Gorgan, formerly Astarabad, is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies approximately to the north east of Tehran, some away from the Caspian Sea. In the 2006 census; its population was 269,226, in 73,702 families.
History
There are several archaeological sites near Gorgan, including Tureng Tepe and Shah Tepe, in which there are remains dating from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras. Some other important Neolithic sites in the area are Yarim Tepe, and Sange Chaxmaq. Also, the nearby Shahroud Plain has many such sites. The number of confirmed Neolithic sites on the Gorgan Plain now totals more than fifty. According to the Greek historianArrian, Zadracarta was the largest city of Hyrcania and site of the "royal palace". The term means "the yellow city", and it was given to it from the great number of oranges, lemons, and other fruit trees which grew in the outskirts of that city. Hyrcania became part of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Cyrus the Great, its founder, or his successor Cambyses. The Great Wall of Gorgan, the second biggest defensive wall in the world, was built in the Parthian and Sassanian periods. At the time of the Sassanids, "Gurgan" appeared as the name of a city, province capital, and province. Gorgan maintained its independence as a Zoroastrian state even after Persia was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 8th century. In 1210, the city was invaded and sacked by the army of Kingdom of Georgia under command of the brothers Mkhargrdzeli. "Old Gorgan" was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and the center of the region was moved to what was called "Astarabad", which is currently called "Gorgan". Gorgan with its surrounding regions was sometimes considered as part of the Parthia or the Tabaristan regions. Astarabad was an important political and religious city during the Qajar dynasty.
Geography and climate
The wide Dasht-e Gorgan are located north of the city and geographically bounded by 37°00' - 37°30' north latitude and 54°00' - 54°30' east longitude, covering an area of about. Some east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park, home to a large portion of the fauna of Iran. Gorgan has a mediterranean climate. In general, Golestan has a moderate and humid climate known as "the moderate Caspian climate." The effective factors behind such a climate are: Alborz mountain range, direction of the mountains, height of the area, neighborhood to the sea, vegetation surface, local winds, altitude and weather fronts. As a result of the above factors, three different climates exist in the region: plain moderate, mountainous, and semi-arid. Gorgan valley has a semi-arid climate. The average annual temperature is and the annual rainfall is.
Notable people
Historical figures
House of Karen, an aristocratic feudal family first attested in the Arsacid era, belonged to the region of Hyrcania.
