Manjil () is a city in the Central District of

Rudbar County Rudbar County () is in Gilan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Rudbar. History In 2024, 12 villages and the city of Lowshan were separated from the Central District in the formation of Lowshan District, including the new Jamal ...

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 ...

province,

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 the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

History

Throughout its history Manjil has been a gate to the southern

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, ...

region. There are numerous archaeological site excavations (mostly illegal) in the Manjil area because of its rich cultural history. Some of these sites are related to the

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

era, i.e., Hassan Sabbah movement based in Alamoot forte (one may find artifacts from the 3rd-2nd millennia BC in some households).

Modern history

In the modern era, Manjil was the site of a historical battle between the nationalist revolutionary forces of Jangal (led by Mirza Koochak Khan) and the joint

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and White Russian forces on June 12, 1918. The latter forces (led by General Dunsterville and Colonel Bicherakhov) willing to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian to reach

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and overthrow the newly formed

Baku Commune Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

(led by Stepan Shahumian). General Dunsterville's private diaries and notes, including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North

Persia 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 the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and Baku, 1918 were transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville's great-granddaughter, and are co-located on the Great War Primary Documents Archive. Although devastated by a

1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake The 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake (Persian: زمین‌لرزه ۱۳۶۹ رودبار و منجیل) occurred on Thursday, 21 June 1990 at in the Caspian Sea region of northern Iran. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a Mercalli Inte ...

of magnitude 7.3, for the last few decades Manjil has enjoyed industrial and economic growth.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

Manjil had a mainly

Azerbaijani Turkish Azerbaijani ( ; , , ) or Azeri ( ), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (, , ), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language from the Oghuz languages, Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, Azerbaij ...

population from the ʿAmmārlu tribe, together with

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 ...

, Tats and

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 ...

.فرهنگ نگاری گویشی، جهاندوست سبزعلیپور، سیده فاطمه نیک گهر

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 16,028 in 4,447 households. The following census in 2011 counted 17,396 people in 5,030 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 15,630 people in 4,950 households.

Geography

Manjil is known as the windy city of Iran, a reputation it owes to its geographical position in the

Alborz mountain range 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 ...

at a small cleft in Alborz that funnels the wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau.Visible on

Google earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

at N36º45´18˝-N36º41´42˝ and E49º23´6˝ and E49º31' 48˝ The biggest

wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...

of Iran, the Manjil and Rudbar Wind Farm, is located near Manjil. Manjil is known for the river

Sefīd-Rūd The Sepid-Rud (, ) (also known as Sefid-Rud) is a river, approximately long, rising in the Alborz mountain range of northwestern Iran and flowing generally northeast to empty into the Caspian Sea at Rasht. Names Other names and transcription ...

(or "Sepid Rood", "Sefid Rood", "white river"). It passes by the town and is formed in Manjil by two joining rivers. Since 1960 it has been the site of the

Manjil Dam Sefidrud Dam (originally named Shahbanu Farah Dam and also known as the Manjil Dam) ( Persian: سد سفیدرود) is a buttress dam on the Sefīd-Rūd in the Alborz mountain range, located near Manjil in Gilan Province, northern Iran. It wa ...

that significantly contributes to

's agriculture, such as its

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

groves, while generating electric power. The

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

impounded by the Manjil Dam adds to the beauty of the area.

Notes

References

External links

General Dunsterville's diary – Great War Primary Documents Archive
{{Rudbar County, state=collapsed Cities in Gilan province Populated places in Rudbar County Settled areas of Elburz Populated places destroyed by earthquakes