Gilan Province () is one of the 31

provinces of Iran Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces ( ''Ostân''), each governed from a local centre, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: , ''Markaz (country subdivision), Markaz'') of that province. The provincial ...

, in the northwest of the country and southwest of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. Its capital is the city of

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

. The province lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Region 3, west of the province of

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

, east of the province of

Ardabil Ardabil (, ) is a city in northwestern Iran. It is in the Central District (Ardabil County), Central District of Ardabil County, Ardabil province, Ardabil province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The ...

, and north of the provinces of Zanjan and

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

. It borders

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

(

Astara District Astara District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the southeast of the country, in the Lankaran-Astara Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lankaran and Lerik, as well as the Ardabil and Gilan pro ...

) in the north. The northern section of the province is part of the territory of South (Iranian) Talysh. At the center of the province is

. Other cities include

Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh () is a city in the Central District of Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census ...

, Astara, Fuman, Hashtpar,

Lahijan Lahijan () is a city in close proximity to the Caspian Sea within the Central District (Lahijan County), Central District of Lahijan County, in northwestern Iran's Gilan province, Gilan province. It serves as capital of both the county and ...

, Langarud,

Masuleh Masuleh (; ) is a city in Sardar-e Jangal District of Fuman County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran. Masuleh is approximately 60 km southwest of Rasht and 32 km west of Fuman, Iran, Fuman. Its people are Talysh people, Tal ...

Manjil Manjil () is a city in the Central District (Rudbar County), Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran. History Throughout its history Manjil has been a gate to the southern Caspian Sea region. There are numero ...

, Rudbar,

Rudsar Rudsar () is a city in the Central District (Rudsar County), Central District of Rudsar County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology The word ''Rudsar'' comes from the wor ...

, Shaft, Siahkal, and Sowme'eh Sara. The main port is

Bandar-e Anzali Bandar-e Anzali () is a city on the Caspian Sea in the Central District of Bandar-e Anzali County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. History Anzali is an old city in ancient Iran, first s ...

, formerly known as Bandar-e Pahlavi.

History

Paleolithic

Early humans were present at Gilan since

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...

Darband Cave Darband Cave is a Lower Paleolithic site in the Gilan Province in northern Iran, located on the north side of a deep tributary canyon of the Siahrud River, a tributary of the Sefīd-Rūd River that flows into the Caspian Sea. The cave contains e ...

is the earliest known human habitation site in Gilan province; it is located in a deep tributary canyon of the Siah Varud and contains evidence for the earliest prehistoric human cave occupation during the Lower Paleolithic in Iran. Stone artifacts and animal

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s were discovered by a group of Iranian archaeologists that dates back to the late

Chibanian The Chibanian, more widely known as the Middle Pleistocene (its previous informal name), is an Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale or a Stage (stratigraphy), stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocen ...

.Biglari, F., V. Jahani 2011 The Pleistocene Human Settlement in Gilan, Southwest Caspian Sea: Recent Research, Eurasian Prehistory 8 (1-2): 3–28 Yarshalman is a

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...

shelter that was probably occupied by

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

s about 40,000 to 70,000 years ago. Later Paleolithic sites in Gilan are Chapalak Cave and Khalvasht shelter.

Early history

It seems that the Gelae, or Gilites, entered the region south of the Caspian coast and west of the Amardos River (now called the Sefid-Rud) in the second or first century BCE, Pliny identifies them with the Cadusii who were living there previously. It is more likely that they were a separate people, had come from the region of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

, and taken the place of the Kadusii. That the native inhabitants of Gilan have some originating roots in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

is supported by genetics and language, as the Y-DNA of

Gilaks Gilaks ( Gilaki: گيلٚکؤن, ) are an Iranian peoples native to south of Caspian sea. They form one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. Gilak people, along with the closely related Mazandarani people, comprise ...

most closely resemble that of

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

and other

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

peoples, while their mtDNA closely resembles other

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

groups. Their languages shares typologic features with the

languages of the Caucasus The Caucasian languages comprise a large and extremely varied array of languages spoken by more than ten million people in and around the Caucasus Mountains, which lie between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Linguistic comparison allows t ...

