Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county,
History
There are several archaeological sites near Gorgan, including
Tureng Tepe and
Shah Tepe, in which remains dating from the
Neolithic and
Chalcolithic eras. Some other important Neolithic sites in the area are Yarim Tepe, and
Sange Chaxmaq. The nearby
Shahroud Plain has many such sites. More than 50 are on the
Gorgan Plain.
[Kourosh Roustaei (2017), Neolithic developments in the Gorgan Plain, south-east of the Caspian Sea. academia.edu]
According to the Greek historian Arrian, Zadracarta was the largest city of Hyrcania and the site of the "royal palace".
Hyrcania became part of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), its founder, or his successor Cambyses II (530-522 BC).
The Great Wall of Gorgan, the second biggest defensive wall in the world, was built in the Parthian Empire and Sasanian Empire periods.
At the time of the Sasanians, "Gurgan" appeared as the name of a city, province capital, and province.[Bivar, A.D.H. "Gorgan" Encyclopædia Iranica online]
Gorgan maintained its independence as a Zoroastrian state even after Persia was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century.
In 1210, the city was invaded and sacked by the army of Kingdom of Georgia under command of the brothers Mkhargrdzeli.
"Old Gorgan" was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and the center of the region was moved to what was called "Astarabad", which is currently called "Gorgan".
Gorgan with its surrounding regions was sometimes considered part of the Tabaristan region.
Astarabad was an important political and religious city during the Qajar Iran.
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 269,226 in 73,702 households.
The following census in 2011 counted 329,536 people in 98,019 households.
The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 350,676 people in 111,099 households.
Geography
Location
The wide
Gorgan Plain (Plains of Gorgan) is located north of the city and geographically bounded by 37°00' - 37°30' north latitude and 54°00' - 54°30' east longitude, covering an area of about .
Some east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park, home to a large portion of the fauna of Iran.
Gorgān Dam is situated 60 km northeast of Gorgan city and has a capacity of 100 million .
Climate
Gorgan has a subtropical mediterranean climate (Köppen:
Csa, Trewartha:
Cs), with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters. In general, Golestan has a moderate and humid climate known as "the moderate Caspian climate". The effective factors behind such a climate are
Alborz mountain range, the direction of the mountains, the height of the area, the neighborhood to the sea, vegetation surface, local winds, altitude, and weather fronts. As a result of the above factors, three different climates exist in the region: plain moderate, mountainous, and semi-arid. Gorgan valley has a semi-arid climate. The average annual temperature is .
The annual precipitation is roughly , and usually does not exceed or dip below . The driest year on record was 1953 with only of precipitation, while the wettest year was 1959 with .
Highest recorded temperature:
Lowest recorded temperature: on 7 January 2008.
Sports
Gorgan has a sports venue, Shohada stadium, which is located north of the city limits near the village of Karimabad.
[ OpenStreetMap Contributions ]
Shahrdari Gorgan competes in the Iranian Basketball Super League and Etka Gorgan F.C. competes in the Azadegan League.
Education
-
Golestan University
-
Golestan University of Medical Sciences
-
Gorgan University
-
Islamic Azad University of Gorgan
-
Lamei Gorgani institute of Higher Education
Notable people
Ancient
-
Fakhroddin Asaad Gorgani, 11th-century Persian poet and the composer of Vis and Ramin.
-
Abu Sa'id al-Darir al-Jurjani, 9th century astronomer and mathematician
-
Al-Masihi, 10th century physician and teacher of Avicenna
-
Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī, 11th century grammarian and literary theorist
-
Zayn al-Din al-Jurjani, 12th century royal physician
-
Bahram al-Da'i, 12th-century Nizari Ismaili missionary and military leader in Syria
-
Fazlallah Astarabadi (Naimi), 14th century mystic and founder of Hurufism
-
Rustam Gorgani, 16th century physician
-
Mir Fendereski, philosopher, poet and mysti
-
Mir Damad, 17th century Islamic scholar and Neoplatonic philosopher
-
Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, 18th century chief minister to Nader Shah
-
Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi, writer, satirist and feminist
-
Firishta, historian
-
Sardar Rafie Yanehsari, Governor of Astarabad
-
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Shah of Iran (1789–1797) noted for the reunification of Iran
Modern
-
Iraj Etesam, Iranian architect, educator and author; born in Gorgan.
-
Nader Ebrahimi, author, poet, director and researcher
-
Hossein Khanzadi, admiral in the Iranian Navy
-
Mohammad Reza Lotfi, traditional Persian musician
-
Maryam Zandi, photographer
-
Parham Maghsoodloo, Chess grandmaster
-
Emad Rajabloo, writer, director and actor
Sister cities
See also
Notes
