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a former village in the summer resort (yeylāq) of Šamīrān, situated at an elevation of 1,700 m on the extreme northern edge of the capital, where the Alborz foothills begin. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 1, pp. 19-20 DARBAND QUARTER of Tehran, formerly a village in the summer resort ( yeylāq) of Šamīrān, situated at an elevation of 1,700 m on the extreme northern edge of the capital, where the Alborz foothills begin. A stream of the same name flows through it, and in July 1987 it flooded, destroying the bāzār of Tajrīš. Since the 1950s, when Šamīrān an…

a high, isolated valley in the Alborz 35 km northeast of Qazvīn, the center of an autonomous Ismaʿili state. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 797-801 ALAMŪT, a high, isolated valley in the Alborz thirty-five kilometers northeast of Qazvīn; the center of an autonomous Ismaʿili state, the valley was defended by numerous fortresses, one of which bears the same name (Figure 29). The valley. The valley of Alamūt in Daylam comprises the present dehestāns of Alamūt and Rūdbār, which meet in the baḵš of Rūdbār-e Alamūt in the šahrestān of Qazvīn, the center…

the highland between Tehran and Semnān on the southern flank of the central Alborz range. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 2, pp. 116-119 ANTI-ALBORZ, the highland between Tehran and Semnān on the southern flank of the central Alborz range. The name, which has no equivalent term in Persian, was given to the region, on the analogy of the Anti-Atlas, by the French geologist André Rivière (“Contribution à l’étude géologique de l’Anti-Elbourz,” Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 1936, pp. 277-98). This arid highland of middling elevation…

a small town in western Māzandarān (šahrestān of Nowšahr, baḵš of Čālūs) located about 8 km from the Caspian coast at an elevation of 7 m. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 7, pp. 720-722 ČĀLŪS, a small town in western Māzandarān ( šahrestān of Nowšahr, baḵš of Čālūs) located about 8 km from the Caspian coast at an elevation of 7 m. Its population was estimated at 29,000 in 1363 Š./1984 (Markaz-e Āmār-Īrān, p. 49). The name of the baḵš of Čālūs, Kalārestāq, was formerly applied to the entire land on the west bank of the Čālūs river, although the …

also Delārostāq, Dīlārostāq; dehestān (administrative district) in the šahrestān of Āmol (Lārījān baḵš), on the northeastern slope of Mount Damāvand in Māzandarān. A version of this article is available in print Volume VII, Fascicle 3, pp. 233-234 DELĀRESTĀQ (also Delārostāq, Dīlārostāq), dehestān (administrative district) in the šahrestān of Āmol (Lārījān baḵš), on the northeastern slope of Mount Damāvand in Māzandarān (Razmārā, Farhang III, p. 122). It is a small, isolated region, located between Lārījān and Nūr and thus forming part of the conglomerati…

mountain, town, and administrative district (šahrestān) in the central Alborz region. A version of this article is available in print Volume VI, Fascicle 6, pp. 627-631 i. Geography The mountain Mount Damāvand is a recent volcano with regular contours, part of the traditional landscape of Tehran and the Persian plateau that it dominates. The peak, the highest elevation in the entire Near East (5,671 m), is perpetually covered with snow. In popular culture Damāvand is “the mountain” par excellence, symbolizing the Persian homeland in numerous legends and stories. Physical geography (…

a region (Qešlāq and Garmsār) in the province of Semnān situated beyond the Caspian Gates, known particularly as a stopover on the great road to Khorasan. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 3, pp. 315-316 GARMSĀR, a region (Qešlāq and Garmsār) in the province of Semnān situated beyond the Caspian Gates. It has been known particularly as a stopover on the great road to Khorasan. It had an abundance of water (rivers, canals, and qanāts) and fodder, but no great caravansary or town developed there due to its proximity to Varāmīn and Rey. Garmsār…

the second major permanent river of the central Iranian plateau after the Zāyandarud river. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 5, pp. 543-544 KARAJ RIVER (Rud-e Karaj), the second major permanent river of the central Iranian plateau after the Zāyandarud (see ISFAHAN i-ii). The river runs 245 km, with an average slope of 0.8 percent, average annual discharge of 499 mcm (million cubic meters), and precipitation of 625 mm; the basin area is 2,800 km2. It flows from the central Alborz through the city of Karaj and the irrigated plain of Šahriār …

a semi-nomadic Gīlakī-speaking tribe that winters in the foothills of the central Alborz. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 866-867 ALĪ KĀY, a semi-nomadic Gīlakī-speaking tribe that winters in the foothills of the central Alborz; about three hundred families stay in the villages of the Garmsār plain, while another one hundred are dispersed among a dozen villages to the west of Karaǰ (Fašand, Valīān). This division is already mentioned by A. Chodzko, who mistakenly represents the memb…

a major river of the southern slopes of the central Alborz in the Central Plateau (140 km. long, basin of 1,890 km²), running from the mountains of Šami-rānāt at Rudbār-e Qaṣrān to the plain of Varāmin and eventually joins the salt lake of Qom (Daryāča-ye Qom), at about 89 km to the northwest of the city. A version of this article is available in print Volume XIV, Fascicle 4, pp. 399-400 JĀJRUD, a major river of the southern slopes of central Alborz (q.v.) in the Central Plateau (140 km long, basin of 1,890 km²), running from the mountains of Šami-rānāt at Rudbār-e…

