page_title: Mazandaran Province
section_title: In literature
hierarchical_section_title: Mazandaran Province / Culture / In literature
caption_attribution_description: English: Poulad castle, Baladeh, Mazandaran Province, Iran
context_page_description: Mazandaran Province, is an Iranian province located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range, in central-northern Iran.
  Mazandaran Province is one of the most densely populated provinces in Iran and has diverse natural resources, notably large reservoirs of oil and natural gas. The province's four largest counties are Sari, Amol, Nur, and Tonekabon. It was founded in 1937.
  The diverse nature of the province features plains, prairies, forests and rainforest stretching from the sandy beaches of the Caspian Sea to the rugged and snowcapped Alborz sierra, including Mount Damavand, one of the highest peaks and volcanoes in Asia.
  Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish, and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture. Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area. Mazandaran is also a fast-growing centre for biotechnology.
context_section_description: In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:
  بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت
  از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد
  And when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran (known as Tabarestan), after his victory over Salm and Tur.
  In the second section, a region called Mazandaran is mentioned in the Kai Kavoos era; it is an area which is mostly inhabited by Div (demons). The legendary Iranian Shah Kaykavoos, as well as the Iranian hero Rostam, each take turn to go to Mazandaran in order to battle the demons.
  In a verse from Shahnameh, Zal tells Kai Kavoos: "I heard troubling news that the king is planning to go to Mazandaran".
  However, this Mazandaran is not considered identical to the modern province of Mazandaran, and is instead a land to the west of Iran.  The current province was simply considered a part of Tabaristan; the name Mazandaran is a later development, perhaps based upon local terminology.
  In Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, one of the characters was formerly the daroga (chief of police) of Mazanderan.
caption: Baladeh Castle
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