Rasht

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Rasht.png Rasht (also transcribed as Resht) is the capital of Gilan province in northwestern Iran. It is a major trade center between Caucasia, Russia and Iran using the port of Bandar-e Anzali. Rasht is also a major tourist center. Rasht had an estimated population of 560,123 in 2005. [1]

1 Geography and climate
2 People and culture
3 History
- 3.1 Timeline
4 Notables of Rasht
5 Suburbs
6 External links and Sources

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Geography and climate

Rasht is nestled between the coast of the Caspian Sea and the slopes of the Alborz mountain range on a branch of the Sefid River. It is situated 317 km by road north-west of Tehran and is approximately 30 km from the Caspian Sea. Rasht is humid, rainy, and windy. A northwest wind blows from the Caspian Sea (to the southeast). Rasht receives about 1000-1200 mm of annual precipitation in the form of rain. It seldom, drops below freezing, and the average maximum temperature in 1996 was 20.9 degrees Celsius. Due to it's splendid fresh weather, Rasht is visted by many Iranians every year.

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People and culture

The people speak Gilaki, Persian, Taleshi, a distinct dialect of Persian and Azeri.

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History

For a more comprehensive treatment of the region, see the history section of Gilan.

Image:Rasht mosque.png Rasht was first mentioned in historical documents in 682 CE, but it is certainly older than this. It has seen the Sassanid era, the armies of Peter the Great and later Russian rulers, and British colonialism. The people of Rasht also played a major role in the Constitutional Revolution of Iran.

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Timeline

682: Rasht is first mentioned in historical documents
1669: Stenka Razin, a Cossack warlord, plundered the city
1722 - 1734: occupied by Peter the Great during the Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723
1901: a major epidemic plague devastates the city.
1917 - 1920: The Russian and British armed forces fight in the port city of Bandar-e Anzali and Rasht. The British retreat and the Russians occupy the area. In 1920 Bolshevik Russians set a great fire in the bazaar, causing many citizens to go into temporary exile.
1937: a revolt, sparked by the desire to collect a "road tax" from the Russians, was suppressed
1977: Rasht University established