Gorgān

Gorgān, Iran

Gorgān, also spelled Gurgān, formerly Asterābad, city, capital of Golestān province, north-central Iran. It is situated along a small tributary of the Qareh River, 23 miles (37 km) from the Caspian Sea. The city, in existence since Achaemenian times, long suffered from inroads of the Turkmen tribes who occupied the plain north of the Qareh River and was subjected to incessant Qājār-Turkmen tribal conflicts in the 19th century. It was renamed Gorgān in the 1930s after being devastated by an earthquake. Articles of trade include cereals, soap, and carpets. In modern times the plain around Gorgān has become a flourishing granary. Pop. (2006) 274,438.