Gonbad-e Kavus ( fa, گنبد کاووس, Gonbade Kâvus) is a city in Golestan province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The modern name, meaning "the tower of Kavus", is a reference to the most imposing ancient monument in the city. The historic name cannot now be restored, because it was assigned to the neighboring historical city of

Astarabad Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...

in the 1930s by the Iranian government. At one point, it was even known as the city of Dashte Gorgan, meaning "the Plains of Gorgan". It is the capital of Gonbad-e Kavus County, in the province of Golestān in the northeast of

. At the 2006 census, its population was 127,167, in 30,710 families. In the historical times, the city's populations were made up of various

Iranic The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

peoples such as the ancient and

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

Hyrcanians Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspi ...

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

and eventually the Khurasani

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

. Today, however, there are no reliable figures for the ethnic make of the city. However, it is agreed that the city has a plurality of its inhabitants being a mix of ethnic Persians, Turkmen, Turkmen remaining population are made Azerbaijanians, Sistani Persians, Baluch and other

Iranic people The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

s. The city is famous for its historic brick tower of the same name. Linguistic Map of Golestan Province

Historical attractions

The "Divar-i Gorgan" (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

for "The Great Wall of Gorgan") is a gigantic defensive wall built in the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

period of Iranian history. The visible remains are about long and wide. It is one of the most outstanding and gigantic architectural monuments in northeast Iran and the most impressive in the Golestan Province. This wall, which is the largest defensive wall in the world after the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...

, starts from the Caspian sea coast, circles north of the city of Gonbad-e Kāvus, continues towards the northeast, and vanishes into the

Pishkamar Pishkamar ( fa, پيش كمر, also Romanized as Pīshkamar and Pīsh Kamar; also known as Tekcha) is a village in Zavkuh Rural District, Pishkamar District, Kalaleh County, Golestan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Re ...

Mountains. At certain points, the Divar is wide and in other parts the width is , depending on the nature of the land and the soil type. Watch towers and forts had been built at different distances. The longest distance between forts is and the shortest is . The 40 identified forts vary in dimension and shape but the majority are square fortresses. Due to many difficulties in development and agricultural projects, archaeologists have been assigned to mark the boundary of the historical find by laying cement blocks. The Divar defensive wall has also been known variously as Alexander Dam, Anushirvân Dam, Firuz Dam and Golestan's Defense Wall in various historical texts. Dr. Kiani, who led the archaeological team in 1971, believes that the wall was built during the Parthian dynasty, simultaneously with the construction of the Great Wall of China, and that it was restored during the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

era (3rd to 7th centuries AD).

Neolithic period

During the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

period, this area had many populated settlements. For example, Yarim Tepe (Iran). The

Jeitun Jeitun (Djeitun) is an archaeological site of the Neolithic period in southern Turkmenistan, about 30 kilometers north of Ashgabat in the Kopet-Dag mountain range. The settlement was occupied from about 7200 to 4500 BC possibly with short interru ...

culture started before 6000 BC.

Natural attractions

* Aji gol Lake * Ala gol lake * Alma Gol Lake * Chehelchay Forest * Golestan Forest * Gonbad Horse Racing Center

Colleges and universities

* Gonbad Kavous University * Islamic Azad University of Gonbad * Payamnoor University of Gonbad

Notable people

Sardar Azmoun Sardar Azmoun ( fa, سردار آزمون (Sardâr Âzmôn); born 1 January 1995) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer L ...

Farhad Ghaemi Farhad Ghaemi ( fa, فرهاد قائمی; born 28 August 1989) is a volleyball player from Iran, who plays as an outside spiker for the Men's National Team. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His ethnicity is I ...

Parham Maghsoodloo Parham Maghsoodloo ( fa, پرهام مقصودلو, born 11 August 2000) is an Iranian chess grandmaster. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2016. Maghsoodloo is a three-time Iranian national champion and became the World Jun ...

Magtymguly Pyragy Magtymguly Pyragy ( fa, ''Makhdumqoli Farāghi''; tk, Magtymguly Pyragy; ; tr, Mahtumkulu Firaki; , born Magtymguly, was a Turkmen spiritual leader, philosophical poet, Sufi and traveller who is considered to be the most famous figure in ...

* Shahpour Turkian * Mohsen Yeganeh

Notes

References

External links

Iran plans to begin preservation work on the tower.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonbad-E Qabus Populated places in Gonbad-e Kavus County Cities in Golestan Province Persian words and phrases