Medieval history

Gilan province was the place of origin of the

Ziyarid dynasty The Ziyarid dynasty () was an Iranian peoples, Iranian dynasty of Gilaki people, Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his ...

and

Buyid dynasty The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyn ...

in the mid-10th century. Previously, the people of the province had a prominent position during the Sassanid dynasty through the 7th century, so that their political power extended to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. The first recorded encounter between Gilak and Deylamite warlords and invading Muslim armies was at the Battle of Jalula in 637 AD. Deylamite commander Muta led an army of Gils, Deylamites,

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

and people of the Rey region. Muta was killed in the battle, and his defeated army managed to retreat in an orderly manner. However, this appears to have been a Pyrrhic victory for the Arabs, since they did not pursue their opponents. Muslim Arabs never managed to conquer Gilan as they did with other provinces in Iran. Gilanis and Deylamites successfully repulsed all Arab attempts to occupy their land or to convert them to Islam. In fact, it was the Deylamites under the Buyid king

Mu'izz al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian language, Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his ''laqab'' of Mu'izz al-Dawla (, "Fortifier al-Dawla, of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq (region), Iraq, ...

who finally shifted the balance of power by conquering

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 945. Mu'izz al-Dawla, however, allowed the

Abbasid caliphs The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

to remain in comfortable, secluded captivity in their palaces. The

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

began evangelizing Gilan in the 780s, when a

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

ric was established under

Shubhalishoʿ Shubhalishoʿ () was an East Syriac monk, missionary and martyr of the late 8th century. According to Thomas of Margā's ''Book of Governors'', Shubhalishoʿ was an Ishmaelite (i.e., an Arab) and his native language was Arabic. He was probably a ...

. In the 9th and 10th centuries AD, Deylamites and later Gilanis gradually converted to Zaydi Shiʿism. Several Deylamite commanders and soldiers of fortune who were active in the military theaters of Iran and

were openly

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

(for example, Asfar Shiruyeh a warlord in central Iran, and Makan, son of Kaki, the warlord of Rey) or were suspected of harboring pro-Zoroastrian (for example

Mardavij Mardavij ( Gilaki/, meaning "man assailant") was an Iranian prince, who established the Ziyarid dynasty, ruling from 930 to 935. Born to a Zoroastrian family native to Gilan, Mardavij sought to establish a native Iranian Zoroastrian empire akin ...

) sentiments. Muslim chronicles of

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, and in the Khazar Kingdom. The

Buyids The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...

established the most successful of the Deylamite dynasties of Iran. In the 9th–11th century AD, there were repeated military raids undertaken by the Rus' between 864 and 1041 on the

shores of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan as part of the

Caspian expeditions of the Rus' The Caspian expeditions of the Rus' were military raids undertaken by the Rus' between the late 9th century and 1041 on the Caspian Sea shores, of what are nowadays Iran, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan. Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the ...

.Logan (1992), p. 201 Initially, the Rus' appeared in

Serkland In Old Norse sources, such as sagas and runestones, Serkland (also ''Særkland'', ''Srklant'', ''Sirklant'', ''Serklat'', etc.) was the "land of the ''Serkir''", usually identified with the Saracens. The exact etymology is disputed. ''Serk''- may ...

in the 9th century traveling as merchants along the

Volga trade route In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea and the Sasanian Empire, via the Volga River. The Rus' (people), Rus used this route to trade with Muslim history#The Umayyad Calipha ...

, selling furs, honey, and slaves. The first small-scale raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged the westernmost parts of

Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

as well as Gilan and

, taking slaves and goods. The Turkish invasions of the 10th and 11th centuries CE, which saw the rise of

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

and

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

dynasties, put an end to Deylamite states in Iran. From the 11th century CE to the rise of

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, Gilan was ruled by local rulers who paid tribute to the dominant power south of the Alborz range but ruled independently. In 1307 the

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

Öljeitü conquered the region. This was the first time the region came under the rule of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

after the Ilkhanid Mongols and their Georgian allies failed to do it in the late 1270s. After 1336, the region seemed to be independent again. Before the introduction of silk production (date unknown but a pillar of the economy by the 15th century AD), Gilan was a poor province. There were no permanent trade routes linking Gilan to Persia. There was a small trade in smoked fish and wood products. It seems that the city of

was initially a fortress-town against marauding bands of Deylamites, another sign that the economy of the province did not produce enough on its own to support its population. This changed with the introduction of the silk worm in the late Middle Ages.

