Manjil ( fa, Manjil, also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

d as Manjīl and Menjīl ; derived from

Manzil For the convenience of those who read the Quran in a week the text may be divided into seven portions, each known as Manzil. The following division to 7 equal portions is by Hamza Al-Zayyat (d.156/772): # Al-Fatihah (chapter 1) through An-Nis ...

) is a city in the Central District of

Rudbar County Rudbar County ( fa, شهرستان رودبار) is in Gilan province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Rudbar. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 101,884 in 27,902 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...

, Gilan 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 ...

. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,028, in 4,447 families.

Geography

Manjil is known as the windy city of Iran, a reputation it owes to its geographical position in the

Alborz mountain range The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

at a small cleft in Alborz that funnels the wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau.Visible on

Google earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

at N36º45´18˝-N36º41´42˝ and E49º23´6˝ and E49º31´ 48˝ The biggest

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

of Iran, the

Manjil and Rudbar Wind Farm Manjil, Harzvil, Siahpoush and Rudbar Wind Farms are wind farms located in Gilan, Iran. In 1995 the Iranian governors decided to use renewable energies in Iran and started to develop wind farms in Manjil area. They start with installing a Nord Tan ...

, is located near Manjil. Manjil is known for the river

Sefīd-Rūd The Sefid-Rud ( fa, سفیدرود, lit=white river, glk, اسپي بيه, ''Espī bīeh'') (also known as Sepid-Rud) is a river approximately long, rising in the Alborz mountain range of northwestern Iran and flowing generally northeast to ent ...

(or "Sepid Rood", "Sefid Rood", "white river"). It passes by the town and is formed in Manjil by two joining rivers. Since 1960 it has been the site of the

Manjil Dam Sefidrud Dam (originally named Shahbanu Farah Dam and also known as the Manjil Dam) is a buttress dam on the Sefīd-Rūd in the Alborz mountain range, located near Manjil in Gilan Province, northern Iran. It was constructed to store water for i ...

that significantly contributes to Gilan's agriculture, such as its

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

groves, while generating electric power. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

impounded by the Manjil Dam adds to the beauty of the area.

History

Throughout the history Manjil has been a gate to the southern

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

region. There are numerous archaeological site excavations (mostly illegal) in the Manjil area because of its rich cultural history. Some of these sites are related to the

Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

era, i.e., Hassan Sabbah movement based in Alamoot forte (one may find artifacts from the 3rd-2nd millennia BC in some households).

Modern history

In the modern era, Manjil was the site of a historical battle between the nationalist revolutionary forces of Jangal (led by

Mirza Koochak Khan Mirza Kuchik Khan ( fa, میرزا كوچک خان) (common alternative spellings ''Kouchek'', ''Koochek'', ''Kuchak'', ''Kuchek'', ''Kouchak'', ''Koochak'', ''Kuçek'') (October 12, 1880 – December 2, 1921) was an Iranian twentieth-century ...

) and the joint

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and White Russian forces on June 12, 1918. The latter forces (led by

General Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charles ...

and Colonel Bicherakhov) willing to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian to reach

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

and overthrow the newly formed

Baku Commune Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

(led by

Stepan Shahumian Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; , ''Step’an Ge'vorgi Shahumyan''; 1 October 1878 – 20 September 1918) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and politician active throughout the Caucasus. Arzumanyan, M. Շահումյան, Ստեփան Գևորգի. ...

). General Dunsterville's private diaries and notes, including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North

Persia 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 ...

and Baku, 1918 were transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville's great granddaughter, and are co-located on th
Great War Primary Documents Archive
Although devastated by a

1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake The 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake occurred on Thursday, June 21, 1990 at in northern Iran. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme''). Damage and casualties Widespread damage occurred to the northwest ...

of magnitude 7.3, for the last few decades Manjil has enjoyed industrial and economic growth.

People

Manjil had a mainly Azerbaijani Turkish population from the ʿAmmārlu tribe, together with Tats and

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

References

External links

General Dunsterville's diary - Great War Primary Documents Archive
{{Authority control Cities in Gilan Province Populated places in Rudbar County Settled areas of Elburz Cities destroyed by earthquakes