Siahkal

Siahkal

سياهكل
Siahkal سياهكل
City
	Siahkal
	Coordinates: 37°09′10″N 49°52′15″E / 37.15278°N 49.87083°E
Country	Iran
Province	Gilan
County	Siahkal
Bakhsh	Central
Population (2016 Census)
• Total	19,924
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+4:30 (IRDT)

Siahkal (Persian: سياهكل, also Romanized as Sīāhkal, Seyāh Kal, Sīāh Kal, and Sīyāh Kal; also known as Sīāhkal Maḩalleh)^[2] is a city and capital of Siahkal County, Gilan Province, Iran.

History

Siahkal was the scene of the 1971 Marxist Siahkal uprising.

Demographics

Siahkal's population is Gilak and the city's main language is Gilaki language. The majority of the population traditionally followed Shi'ite Islam, some were Jewish or Baháʼí. Many residents are currently secular. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,274, in 4,343 families.^[3] At the 2016 census, Siahkal's population was 19,924.^[4]

The Jewish Community

There used to be a sizeable Jewish community in Siahkal with synagogue(s) and neighborhoods. The written historical sources on this community are limited, and mostly lost to history limited, as the Gilan province was largely isolated, and mostly ignored in history, but they might have been present since antiquity given speaking the Judeo-Siahkali dialect, as opposed to other Jewish communities of Gilan and surrounding provinces.^[5] The community married among themselves and had a long tradition that they were descendants of King David. Some were descendants of Jews of Dilaman, who were ordered by Nadir Shah Afshar in the year 1746 to relocate to Mashhad.^[6]^[7]

The community faced one or several pogroms and mass conversions in recent history based on their collective memory. Possibly, around 1880, there was a pogrom in Siyāhkal in which many Jews were killed, many were subjected to forceful conversion to Islam, and others left the city to live in Rasht (Netzer, Siyāhkal). In the following years, Many of the remaining members of this isolated community converted to Baháʼí Faith, Islam, or joined the Marxist movement. Others gradually left the town, commenced by events of the pogrom of 1880, the Marxist insurrection of 1921, the Soviet Occupation, and then as well as the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, which prompted immigration of the remaining practicing Jews to either Israel, Rasht, Tehran, or the United States;.^[8]^[9]^[10] Not much is known of the remaining Converso community who were mostly assimilated into the native population. Islamic Republic's State-Sponsored Conspiracy Theories had resorted to antisemitic tropes of blaming the Crypto-Jews of Siyahkal for the spread of Bahaii and Communism in the region.

Education

Sama Vocational Academy
Islamic Azad University has a campus in Siahkal.
Payame Noor University has a campuses in Siahkal.

Tourist Attractions

Lonak Waterfall
Baba Vali Waterfall
Larikhani Forest and Spring
Dorfak Mountain
Ti Ti Caravanserai
Garmavar Castle
Kutul Shah Castle
Siahkal-Deylaman Road and Forest
Pashuran Park and Pool
Rice Farms
Gilarkesh Rock Shelter
Azodi House
Mineral Water Springs
Siahkal's Weekly Market
Shrine of Qader the Prophet
Shrine of Baba Vali
Shrine of Saleh and Sultain Hussein
Imamzadeh Mustafa

Gallery

References

^ "Statistical Center of Iran > Home".
^ Siahkal can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3085619" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20.
^ {{IranCensus2016 «نتایج سرشماری عمومی نفوس و مسکن ۱۳۹۵ (جدول جمعیت و خانوار)»
^ Korangy, Alireza; Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz (2019). "Essays on Typology of Iranian Languages". De Gruyter. p. 169. ISBN 9783110604443.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Russo, Yocheved Miriam (22 August 2007). "The double lives of Mashhadi Jews". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
^ Sarshar, Houman M. (2014). The Jews of Iran the history, religion, and culture of a community in the Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 77, 79. ISBN 978-1-78831-926-3. OCLC 1176164479.
^ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/gil-x0101-n ^{[bare URL]}
^ A. Netzer, "Yehudim be-Gilān", : Yeẓirah ve-Toladot (1994), 215–32; idem, "Jews of Siyāhkal," in: Shofar (a monthly Jewish-Persian magazine), 274 (December 2003), 22ff.; 275 (January 2004), 22ff
^ L. Rabino, Les provinces caspiennes de la Perse (1917)

This Siahkal County location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Statistical Center of Iran > Home".

[2] Siahkal can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3085619" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".

[3] "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20.

[4] {{IranCensus2016 «نتایج سرشماری عمومی نفوس و مسکن ۱۳۹۵ (جدول جمعیت و خانوار)»

[5] Korangy, Alireza; Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, Behrooz (2019). "Essays on Typology of Iranian Languages". De Gruyter. p. 169. ISBN 9783110604443.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[:0-6] Russo, Yocheved Miriam (22 August 2007). "The double lives of Mashhadi Jews". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

[:1-7] Sarshar, Houman M. (2014). The Jews of Iran the history, religion, and culture of a community in the Islamic World. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 77, 79. ISBN 978-1-78831-926-3. OCLC 1176164479.

[8] ttps://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/gil-x0101-n ^{[bare URL]}

[9] A. Netzer, "Yehudim be-Gilān", : Yeẓirah ve-Toladot (1994), 215–32; idem, "Jews of Siyāhkal," in: Shofar (a monthly Jewish-Persian magazine), 274 (December 2003), 22ff.; 275 (January 2004), 22ff

[10] L. Rabino, Les provinces caspiennes de la Perse (1917)

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