Early modern and modern history

Gilan recognized twice, for brief periods, the

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

without rendering

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

, in 1534 and 1591. The

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

emperor,

Shah Abbas I Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers ...

ended the rule of Khan Ahmad Khan (the last semi-independent ruler of Gilan) and annexed the province directly to his empire. From this point onward, rulers of Gilan were appointed by the Persian

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

. In the Safavid era, Gilan was settled by large numbers of

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, and other

peoples of the Caucasus The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus. By language group Language families indigenous to the Caucasus Caucasians who speak languages which have l ...

whose descendants still live or linger across Gilan. Most of these

and

are assimilated into the mainstream Gilaks. The history of Georgian settlement is described by

Iskandar Beg Munshi Iskandar Beg Munshi (; 1561/62 – 1633/34) was an IranianPaulina Kewes, Ian W. Archer, Felicity Heal. The Oxford Handbook of Holinshed's Chronicles. — Oxford University Press, 2013. — P. 256. court scribe and chronicler, who is principally kn ...

, the author of the 17th century '' Tarikh-e Alam-Ara-ye Abbasi'', and the Circassian settlements by Pietro Della Valle, among other authors. The Safavid empire became weak towards the end of the 17th century CE. By the early 18th century, the once-mighty empire was in the grips of civil war and uprisings. The ambitious

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

(Peter the Great) sent a force that captured Gilan and many of the Iranian territories in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

, as well as other territories in northern mainland Iran, through the

Russo-Persian War (1722–1723) The Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723, known in Russian historiography as the Persian campaign of Peter the Great, was a war between the Russian Empire and Safavid Iran, triggered by the tsar's attempt to expand Russian influence in the Caspian ...

and the resulting

Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1723) The Treaty of Saint Petersburg of concluded the Russo-Persian War (1722-1723), Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723 between Imperial Russia and Safavid dynasty, Safavid Iran. It ratified Iran's forced ceding of its territories in the North Caucasus, S ...

. Gilan and its capital of Rasht, which was conquered between late 1722 and late March 1723, stayed in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

possession for about ten years.

Qajars The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's ''Majlis'', conveni ...

established a central government in Persia (Iran) in the late 18th century CE. They lost a series of wars to Russia (Russo-Persian Wars 1804–1813 and 1826–28), resulting in an enormous gain of influence by the Russian Empire in the Caspian region, which would last up to

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

. The Gilanian cities of

and Anzali were all but occupied and settled by

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and Russian forces. Most major cities in the region had Russian schools and significant traces of

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

can be found today in Rasht. Russian class was mandatory in schools and the significant increase of Russian influence in the region lasted until

and had a major impact on Iranian history, as it directly led to the

Persian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...

. Gilan was a major producer of silk beginning in the 15th century CE. As a result, it was one of the wealthiest provinces in Iran. Safavid annexation in the 16th century was at least partially motivated by this revenue stream. The silk trade, though not the production, was a monopoly of the Crown and the single most important source of trade revenue for the imperial treasury. As early as the 16th century and until the mid 19th century, Gilan was the major exporter of silk in Asia. The

farmed out this trade to

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

merchants and, in return, received a handsome portion of the proceeds. In the mid-19th century, a fatal epidemic among the silk worms paralyzed Gilan's economy, causing widespread economic distress. Gilan's budding industrialists and merchants were increasingly dissatisfied with the weak and ineffective rule of the

. Re-orientation of Gilan's agriculture and industry from silk to production of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and the introduction of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

plantations were a partial answer to the decline of silk in the province. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Gilan came to be ruled independently of the central government of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and concern arose that the province might permanently separate. Before the war, Gilanis had played an important role in the

Constitutional Revolution of Iran The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...

