Astara (; fa, آستارا, 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, a ...

d as Āstārā) is a city and capital of

Astara County Astara County ( fa, شهرستان آستارا) is located in 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 ...

, 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 ...

. It lies on the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

with

Azerbaijan Republic Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country, transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Wester ...

and on the

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 A ...

. It is an important border trade center between Iran and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

History

The earliest mention, under the name ''Astārāb'', comes in the Ḥodūd al-ʿālam, written toward the end of the 10th century. In the 14th century, Astara became the seat of the small

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall un ...

of the Esfahbad or Espahbad (-bod) of Gīlān. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the Ṭālešī Khans of Āstārā were either autonomous or nominally subordinate to the governors of Gīlān or Ardabīl; on several occasions they played important parts in the history of the Caspian provinces. According to Minorsky, We do not know whether the later governors of Astara still continued the line of the ispahbads. Even after the conquest of Northern Tālish by the Russians (1813) the family of the Tālish-khans maintained some special rights. Astara was part of the short lived Talysh Khanate in the 18th and 19th centuries, and for a short while it was the capital of the Khanate before it was moved to

Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a di ...

. In 1828, with the signing of the

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay ( fa, عهدنامه ترکمنچای; russian: Туркманчайский договор) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It was second ...

, Astara was split into two. The city of Astara in Azerbaijan is located just across the Astarachay River.

Tourism

Astara has various attractions and is considered a major tourist destination for Iranians and foreigners, especially those from the

. The city has a selection of beaches and is near to a

Temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

. Annually over six million Iranians, and six hundred thousand foreigners visit the city. The most popular beaches in this city are Shariati park and sadaf beach. Shariati beach park is located in the city, and Sadaf beach is 7 kilometers far from Astara city

Culture

Astara is home to one of the first libraries established in the country.

Agriculture

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

Climate

Astara has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen: ''Cfa,''

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Tre ...

'': Cf''), with relatively cold, wet winters and warm, humid summers.

Language

Linguistic composition of the city.

Famous people from Astara

* Fereydun Ebrahimi – Procurator-General in

Azerbaijan People's Government The Azerbaijan People's Government ( az, آذربایجان میللی حکومتی - Azərbaycan Milli Hökuməti; fa, حکومت خودمختار آذربایجان) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from Nov ...

Ebrahim Nabavi Seyyed Ebrahim Nabavi ( fa, سید ابراهیم نبوی; born 1958 in Astara, Iran) is a prolific Iranian satirist, writer, diarist, and researcher. He currently writes in the news website '' Gooya'' and the online newspaper '' Rooz'', and has ...

– Iranian journalist * Payan Rafat – football player *

Kamal Habibollahi Kamal Habibollahi ( fa, کمال حبیب‌اللهی, 1930 – 2016) was the last Commander of the Iranian Navy, Commander of the Imperial Iranian Navy until the Islamic Revolution and was the last under Pahlavi dynasty."Documents detail Israel ...

– last Commander of the Imperial Iranian Navy * Arshia(AKA:jafar,teymor) – CEO of TURK

Education

* Islamic Azad University of Astara

References

External links

Astara
entry in th
Encyclopædia Iranica
* {{Astara County Populated places in Astara County Cities in Gilan Province Azerbaijan–Iran border crossings Populated places on the Caspian Sea Port cities and towns in Iran Populated coastal places in Iran Ports and harbours of Iran Port cities and towns of the Caspian Sea Divided cities Azerbaijani settlements in Gilan Province