Editing Gorgan (section)

==History==
{{Main|Hyrcania}}
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 (Iran)|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), [https://www.academia.edu/34167920 Neolithic developments in the Gorgan Plain, south-east of the Caspian Sea.] academia.edu</ref>

[[File:علایم بتونی دیوار تاریخی گرگان که زیر خاک مدفون شده است.jpg|thumb|left|Historic wall of Gorgan signs]]
According to the Greek historian [[Arrian]], [[Zadracarta]] was the largest city of [[Hyrcania]] and the site of the "royal palace".<ref>{{cite book |last=Arrian |author-link=Arrian |date=1884 |title=[[s:The Anabasis of Alexander|The Anabasis of Alexander]] |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |chapter=[[s:The Anabasis of Alexander/Book III/Chapter XXV|Chapter XXV: March to Bactra.—Bessus Aided by Satibaezanes.]]|page=[[s:The Anabasis of Alexander/Book III/Chapter XXV#191|191–193]]|volume=3 |others=Translated by E.J. Chinnock}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gorgan-v|title=GORGAN v. Pre-Islamic history – Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=electricpulp.com}}</ref>

Hyrcania became part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] during the reign of [[Cyrus the Great]] (559–530 BC), its founder, or his successor [[Cambyses II|Cambyses]] (530-522 BC).

The [[Great Wall of Gorgan]], the second biggest defensive wall in the world, was built in the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and [[Sasanian Empire|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]] [http://www.iranicaonline.org online]</ref>

Gorgan maintained its independence as a [[Zoroastrian]] state even after [[Muslim conquest of Persia|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>{{cite book |last=Yar-Shater |first=Ehsan |date=2010 |title=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Volume 2, Parts 5-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kQOAQAAMAAJ |location=Abingdon, United Kingdom |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |page=892 |isbn=9780710090904 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brosset |first=Marie-Felicite |date=1858 |title=Histoire de la Géorgie depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'au XIXe siècle |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_HfB0iPdpelgC|location=France |publisher=imprimerie de l'Académie Impériale des sciences |pages=468–472 }}</ref>

"Old Gorgan" was destroyed during the [[Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran|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|Qajar era]].