Editing Iranian Georgians (section)

==Geographic distribution, language and culture==
{{see also|Fereydan}}
[[File:F. Dei tu deis Sasursato Magazia.jpg|thumb|right| A shop in [[Fereydunshahr]] with Georgian signage]]
The [[Georgian language]] is still used by a minority of people in Iran. The center of [[Georgian people|Georgians]] in Iran is [[Fereydunshahr]], a small city, 150&nbsp;km to the west of [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]] in the area historically known as [[Fereydan]]. In this area there are 10 Georgian towns and villages around Fereydunshahr. In this region the old Georgian identity is retained the best compared to other places in Iran, and most people speak and understand the Georgian language there.

There were other compact settlements in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] at [[Abbas Aba]]d (half-way between [[Shahrud, Iran|Shahrud]] and [[Sabzevar]] where there remained only one old woman who remembered Georgian in 1934), [[Mazandaran]] at [[Behshahr]] and Farah Abad, [[Gilan]], [[Isfahan Province]] at [[Najafabad]], [[Badrud]], [[Rahmatabad, Natanz|Rahmatabad]], Yazdanshahr and Amir Abad. These areas are frequently called [[Gorji Mahalleh, Mazandaran|Gorji Mahalleh]] ("Georgian neighborhood"). Many Georgians or Iranians of partial Georgian descent are also scattered in major Iranian cities, such as [[Tehran]], [[Isfahan]], [[Rasht]], [[Dezful]], [[Karaj]] and [[Shiraz]]. 
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Grave-geo.jpg|thumb|right| A gravesite in [[Fereydunshahr]] with Georgian inscriptions.]] -->
Most of these communities no longer speak the Georgian language, but retain aspects of Georgian culture and keep a Georgian conscious.{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2015|page=291}} Some argue that Iranian Georgians retain remnants of Christian traditions, but there is no evidence for this. Most Georgians in Fereydunshahr and Fereydan speak and understand Georgian. Iranian Georgians observe the Shia traditions and also non-religious traditions similar to other people in Iran. They observe the traditions of [[Nowruz]].

The local self-designation of Georgians in Iran, like the rest of the Georgians over the world is ''[[Kartveli]]'' ({{lang-ka|ქართველი}}, from Kartvelebi, Georgian: ქართველები, namely ''Georgians''), although occasionally the ethnonyms Gorj, Gorji, or even Gurj-i (from [[Persian language|Persian]] "Gorji" which means Georgian). They call their language Kartuli (Georgian: ქართული). As Rezvani states, this is not surprising given that all other Georgian dialects in Iran are extinct.

The number of Georgians in Iran is estimated to be over 100,000. According to Encyclopaedia Georgiana (1986) some 12,000–14,000 lived in rural Fereydan c. 1896,<ref>''Encyclopaedia Georgiana'' (1986), vol. 10, Tbilisi: p. 263.</ref> and a more recent estimation cited by Rezvani (published 2009, written in 2008) states that there may be more than 61,000 Georgians in Fereydan.<ref>Rezvani, Babak. ''The Fereydani Georgian Representation of Identity and Narration of History '' 2009 Journal; Anthropology of the Middle East. Berghahn Journals. Vol 4. No 2. p 52</ref>  Modern-day estimations regarding the number of Iranian Georgians are that they compose over 100,000. They are also the largest Caucasus-derived group in the nation, ahead of the [[Circassians in Iran|Circassians]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&dq=number+of+circassians+in+iran&pg=PA141 ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East''] Facts On File, Incorporated {{ISBN|143812676X}} p 141</ref>