GILAN (GUILAN, GUILAN)

This article appears in Volume V12, Page 6 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GEO-GNU

GILAN (GUILAN, GUILAN) , one of the three small but important Caspian provinces of Persia, lying along the

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

-western shore of the Caspian Sea between 48 50' and 500 30' E. with a breadth varying from 15 to 50 M. It has an area of about 5000 sq. m. and a population of about 250,000. It is separated from Russia by the little river Astara, which flows into the Caspian, and bounded W. by Azerbaijan, S. by Kazvin and E. by Mazandaran. The greater portion of the province is a lowland region extending inland from the sea to the base of the mountains of the Elburz range and, though the Sefid Rud (White river), which is called Kizil Uzain in its upper course and has its principal sources in the hills of Persian Kurdistan, is the only river of any size, the province is abundantly watered by many .streams and an exceptionally

great

GREAT

rainfall (in some years 5o in.).
The vegetation is very much like that of southern Europe, but in consequence of the

great

GREAT

humidity and the mild climate almost tropically luxuriant, and the forests from the shore of the sea up to an altitude of nearly 5000 ft. on the mountain slopes facing the sea are as dense as an Indian jungle. Theprevailing types of trees are the oak, maple, hornbeam,

beech

BEECH

, ash and elm. The box tree comes to rare perfection, but in consequence of indiscriminate cutting for export during many years, is now becoming scarce. Of fruit trees the apple, pear, plum, cherry,

medlar

MEDLAR

, pomegranate, fig, quince, as well as two kinds of vine, grow wild; oranges, sweet and bitter, and other Aurantiaceae thrive well in gardens and plantations. The fauna also is well represented, but tigers which once were frequently seen are now very scarce; panther, hyena, jackal, wild boar, deer (Cervus marl) are common;

pheasant

PHEASANT

, woodcock, ducks, teal, geese and various waterfowl abound; the fisheries are very productive and are leased to a Russian firm. The

ordinary

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

cattle of the province is the small humped kind, Bos indicus, and forms an article of export to Russia, the humps, smoked, being much in demand as a delicacy.

Rice

of a kind not much appreciated in Persia, but much esteemed in Gilan and Russia, is largely cultivated and a quantity valued at about 120,000 was exported to Russia during 19041905. Tea plantations, with seeds and plants from Assam, Ceylon and the Himalayas, were started in the early part of 1900 on the slopes of the hills

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

of Resht at an altitude of about loon ft. The results were excellent and very good tea was produced in 1904 and 1905, but the Persian government gave no support and the enterprise was neglected. The olive thrives well at Rudbfir and Manjil in the Sefid Ri1d valley and the oil extracted from it by a Provencal for some years until 1896, when he was murdered, was of very good quality and found a ready market at Baku. Since then the oil has been, as before, only used for the manufacture of soap. Tobacco from Turkish seed, cultivated since 1875, grows well, and a considerable quantity of it is exported. The most valuable produce of the province is silk. In 1866 it was valued at 743,000 and about two-thirds of it was exported. The silk-worm disease appeared in 1864 and the crops decreased in con-sequence until 1893 when the value of the silk exported was no more than 65oo. Since then there has been a steady improvement, and in 19051906 the value of the produce was estimated at 300,000 and that of the quantity exported at 200,000. The eggs of the silk-worms, formerly obtained from Japan, are now imported principally from Brusa by Greeks under French

protection

PROTECTION

and from France.
There is only one good road in the province, that from Enzeli to Kazvin by way of Resht; in other parts communication is by narrow and frequently impassable lanes through the thick forest, or by intricate pathways through the dense undergrowth.
The province is divided into the following administrative districts: Resht (with the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

and its immediate neighbour-hood), Fumen (with Tulam and Mesula, where are iron mines), Gesker, Talish (with Shandarman, Kerganrud, Asalim, Gil-Dulab, Talish-Dulab), Enzeli (the port of Resht), Sheft, Manjil (with Rahmetabad and Amarlu), Lahijan (with Langarud, R{tdsar and Ranehkuh), Dilman and Lashtnisha. The revenue derived from taxes and customs is about 8o,000. The crown lands have been much neglected and the revenue from them amounts to hardly 3000 per annum. The value of the exports and imports from and into Gilan, much of them in transit, is close upon 2,000,000.
Gilan was an independent khanate until 1567 when

Khan

KHAN (from the Turki, hence Persian and Arabic Khan)

Ahmed, the last of the Kargia dynasty, which had reigned 205 years, was deposed by Tahmasp I., the second Safawid shah of Persia (15241576). It was occupied by a Russian force in the early part of 1723; and Tahmasp III., the tenth Safawid shah (17221731), then without a throne and his country occupied by the Afghans, ceded it, together with Mazandaran and Astarabad, to Peter the Great by a treaty of the 12th of September of the same year. Russian troops remained in Gilan until 1734, when they were compelled to evacuate it.
The derivation of the name Gilan from the modern Persian word gil meaning mud (hence " land of mud ") is incorrect. It probably means " land of the Gil," an ancient tribe which classical writers mention as the Gelae. (A. H.-S.)

End of Article: GILAN (GUILAN, GUILAN)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/GEO_GNU/GILAN_GUILAN_GUILAN_.html">
GILAN (GUILAN, GUILAN)
</a>

(Previous)
GIGLIO (anc. Igilium)

(Next)
GILBART, JAMES WILLIAM (1794-1863)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email