Talesh County

Talesh County, also called Tavalesh (Persian: شهرستان تالش‎) is a county in Gilan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Hashtpar.

Talesh County

شهرستان تالش

طوالش
County
Nature of Asalem county/Talesh mountain
Counties of Gilan Province
Location of Gilan Province in Iran
Country Iran
ProvinceGilan
CapitalHashtpar
Bakhsh (Districts)Central District, Asalem District, Haviq District, Kargan Rud District
Population
 (2016)
 • Total200,649
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+4:30 (IRDT)
Gisoum forest road in Asalem, Gilan

Geography

The county is subdivided into four districts: the Central District, Asalem District, Haviq District, and Kargan Rud District.

The county has five cities: Hashtpar, Lisar, Asalem, Chubar, and Haviq. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 200,000, in 50,000 families.[1]

Talesh is located on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. Talesh County, covering an area of 2373 square kilometers, is ¼ of surface area of Gilan Province.

Talesh County has inland scenic areas in the Alborz mountain range, with intact natural habitats that are places for appreciating nature.

History

The Talysh peoples are, as archaeological studies show, one of the oldest inhabitants of the western littoral Caspian Sea areas, which stretches from Dagestan in the north, to Iran in the south. The Talysh have lived in what are known as "Talysh land" for millennia, and are amongst the native inhabitants of what is today Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan. There is a belief amongst scholars, as well as by the Talysh themselves who generally identify with the Cadusii,[2] that the ancient Cadusii are the ancestor of the today's Talysh.

The lands of the Talesh were much larger than the present day area. In olden times the geographical areas of the Talysh people was more than 10,000 km2. At present the Taleshan live in Gilan Province, and some cities in Ardabil Province (Iran) and southeastern Azarbaijan.

Historical monuments and natural sites
  • Salsal village which goes back to Ismaeilieh era near Ghalehbin village located 15 km. from Talesh..
  • White Mosque which dates from Seljukian era that situated at Hashtpar (Talesh) city .
  • Agh-ev-lar region at a distance of 32 km of this city which is considered among the first grade tourist sites of the Iran.
  • Asalem - Khalkhal road, and Laezeh countryside on the way to Khalkhal .
  • Coasts of Kissom
  • Loomer Waterfall
  • Nasrollah Khan Sardar Amjad (Amidossaltaneh) Winter Quarters Castle - dates back to Qajar Era. It has eight sides.
  • Nasrolah Khan Sardar Amjad (Amidossaltaneh) Summer Quarters Castle - in Aq Evlar Village.
  • Three - Floor Tombs Around the Lighthouse (Atashkadeh), and Remnants of Mard Ali Bil.
  • Aq Evlar Old Bath - located in a garden of Merian Village, built in Safavid Era ( 500 years ago).
  • Soobatan countryside.
  • Talesh Natural Park - covering an area of 80 acres (320,000 m2).

Culture

Languages
See also: Talysh language

Generally speaking, the land of Talesh has been divided in three regions: Gaskarat (Masalli, Taskoh, Shanderman, Rezvashar, Hashtpar, Asalem, Astara); Foumanat (Fouman, Masoleh, and Shaft); and Azerbaijan Taloshian (Lankaran amongst others). In Gaskarat, the majority of people speak Taleshi and/or Azeri, Farsi. In Foumanat, most speak Taleshi. Lastly, Talysh from neighboring Azerbaijan are often bilingual and trilingual, consisting of Taleshi, Azeri and Russian speakers.[3]

Gilaki and Taleshi are rapidly losing ground in many cities of Tavalesh due to heavy immigration of people from Azerbaijan.[4]

Ethnicities

Sir Arnold Wilson wrote:

"Iran's primary inhabitants generations still in Gilan in the forest areas near a sea (Caspian sea) could be found, these people by Aryan desert settled people expelled from their fatherland and this started 2000 years before Christ and lasted for centuries Sir Arnold Wilson was talking about Taleshian. Land of old Aran which from past till now was the house of Taleshan, was in fact the place that Aryans migration started from many researchers know Kadousian or the ancestors of Taleshian as the old natives of present Iran before the Aryan immigration. Present Taleshian beside other Iranians have a sense of proud of being Iranian and Aryan and are one of the little Iranian communities that kept their pure and Aryan culture."

Religion

Talesh people at present are Sunni and Shia Muslims. Most of the southern and central Taleshian are Shia, and northern Taleshian are composed of both Shia and Sunni.

Agriculture

Rice has been cultivated in this region for many years, where some indigenous cultivars (landrace) were conventionally bred by farmers.[5]

References
  1. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". Islamic Republic of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 2011-11-11.
  2. Livy, Ab urbe condita, xxxv. 48 Archived 2003-03-09 at the Wayback Machine; Polybius, Histories, v. 79; Historia Augusta: "Caracalla", 6; ibid., Historia Augusta: "The Two Valerians", 2.
  3. Asatrian, G. and H. Borjian, 2005. Talish: people and language: The state of research. Iran and the Caucasus 9/1, p 43-72
  4. Gilan. — X. Languages (author Donald Stilo), pp. 660. // Encyclopaedia Iranica. Volume X: Fisheries — Gindaros. Fascicle 6. Edited by Ehsan Yarshater. New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press, 2001, 672 pages. ISBN 0-933273-56-8
    ... 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). Gīlakī is spoken by possibly three million people as a first or second language, and has had a budding literature and fledgling prose publications, including newspapers, but both Gīlakī and Ṭālešī are rapidly losing ground in many cities of Tavāleš due to heavy immigration of people from Azerbaijan. ...
  5. Pazuki, Arman & Sohani, Mehdi (2013). "Phenotypic evaluation of scutellum-derived calluses in 'Indica' rice cultivars" (PDF). Acta Agriculturae Slovenica. 101 (2): 239–247. doi:10.2478/acas-2013-0020. Retrieved February 2, 2014.

Notes

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