Rudbar ( fa, رودبار, Rudbār) (
Gilaki:, ''rubâr'') is a city and capital of
Rudbar County,
Gilan Province,
Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 11,454, in 3,303 families.
Rudbar is from
Tehran and with a variable climate. It is located on the fringes of a valley through which the
Sefid River (Rud-e Safid) flows. Rudbar can be considered as a gateway to the Gīlān Province from central Iran.
Its name (meaning "by the river" in Persian) is a reference to the river named Sepid Rood (Sepid Roud) that passes by the city. Rudbar is also called "Roodbar Zeitoun (
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'' ...
)" for the olive gardens in the area.
Rudbar's local economy notably includes olives and olive-based products. Groves of olive trees surround the city. Olive oil is produced locally. Rudbar is also known for its cream-hued, handcrafted carpets of fine quality. Despite the olive gardens that may suggest presence of a Mediterranean climate, the winters are very cold in the area. The winds in the Sepid Rood valley (
Manjil) are well known in the country.
Main language there is the
Gilaki Language. Larger cities in Gilan have slight variations to the way they speak. These "sub-dialects" are Rashti, Rudbari, Some’e Sarai, Lahijani, Langerudi, Rudesari, Bandar Anzali and Fumani. The majority of the people in Rudbar are
Gilaks
Gilaks (Gileki: گیلک) are an Iranian ethnic group native to the south of Caspian sea. They form one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. Gilak people, along with the closely related Mazandarani people, comprise ...
, and a minority are
Talysh. They speak the
Talysh Language with Galeshi Dialect and the
Gilaki Language with
Rudbari Sub-dialect.
[Guyeš-e Tāti-y-e Rudbār (The Tati Dialect of Rudbar), Jahandoost Sabzalipour, Rasht: Farhang-e Iliya Press, 2011]
History
The civilization of Rudbar and its surroundings date back to 2000 years
BCE. The Marlik bowl, a famous archeological artifact and one of the oldest gold bowls in the world from 1st millennium BC, was found there. With the advent of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, tribes from
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
and
Halab (Aleppo) immigrated and became settlers there. Later,
Nizari Isma'ili ''da'i'' made inroads and eventually established an
Assassin stronghold. In the era of
Nader Shah Afshar, groups from the
Kurds of
Quchan and areas of northern
Khorassan also settled there.
Rudbar was near the epicenter of the
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 on the
Richter scale (MS=7.7, MW=7.3, mb=6.4) at 12:31am local time on June 21, 1990, that killed around 50,000 and injured 100,000 city residents.
[ReliefWeb Report of Earthquake]
'' ReliefWeb'', June 1990 Despite reconstruction, it has not regained its former glory.
Shahrestan Rudbar
Rudbar County (
Shahrestan Shahrestan or Shahristan ( fa, شهرستان) may refer to:
Places
*Counties of Iran ("Shahrestan" in Persian), second order administrative divisions of Iran
*Shahristan District, Afghanistan (alternate spelling: Shahrestan)
* Shahrestan, Fasa, Fa ...
) was formed after a meeting between some Rudbari politicians such as
Ziaeddin Tavakkoli and
Reza Shah.
References
* Book of Amarlu - M.M.Zand
External links
{{Gilan Province
Cities in Gilan Province
Populated places in Rudbar County
Settled areas of Elburz
Cities destroyed by earthquakes
ro:Roudbar