Gorgan

Gorgan (also romanized as Gorgān, Gurgān, and Gurgan), formerly Esterabad (also romanized as Astarābād, Asterabad, and Esterābād), is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the district, the county, and the province. It lies approximately to the northeast of Tehran, some away from the Caspian Sea.
At the 2006 National Census, its population was 269,226 in 73,702 households. The following census in 2011 counted 329,536 people in 98,019 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 350,676 people in 111,099 households.
History
There are several archaeological sites near Gorgan, including Tureng Tepe and Shah Tepe, in which there are remains dating from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras. Some other important Neolithic sites in the area are Yarim Tepe, and Sange Chaxmaq. The nearby Shahroud Plain has many such sites. More than 50 are on the Gorgan Plain.
According to the Greek historian Arrian, Zadracarta was the largest city of Hyrcania and site of the "royal palace". The term means "the yellow city", and it was given to it from the great number of oranges, lemons, and other fruit trees which grew in the outskirts of that city.
Hyrcania became part of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), its founder, or his successor Cambyses (530-522 BC).
The Great Wall of Gorgan, the second biggest defensive wall in the world, was built in the Parthian and Sassanian periods.
At the time of the Sassanids, "Gurgan" appeared as the name of a city, province capital, and province.
Gorgan maintained its independence as a Zoroastrian state even after Persia was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 8th century.
In 1210, the city was invaded and sacked by the army of Kingdom of Georgia under command of the brothers Mkhargrdzeli.
"Old Gorgan" was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and the center of the region was moved to what was called "Astarabad", which is currently called "Gorgan".
Gorgan with its surrounding regions was sometimes considered as part of the Tabaristan region.
Astarabad was an important political and religious city during the Qajar era.
Geography
The wide Dasht-e Gorgan (Plains of Gorgan) are located north of the city and geographically bounded by 37°00' - 37°30' north latitude and 54°00' - 54°30' east longitude, covering an area of about .
Some east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park, home to a large portion of the fauna of Iran.
The Gorgān Dam is situated 60 km northeast of Gorgan city and has a capacity of 100 milion cubic meters.
Climate
Gorgan has a subtropical mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa, Trewartha: Cs), with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters. In general, Golestan has a moderate and humid climate known as "the moderate Caspian climate". The effective factors behind such a climate are: Alborz mountain range, direction of the mountains, height of the area, neighborhood to the sea, vegetation surface, local winds, altitude and weather fronts. As a result of the above factors, three different climates exist in the region: plain moderate, mountainous, and semi-arid. Gorgan valley has a semi-arid climate. The average annual temperature is and the annual rainfall is roughly .
Notable people
Ancient
Fakhroddin Asaad Gorgani, 11th-century Persian poet and the composer of Vis and Ramin.
Abu Sa'id al-Darir al-Jurjani, 9th century astronomer and mathematician
Al-Masihi, 10th century physician and teacher of Avicenna
Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī, 11th century grammarian and literary theorist
Zayn al-Din al-Jurjani, 12th century royal physician
Bahram al-Da'i, 12th-century Nizari Ismaili missionary and military leader in Syria
Fazlallah Astarabadi (Naimi), 14th century mystic and founder of Hurufism
Rustam Gorgani, 16th century physician
Mir Fendereski, philosopher, poet and mysti
Mir Damad, 17th century Islamic scholar and Neoplatonic philosopher
Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, 18th century chief minister to Nader Shah
Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi, writer, satirist and feminist
Firishta, historian
Sardar Rafie Yanehsari, Governor of Astarabad
Modern
Iraj Etesam, Iranian architect, educator and author; born in Gorgan.
Nader Ebrahimi, author, poet, director and researcher
Hossein Khanzadi, admiral in the Iranian Navy
Mohammad Reza Lotfi, traditional Persian musician
Maryam Zandi, photographer
Education
Golestan University
Golestan University of Medical Sciences
Gorgan University
Islamic Azad University of Gorgan
Lamei Gorgani institute of Higher Education
Sports
Shahrdari Gorgan competes in the Iranian Basketball Super League and Etka Gorgan F.C. competes in the Azadegan League.
Sister cities
Aktau, Kazakhstan
Samsun, Turkey (2006)
See also
Gorgan International Airport
al-Jurjani
Gorgan-rud River
Gurganj
References
Cities in Golestan Province
Hyrcania
Iranian provincial capitals