Caspian coast of Iran during the Iranian intermezzo

The Semnani people ( Semnani: سمنی مرتمونی, ''samani mertimüni'') are a

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *The Caspian languages spoken in northern Iran and southeastern Azerbaij ...

people, part of the greater Iranian people who primarily live in northern

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 ...

and speak the

Semnani language Semnani (سمنی زفون, Semani zefön) (known also as Komisenian languages) is one of the local languages of the Semnan province of Iran. Despite the common misconception that Semnani is a Persian dialect, the language belongs to the Nor ...

. Today, the majority of Semnani people speak

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 ...

Origins

The Semnani people are

Caspians The Caspians (, ''Kaspyn''; , ''Káspioi''; Aramaic: ܟܣܦܝ, ''kspy''; , ''Kaspk’''; , ''Caspiani'') were an Iranic people of antiquity who dwelt along the southwestern shores of the Caspian Sea, in the region known as Caspiane. ''Caspian' ...

who migrated to the northern fringe of the central

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. ...

from the southern shores 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, ...

. It is not known when this migration occurred, but these Caspian-speaking tribes slowly intermixed with the tribes of the plateau, creating what has been dubbed in

literature as an "Isle of Dialects." These same Caspian migrants also settled in the villages and towns of Biyabunak, Eyvanakey,

Sorkheh Sorkheh () is a city in the Central District of Sorkheh County, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of the county. It was the capital of Sorkheh District of Semnan County until its capital was transferred to the village of Lasjerd ...

, Garmsar, Shahmirzad, Darjezin, and Mehdishahr. The city of Semnan is the primary hub of the Semnani people, though it is unclear whether the name itself came from the people or the settlement.

Cultural Identity

Like many cultures of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, Semnani people emphasize kindness, compassion, and hospitality. The identity of the Semnani people is deeply intertwined with their language. The ardent desire to preserve their unique identity manifests throughout Semnani poetry.

''Semnani is our history''
''Semnani is our cultural heritage''
''Since ancient times 'til now, it has been a treasure intact''
''It is our duty to preserve it''
-''Parviz Pezhum Shariati''

The spread of

—and even English—has threatened the preservation of the Semnani language. Poets, like Azim Hajj Ramazani, offer both hope and warning to the Semnani people.

''O Brother! The Tree of our Language is still alive and green.''
''O Brother! Do not let this Tree dry and die whilst it still stands.''

Agriculture

The arid plains of Iran's

central desert Deserts cover about , or 18%, of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, they are primarily distributed throughout ...

sharply contrast with the lush, forested north of Iran, but the lack of rain did not stop the Semnani people from settling the

alluvial fans An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

and bringing the desert to life for the last thousand years. The Semnani people built complex water irrigation projects to siphon snowmelt and runoff from the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

. One such project is ''Parö'', which in Semnani means ''the water splitter''. A large channel made of stonemasonry would draw the rushing water into the city. Several large steps and ponds would reduce the speed of the runoff until the water becomes nearly stationary by the last step. From there, the water would be divided into as many channels as needed and dispatched via a system of overland and subterranean aqueducts. In pre-modern times, an ''engarnevis'' would oversee the water distribution process, keeping records of how much water has been dispatched to a particular neighborhood or agricultural district. Ethnic groups in Iran

References

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