a village on the Turkish-Iranian frontier eighteen kilometers northwest of Mākū, West Azerbaijan province. The development of this village is very recent and limited, linked with the nearby frontier crossing. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 1, pp. 52 BĀZARGĀN, a village on the Turkish-Iranian frontier eighteen kilometers northwest of Mākū (West Azerbaijan province, šahrestān and baḵš of Mākū, dehestān of Qalʿa Daresī). The old village is located at an altitude of 1,550 meters on an alluvial cone above the Āqčāy river. The p…

the statistical study of characteristics of human populations. Since World War II Persia, formerly a rural and tribal country dominated by elderly notables and with low population growth, has come to have a majority of young urban dwellers, mostly literate and multiplying rapidly. A version of this article is available in print Volume VI, Fascicle 3, pp. 258-276 i. IN PERSIA SINCE 1319 Š./1940 Since World War II Persia, formerly a rural and tribal country dominated by elderly notables and with low population growth, has come to have a majority of young urban…

a town in Tehran province, located 36 km west of the city of Tehran on the western bank of the Karaj River (lat 35° 46ʹ N, long 50° 49ʹ E; elev., 1,360 m).A version of this article is available in printVolume XV, Fascicle 5, pp. 537-543 KARAJ (also spelled Kerej or Karadj), a town in Tehran province, located 36 km west of the city of Tehran on the western bank of the Karaj River (lat 35° 46ʹ N, long 50° 49ʹ E; elev., 1,360 m). It has an average yearly rainfall of 188 m., average temperature maximum 21.3°C and minimum 8.9°. This entry is divided into two sections:i. Modern city.ii. Population.KARAJ i. Mo…

PLANHOL, XAVIER DE (b. Paris, 3 February 1926, d. Paris, 17 May 2016; Figure 1), prominent cultural geographer and leading authority on the relationship between the human and the natural environment, with a lifelong interest in the political geography of the Middle East and particularly Iran and Turkey.Xavier Genestet de Planhol was born in Paris on 3 February 1926. His parents left Paris in 1930 for Clamecy in the Nivernais, to an old family house, where the young Xavier grew up among books and in a traditional, but secular, monarchist fami…

name of two towns: (1) a fortified city in the medieval Islamic province of Ḡūr in Central Afghanistan, which was the capital of the senior branch of the Ghurid sultans (see GHURIDS) for some sixty years in the later 6th/12th and 7th/13th centuries; (2) fortress and surrounding settlement in the Damāvand region of the Alborz mountains in northern Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 6, pp. 636-639 FĪRŪZKŪH,name of two towns: (1) a fortified city in the medieval Islamic province of Ḡūr in Central Afghanistan, which was the capital…

The electrification of individual government buildꏂings appears to have begun during the reign of Nāṣer-al-ꏂDīn Shah with the state armory and the shah’s residence in Tehran It was only in 1900 that the first electrical plant (of 6,6 kw) was built in Iran, in the city of Mašhad. A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 8, pp. 814-821 i. In Iran The history and evolution of production.The almost exclusive use of wood and charcoal as energy sources hampered Iran’s economic development in the pre-20th century period. Government and private …

On the tropical margins of the Irano-Afghan plateau, snow is in fact exceptional below an altitude of 1,000 meters. Not that it cannot fall in abundance there, but then it is a memorable event. In the remaining two-thirds of the territory of Iran and Afghanistan snow is a common occurrence. A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 8, pp. 788-794 BARF “snow” (from OIr. *vafra- “snow,” root vap- “to toss in the air, to pile up”; cf. OInd. vápati “to disperse, to scatter,” vapra- “heap, mound”; Pokorny, I, p. 1149; Mayrhofer, Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary III, pp.…

modern Persian name for the east-west massif in northern Iran, lying south of the Caspian districts. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 8, pp. 810-821 ALBORZ (ELBORZ, ELBORS), modern Persian name for the east-west massif in northern Iran, lying south of the Caspian districts. ALBORZ i. The Name The more ancient name of the range is not known; perhaps, however, the Assyrian name Bikni designated Mt. Damāvand, the volcanic cone (5,600 m) northeast of Tehran. In the Sasanian period part of the region may have been known by the Middle Persian Padišxwār-gar (F. Sp…

As two of the most prominent ethnic elements in the Middle East, Arabs and Iranians have been in contact with each other, and at times have had their fortunes intertwined, for some three millennia. A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 2, pp. 201-224 See also ARABIC. ʿARAB i. Arabs and Iran in the pre-Islamic period As two of the most prominent ethnic elements in the Middle East, Arabs and Iranians have been in contact with each other, and at times have had their fortunes intertwined, for some three millennia. Herodotus (3.5)…

Relations with Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 2, pp. 126-187 FRANCE i. Introduction Compared to the long-standing history of Persian civilization, France emerged as a powerful entity endowed with its own distinctive culture only in the 13th century C.E., i.e. the great century of Christianity. Strongly marked by French influence, this century also coincided with the Mongol invasions that brought havoc to the vast Persian cultural area, then encompassing large tracts of Arab,…