan to the east. The cities ofSari,Qaemshahr, andPol-e Sefid are major stations of the department.TheTrans-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 capitalTehran with thePersian Gulf andCaspian Sea.
The Mazandaran train station is the city's first modern rail station and it dates from thePahlavi dynasty.
In the Persian epic,Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, whenFereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe nearAmol:
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 theKai Kavoos era; it is an area which is mostly inhabited byDiv (demons). The legendary IranianShah Kaykavoos, as well as the Iranian heroRostam, each take turn to go to Mazandaran in order to battle the demons.
In a verse from Shahnameh,Zal tellsKai 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.[55]
In Gaston Leroux'sThe Phantom of the Opera, one of the characters was formerly the daroga (chief of police) of Mazanderan.
The Tabarian New Year, or Neowrez, occurs in thepintek days of theTabarian Calendar. In theMazandarani 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 theMazanderani people.[citation needed]
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 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 famousdance 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.
Thecuisine 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 ofcoastal regions is different frommountainous regions, as people in theAlborz usually use the indigenousherbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish andCaspian Mazandaranrice withvegetables.
Over 15 millionIranian and some 400,000 foreign tourists visit the province annually. More than 800 registered historical and cultural sites, 338 kilometers ofshorelines,mineral springs in jungles and mountains,waterfalls, andcaves are among the major tourism attractions in the Mazandaran province.[56][57]Mazandaran has been picked as the tourism capital of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members states in 2022.[58]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.[59]
Abu'l Tayyeb Tabari[62] 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.
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 andsilk are produced in the lowland strip along the Caspian shore.Oil wealth has stimulated industries in food processing, cement,textiles,cotton, andfishing (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.[66]
Over 70 kinds of agricultural produce are grown in Mazandaran which meets 40% of domestic demand for rice and 50% of citrus fruits. The province is also the sole domestic supplier of kiwi.[67] 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.[68]
Thetextile 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.[69] Some of these industrial units are no longer active because of issues happened after being transferred to the private sector in 1990s and 2000s.[70][71][72]
From 1951 to 1978, and particularly after the formation ofNational 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.
^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. Retrieved12 November 2009.
^Davodi, Parviz (c. 2023) [Approved 3 March 1388].Divisional reforms and changes in Mazandaran province.qavanin.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Board of Ministers. Proposal 154154/42/4/1. Archived fromthe original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved20 May 2023 – via Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
^Davodi, Parviz (c. 2024) [Approved 29 July 1386].Approval letter regarding the reforms of national divisions in Mazandaran province.lamtakam.com (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Political-Defense Commission of the Government Board. Proposal 93023/42/1/4/1; Notification 156155/T38028K. Archived fromthe original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved16 January 2024 – via Lam ta Kam.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (c. 2023) [Approved 20 December 1391].The transformation of Kelardasht District in Mazandaran province to a county.qavanin.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Board of Ministers. Proposal 107532/42/1. Archived fromthe original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved23 May 2023 – via Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (1 January 2016) [Approved 29 September 1391].Approval letter regarding national divisions in Mazandaran province.rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers. Proposal 121434/42/4/1; Notification 213858/T48692H. Archived fromthe original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved14 January 2024 – via Islamic Parliament Research Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
^Shahnameh/Book of Kings by Abu'L Ferdawsi, edited by Jalal Khaleghi-Motlagh"ریرا".Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved20 August 2008.
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