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Mazandaran is a province in northern Iran, bordering
the Caspian (Mazandaran) Sea in the north. Mazandaran was part of the
Persian province of Hyrcania. It had been historically known as
Tabaristan prior to 1596.
Sari is the provincial capital. Gorgan also used to be a part of
Mazandaran until recently, but is now the capital city of the new
Iranian province of Golestan (since 1997).
The province covers an area of 23,833 sq. km. Counties of the province
are: Amol, Babol, Babolsar, Behshahr, Tonekabon, Chaloos, Ramsar,
Savad Kooh, Qaem Shahr, Mahmood Abad, Neka, Noor and Noshahr.
The Caspian Sea is to the north, the provinces of Tehran and Semnan
lie to the south. To the west it has common borders with Gilan
province, and to the east stands the province of Golestan.
In 1996, the province had a population of about 2.6 million.
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Mazandaran province is geographically divided into two
parts: the coastal plains, and the mountainous areas. The Alborz
Mountain Range surrounds the coastal strip and plains of the Caspian Sea
like a huge barrier.
There is often snowfall during most of the seasons in the Alborz
regions, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea's southern coast,
dividing the province into many isolated valleys.
Mazandarani Language
Mazanderani or Tabari is an ancient northwestern branch of the Iranian
languages, and is even considered by some a language in its own right.
Notably, the language did not come under the influence of other incoming
languages such as Mongolian, Arabic, or Tatar, and is still spoken in
various dialects (Saravi, Gorgani, Gilaki, Baboli, Amoli) in the region.
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