. Sepahdar-e Tonekaboni (Rashti) was a prominent figure in the early years of the revolution and was instrumental in defeating Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. In the late 1910s, many Gilanis gathered under the leadership of Mirza Kuchik Khan, who became the most prominent revolutionary leader in northern Iran in this period. Khan's movement, known as the Jangal movement of Gilan, had sent an armed brigade to Tehran that helped depose the

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

ruler Mohammad Ali Shah. However, the revolution did not progress the way the constitutionalists had strived for, and Iran came to face much internal unrest and foreign intervention, particularly from the British and Russian empires. During and several years after the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

, the region saw another massive influx of Russian settlers (the so-called ''

White émigré White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik com ...

es''). Many of the descendants of these refugees are in the region. During the same period, Anzali served as the main trading port between Iran and Europe. The Jangalis are glorified in Iranian history and effectively secured Gilan and

against foreign invasions. However, in 1920 British forces invaded

, while being pursued by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s. In the midst of this conflict, the Jangalis entered into an alliance with the Bolsheviks against the British. This culminated in the establishment of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (commonly known as the Socialist Republic of Gilan), which lasted from June 1920 until September 1921. In February 1921 the Soviets withdrew their support for the Jangali government of Gilan and signed the Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship (1921) with the central government of Tehran. The Jangalis continued to struggle against the central government until their final defeat in September 1921 when control of Gilan returned to Tehran.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

Gilaks and Talysh form the majority of the population, while Azerbaijanis, Kurds and Persians are minorities in the province.

live in most of the cities and villages in the province, except Astara and Talesh counties. They are the majority in most of the counties and the province is named after them. Talysh people live in the northern districts of the province, constituting a majority in the counties of Astara, Talesh, Rezvanshahr and Masal. Overall, in Astara county the Talysh are a slight majority, although they are a significant minority in urban areas like Astara and Lavandevil. In the other three counties, they are a clear majority.

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

, Turkic speakers of the province, are concentrated primarily in urban areas of

Astara county Astara County () is in Gilan province, in northwestern Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to ...

, as well as the Haviq and Lisar districts of Talesh county. Also, there is a sizeable Azerbaijani community in the port city of

. There are four groups of

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

in the province with different origins. Amarlou in

and Rudbar,Reshvand in

, Jalalvand in Langroud, and Kormanj in Hashtpar. Persians are concentrated in the city of

and are divided into two: the immigrants from

and other central Iranian cities, and the local people who have adopted the

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

in favor of their heritage language. The Gilaki language is a Caspian language, and a member of the northwestern Iranian language branch, spoken in Iran's Gilan,

and

provinces. Gilaki is the main heritage language in the province of Gilan and is divided into three dialects: Western Gilaki, Eastern Gilaki, and Galeshi (in the mountains of Gilan and Mazandaran). The western and eastern dialects are separated by the Sefid Roud. Although Gilaki is the most widely spoken heritage language in

Gilan Gilan Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, in the northwest of the country and southwest of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Rasht. The province lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Region 3, west of the province of ...

, the

Talysh language Talysh (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language spoken in the northern regions of the Iranian provinces of Gilan Province, Gilan and Ardabil Province, Ardabil and the southern regions of the Republic of Azerbaij ...

is also spoken. There are only two counties in Gilan where Talyshi is exclusively spoken: Masal and

. In other cities Talyshi is spoken alongside other languages. The

Kurdish language Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...

is used by Kurds who have moved to the Amarlu region.

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

is also spoken in the province of Gilan as it is Iran's official language, requiring everyone to know Persian. Heritage language data as of 2022: Mother tongue data as of 2022:

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 2,381,063 people in 669,221 households. The following census in 2011 counted 2,480,874 in 777,316 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,530,696 people in 851,382 households.

Administrative divisions

The population history and structural changes of Gilan province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 1,598,765 people (over 63% of the population of Gilan province) live in the following cities:

Geography and climate

Gilan has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

with, by a large margin, the heaviest rainfall in Iran: reaching as high as in the southwestern coast and generally around . Rasht, the capital of the province, is known internationally as the "City of Silver Rains" and in Iran as the "City of Rain". Rainfall is heaviest between September and December because the onshore winds from the

Siberian High The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; (''Aziatsky antitsiklon''); zh, 西伯利亞高壓; Pinyin ''Xībólìyǎ gāoyā''; Kazakh Азия антициклоны (''Aziya antitsiklonı'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that a ...

are strongest, but it occurs throughout the year though least abundantly from April to August. Humidity is very high because of the marshy character of the coastal plains and can reach 90 percent in summer for

wet bulb temperature The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached under current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water only. It is defined as the temperature of a parcel of air cooled to saturation (100% relative humidity) by the ...

s of over . The

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

range provides further diversity to the land in addition to the Caspian coasts. The coastline is cooler and attracts large numbers of domestic and international tourists. Large parts of the province are mountainous, green and forested. The coastal plain along the Caspian Sea is similar to that of

and mainly used for

paddies. Due to successive cultivation and selection of rice by farmers, several cultivars including Gerdeh, Hashemi, Hasani, and Gharib have been bred.

