Gorgan
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Gorgan (Template:Langx; Template:IPA)Template:Efn is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county,<ref name="Golestan Province Structure">Template:Cite report</ref> and the district.<ref name="Mazandaran Province Structure">Template:Cite report</ref> It lies approximately Template:Convert to the northeast of the national capital Tehran, and some Template:Convert away from the Caspian Sea.
History
[edit]Template:Main 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.<ref>Kourosh Roustaei (2017), Neolithic developments in the Gorgan Plain, south-east of the Caspian Sea. academia.edu</ref>
According to the Greek historian Arrian, Zadracarta was the largest city of Hyrcania and the site of the "royal palace".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The term means "the yellow city", and it was given to it from the great number of oranges, lemons, and other fruit trees which grew in the outskirts of that city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hyrcania became part of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), its founder, or his successor Cambyses (530-522 BC).
The Great Wall of Gorgan, the second biggest defensive wall in the world, was built in the Parthian and Sasanian periods.
At the time of the Sasanians, "Gurgan" appeared as the name of a city, province capital, and province.<ref name="Iranica-Bivar">Bivar, A.D.H. "Gorgan" Encyclopædia Iranica online</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
"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 era.
Demographics
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Population
[edit]At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 269,226 in 73,702 households.<ref name="2006 Golestan Province">Template:Cite report</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 329,536 people in 98,019 households.<ref name="2011 Golestan Province">Template:Cite report</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 350,676 people in 111,099 households.<ref name="2016 Golestan Province">Template:Cite report</ref>
Geography
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Location
[edit]The wide Dasht-e Gorgan (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 Template:Convert.
Some Template:Convert 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 cubic meters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate
[edit]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 Template:Convert.
The annual precipitation is roughly Template:Convert, and usually does not exceed Template:Convert or dip below Template:Convert. The driest year on record was 1953 with only Template:Convert of precipitation, while the wettest year was 1959 with Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Highest recorded temperature:Template:Convert
Lowest recorded temperature:Template:Convert on 7 January 2008.<ref name=lowest>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Sports
[edit]Gorgan has a sports venue, Shohada stadium, which is located north of the city limits near the village of Karimabad.<ref>OpenStreetMap Contributions Template:Cite web</ref>
Shahrdari Gorgan competes in the Iranian Basketball Super League and Etka Gorgan F.C. competes in the Azadegan League.
Education
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- Golestan University
- Golestan University of Medical Sciences<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Gorgan University
- Islamic Azad University of Gorgan
- Lamei Gorgani institute of Higher Education
Notable people
[edit]Ancient
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- 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
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- Iraj Etesam, Iranian architect, educator and author; born in Gorgan.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
- 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
[edit]- Template:Flagicon Aktau, Kazakhstan<ref>KZ-Today Template:Webarchive September 11, 2006</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Guangzhou, China<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Samsun, Turkey (2006)
See also
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