Mazandaran Province
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Mazandaran (Persian: مازندران) is a province in northern Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea in the north. Mazandaran was part of the Persian province of Hyrcania.
Sari is the provincial capital. Gorgan also used to be a part of Mazandaran until recently, but is now the capital city of the new Iranian province of Golestan (since 1997).
The province covers an area of 23,833 sq. km. Counties of the province are: Amol, Babol, Babolsar, Behshahr, Tonekabon, Chaloos, Ramsar, Savad Kooh, Qaem Shahr, Mahmood Abad, Neka, Noor and Noshahr.
The Caspian Sea is to the north, the provinces of Tehran and Semnan lie to the south. To the west it has common borders with Gilan province, and to the east stands the province of Golestan.
In 1996, the province had a population of about 2.6 million.
History
Climatic conditions of Mazandaran have prevented the preservation of historical monuments. Thus there are only a few sound vestiges remaining from pre-Islamic periods in the coastal plains of Mazandaran. But the province is known to have been populated from early antiquity, and Mazandaran has changed hands among various dynasties from early in its history. There are several fortresses remaining from Parthian and Sassanid times, and many older cemeteries scattered throughout the province.
In 662, ten years after the death of Yazdegerd III the last Sassanian Emperor, a large Mohammedan army under the command of Hassan ibn Ali (Imam Hassan, the third Shi'a Imam) invaded Tabarestan (Mazandaran as it was then called) only to be severely beaten, suffering heavy losses to the forces of the Zoroastrian princes of the Dabboyid house. For the next two hundred years, Tabaristan maintained an existence independent of the Umayyad Caliphate which supplanted the Persian Empire in the early seventh century, with independent Zoroastrian houses like the Bavand and Karen fighting an effective guerilla warfare against Islam. A short-lived Alid Shiite state collapsed before the subsequent take-over by the Zyarid princes. Mazandaran, unlike much of the rest of the Iranian Plateau maintained a Zoroastrian majority until the 12th century CE, thanks to its isolation and hardy population which fought against the Caliph's armies for centuries.
During the Abbasid caliphate of Abou Jafar Al-Mansur, Tabaristan witnessed a wave of popular revolt. Ultimately, Vandad Hormoz established an independent dynasty in Tabaristan in 783CE. In 1034CE, Soltan Mahmoud Ghaznavi entered Tabarestan via Gorgan followed by the invasion of Soltan Mohammad Kharazmshah in 1209CE. Thereafter, the Mongols governed the region and finally were overthrown by the Timurid Dynasty.
After the dissolution of the feudal government of Tabaristan, Mazandaran was incorporated into modern Persian Empire by Shah Abbas I in 1596.
During the reign of Nadir Shah, the province was briefly occupied by Russians in the aftermath of the Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723.
Geography and culture
Mazandaran province is geographically divided into two parts: the coastal plains, and the mountainous areas. The Alborz Mountain Range surrounds the coastal strip and plains of the Caspian Sea like a huge barrier.
There is often snowfall during most of the seasons in the Alborz regions, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea's southern coast, dividing the province into many isolated valleys.
Language
- Main Article: Mazandarani Language
Notably, the language did not come under the influence of other incoming languages such as Mongolian, Arabic, or Tatar, and is still spoken in various dialects (Saravi, Gorgani, Gilaki, Baboli, Amoli) in the region.
Significant natives of Mazandaran
Mazandaran has been home to many significant Iranian figures. These range from scholars and poets to politicians and actors. Of the most notable Mazandaranian figure is Reza Shah Pahlavi who was born in Alasht, Mazandaran in 1877. Reza Pahvalavi became the Iranian Shah from 1925 until 1941, when he was forced to relinquish his throne to his son.Notable Mazandaranian poets include the modernist poet Nima Yooshij, the great late contemporary poet of Iran who was born in Yush, Mazandaran.
Interesting note: Being formerly part of the greater province of Taparestan or Tabaristan, two famous 9th-century Persian scholars are from Mazandaran, both commonly called "al-Tabari" (meaning simply "from Tabaristan").
Mazandaran today
Economy
Rice, grain, fruits, cotton, tea, tobacco, sugarcane, 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).
Suitable environmental conditions, pleasant and moderate climate, beautiful natural landscapes, and proximity to Tehran, have led the province to be one of the main recreational and tourism areas of Iran.
Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization lists close to 630 sites of historical and cultural significance, hence a wealth of tourist attractions.
Colleges and universities
- # Babol University of Medical Sciences
- # [Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences]
- # University of Mazandaran
- # [Behshahr University of Science and Technology]
- # Islamic Azad University of Neka
- # [Islamic Azad University of Sari]
- # Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon
- # Islamic Azad University of Babol
- # Islamic Azad University of Amol
- # Imam Khomeini University for Naval Sciences
- # [Shomal University]
External links
- [Official website of Mazandaran Governorship]
- [ICCIM's page on Mazandaran]
- [Mazandaran Cultural Heritage Organization]
- [Mazandaran Tourism palaces]
- [Sari City, Capital of Mazandaran]
| Provinces of Iran |
|
|---|---|
| Ardabil • Bushehr • Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari • East Azarbaijan • Isfahan • Fars • Guilan • Golestan • Hamadan • Hormozgan • Ilam • Kerman • Kermanshah • Khuzestan • Kohkiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad • Kurdistan • Lorestan • Markazi • Mazandaran • North Khorasan • Qazvin • Qom • Razavi Khorasan • Semnan • Sistan and Baluchistan • South Khorasan • Tehran • West Azarbaijan • Yazd • Zanjan | |
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