Shahmirzad () is a city in, and the capital of,

Shahmirzad District Shahmirzad District () is in Mehdishahr County, Semnan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Shamirzad. History After the 2006 National Census, Mehdishahr District was separated from Semnan County in the establishment of Mehdishahr ...

Mehdishahr County Mehdishahr County () is in Semnan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Mehdishahr. History After the 2006 National Census, Mehdishahr District was separated from Semnan County Semnan County () is in Semnan Province, Iran. I ...

, Semnan 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 ...

. It is in the northern part of the country and on the southern slopes of 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 ...

Mountains.

Demographics

Language

The Shahmirzadi language (شامرزایی) is a Caspian language close to Mazandarani.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 7,273 in 1,860 households, when it was in the former Mehdishahr District of

Semnan County Semnan County () is in Semnan Province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Semnan. History After the 2006 National Census, Mehdishahr District was separated from the county in the establishment of Mehdishahr County. After the 2011 census, ...

. The following census in 2011 counted 8,882 people in 2,625 households, by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment of Mehdishahr County. Shahmirzad was transferred to the new Shahmirzad District. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 11,191 people in 3,789 households. During the summer, the city's population approaches 40,000 as tourists come for its cool climate and popular gardens.

Overview

Shahmirzad has been home to people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, a large group of whom seasonally settled in cities and towns 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 ...

, such as

Babol Babol (; Mazandarani: ), famously known as the City of Orange Blossoms and the Global City of Wetlands, is the capital city of Babol County. This city, which was the center of Mazandaran during the Zand dynasty era, now serves as the telec ...

Sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

Neka Neka () is a city in the Central District of Neka County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Not much is known about this area in geographical or historical accounts of the past, until ...

, and

Behshahr Behshahr () is a city in the Central District of Behshahr County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is located at the foot of the Alborz mountains, approximately east of Sari and west of ...

. During the past decades many Muslim, Bahá'í, and Shahmirzadi

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, migrated to larger cities in Iran and abroad, most notably

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Shahmirzad's walnut orchard with a size of is noted by the UN, Food and Agriculture Organization, as the largest of its kind in the world. Shahmirzadi homeowners are given a proprietary interest in the walnut orchard in proportion to the amount of land they own in the village. Shahmirzad also produces mineral water "Tenab Shahmirzad".

Notable people

Zabihollah Safa Zabihollah Safa (; May 7, 1911 in Shahmirzad, Iran – April 29, 1999 in Lübeck, Germany) was a scholar and professor emeritus of Iranian studies at the University of Tehran. His main contribution to the field of Iranian studies is seen in hi ...

, Iran scholar and professor at the University of Tehran (d. 1999) *

Hají Ákhúnd Ḥají Mullá ʻAlí-Akbar S͟hahmírzádí (‎ 18421910), known as Ḥají Ák͟húnd, was an eminent follower of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was appointed a Hand of the Cause, and identified as one of the nineteen ...

, Apostle of Baháʼu'lláh,

Hand of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, who died in 2007. Hands of ...

in the Bahá’í Faith

Notes

References

{{Mehdishahr County, state=collapsed Populated places in Mehdishahr County Cities in Semnan province