Colleges and universities

* Gilan University of Medical Sciences * Institute of Higher Education for Academic Jihad of Rasht * Islamic Azad University of Bandar Anzali * Islamic Azad University of Astara * Islamic Azad University of Lahijan * Islamic Azad University of Talesh * Islamic Azad University of Rasht * Payam-e-Noor University – Talesh * Technical & Vocational Training Organization of Gilan * University of Guilan

Notable people

Abdul Qadir Gilani Abdul Qadir Gilani (; ; c. 1077/78 – 1166) was a Hanbali scholar, preacher, and Sufi leader who was the eponym of the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest Sufi orders. He was born c. 1077/78 in the town of Na'if, Rezvanshahr in Gilan, Persia, ...

* Ebrahim Pourdavoud * Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi Gilani, founder of Sharif University of Technology * Ardeshir Mohassess, cartoonist * Mirza Kuchek Khan, founder of Constitutionalist movement of Gilan * Arsen Minasian * Hazin Lahiji, poet * Mohammad Taghi Bahjat Foumani,

Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

Marja * Ataollah Salehi * Mahmoud Behzad *

Majid Samii Majid Samii (, born 19 June 1937) is an Iranian neurosurgeon and medical scientist. Biography Samii was born in Tehran, Iran on 19 June 1937. After having completed his high school education in Iran, he moved to Germany, where he started his m ...

, brain surgeon in Germany * Fazlollah Reza, second head of Sharif University of Technology * Mohammad Moin, prominent Iranian scholar of Persian literature and Iranology * Houman Seyyedi * Mahmoud Namjoo *

Alireza Jahanbakhsh Alireza Jahanbakhsh (, ; born 11 August 1993) is an Iranian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger and Midfielder, attacking midfielder for Dutch Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen and captain (ass ...

, football player * Jalal Hosseini, football player * Hushang Ebtehaj, contemporary poet *

, former king of Iran * Khosrow Golsorkhi, journalist, poet, and communist activist * Anoushiravan Rohani, pianist and composer * Shardad Rohani, composer, violinist/pianist, and conductor *

Shahin Najafi Morteza Najafipour Moghadam (; born 1980), better known as Shahin Najafi (), is an Iranian musician, singer, composer, poet, author, and political activist. Najafi's songs mostly deal with issues su ...

, musician, singer, songwriter and political activist

Notes

References

External links

Guilan.net

Association of Guilan Supporters Official website
(in Persian only)
Gilan
entry in the

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

*
Gilan University of Medical Sciences Health Information Center
(in English)
Gilan Cultural Heritage Organization
(An excellent source of info in Persian)
Masouleh Village Official website
(inaccessible to English readers) * Shapour Bahrami, ''Masouleh, Iran'', Photo Set
flickr

Gilan Province Office of Tourism
* (Bibliography)
Gilan Province Department of Education
(in Persian) * Two Gilani folk-songs sung by Shusha Guppy in the 1970s
''The Rain''''Darling Leila''
* ''Āhā Bugu'' (Oh, say it!), a Gilaki folk-song: (4 min 54 sec). * * Hamid-Reza Hosseini, ''Rural Heritage'', in Persian, Jadid Online, 17 November 2008

A shortened version in English with the title ''Gilan's Rural Geritage Museum'', Jadid Online, 22 January 2009

A slide show of ''Gilan's Rural Heritage Museum'' with English subtitles, Jadid Online, 22 January 2009

(5 min 41 sec). * Mohammad-Taqi Pourahmad Jacktaji, ''Gilan Midsummer

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

'', in English, Jadid Online, 1 October 2009

(in Persian

.
An audio slideshow with English subtitles

(4 min 38 sec). {{Gilan Province Gilan province, Provinces of Iran