Table of Contents

  • GĪLĀN v. History under the Safavids

    Manouchehr Kasheff

    Gīlān has traditionally been considered by its local population as a land of two distinct regions divided by the course of Safīdrūd River.

  • GĪLĀN vi. History in the 18th century

    EIr and Reza Rezazadeh Langaroudi

    The rapid decline of the Safavids in the first decades of the 18th century, leading to their ultimate demise in 1722, created a general state of chaos in the country.

  • GĪLĀN vii. History in the 19th century

    EIr and Reza Rezazadeh Langaroudi

    Sealed off by mountains from the rest of the country, political and social life in Gīlān had always been highly influenced, if not determined, by its geographical position. The history of 19th-century Gīlān began with the continuation of the binary division of Bīa-pas and Bīa-pīš and the rule of local families.

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  • GILĀN viiia. In the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-11

    Pezhmann Dailami

    Two classes featured prominently in Gilān as the driving forces of the revolution, and the alliance of these two, the peasantry and the urban petty-bourgeoisie of artisans, shopkeepers, and petty traders, was the hallmark of a radical movement on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea.

  • GĪLĀN ix. Monuments

    Manouchehr Sotoudeh

    Most buildings of historical interest in Gilān have been repeatedly repaired and rebuilt. Some have clear records of their history, but most lack reliable, primary documents, and one has to rely on a variety of indirect evidence, such as the dates engraved on entrance doors or tombstones to reconstruct part of the past of a given edifice.

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  • GĪLĀN x. LANGUAGES

    Donald Stilo

    In Gīlān there are three major Iranian language groups, namely Gīlakī, Rūdbārī, and Ṭālešī, and pockets of two other groups, Tātī and Kurdish. The non-Iranian languages include Azeri Turkish and some speakers of Gypsy (Romany, of Indic origin).

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  • GILĀN xi. Irrigation

    Christian Bromberger

    In the rice-growing regions of the Caspian hinterland, water requirements are considerable and irrigation requires careful organization. It is estimated that one hectare of rice, on average,  requires 12,400 cubic meters of water. To meet this demand various techniques are used.

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  • GILĀN xii. Rural Housing

    Christian Bromberger

    In the north of the province, these minimal constructions (wells and rice barns) are traditionally complemented by a covered area for rice threshing, and, in Rašt district, by a separate building for drying paddy, known as a dudḵāna, garmḵāna, or bujḵāna. In the silkworm growing areas, the silkworm nursery occupies a place of honor.

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  • GILĀN xiii. Kinship and Marriage

    Christian Bromberger

    According to a 1991 sample survey, in Iran, the plain of Gilān has the lowest proportion of marriages whether with paternal or maternal cousins or with a near or distant (non-consanguineous) relation. 

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  • GILĀN xiv. Ethnic Groups

    Christian Bromberger

    Each group living in the province is characterized by one or several specific production activities, so that an ethnonym refers as much to territorial, linguistic, and cultural roots as to any dominant professional specialization.