Mazandaran province

Map showing Mazandaran in Iran

Mazandaran (مازندران in Persian) is a province in northern Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea in the north. Mazandaran or Mazenderan was a part of the Persian province of Hyrcania.

The name is from Old Persian "mahs Indra" (Great/Big Indra, a vedic god).

History

Mazandaran changed hands often early in its history (Russia...) and was incorporated into the Persian Empire by Shah Abbas I in 1596. It was formerly a part of the greater province of Taparestan or Tabaristan. Two famous 9th-century Persian scholars from Tabaristan, were both commonly called "al-Tabari" (simply "from Tabaristan")

Geography

Sari is the capital; other cities include Babol, Amul. Gorgan also used to be a part of Mazandaran until recently, but now it is the capital city of the new Iranian province of Golestan (1997).

It is traversed by the Elburz Mountains, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea and divide the province into many isolated valleys.

Economy

Rice, grain, fruits, cotton, tea, tobacco, sugarcane, and silk are produced in the lowland strip along the Caspian shore. Oil wealth has stimulated industries in food processing, cement, textiles, cotton, and fishing (caviar).

Language

Mazanderani or Tabari is by some considered a language in its own right, by others subsumed among the many regional dialects of Persian.