Gorgan

Gorgan  pronunciation  (Persian: گرگان‎‎; formerly Astrabad or Astarabad (استرآباد), is the capital of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north east of Tehran, some 30 km (19 mi) away from the Caspian Sea. In the 2006 census, its population was 269,226, in 73,702 families.

Name

The Modern Persian word Gorgān (گرگان) is derived from Middle Persian Gurgān (𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭), itself from Old Persian Varkāna (𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴), the Achaemenid satrapy southeast of Caspian Sea (encompassed all of the present day Golestan Province, as well as some eastern parts of the Mazandaran province, and some southern parts of the modern-day Turkmenistan), which is reflected in Greek sources as Hyrcania (Ὑρκανία), Hyrcani or Hyrcana. The region is also mentioned in Avesta as Vəhrkāna (𐬬𐬆𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬁𐬥𐬀). The name is derived from the Proto-Iranian word *vrka-, meaning "wolf".

In post-Islamic Persia the city was known as Jurjān (جرجان), the Arabized form of the Persian word.

The Caspian form of the name is Wergen.

Estarabad

Estarabad (Persian: استرآباد‎‎) may refer to:

See also