Atlasایرانشهر
An atlas of Iran and the wider Iranian world: the thirty-one provinces of Iran, and the lands beyond its borders where Persian and its sister languages, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Tajik, Ossetian, Tat and Kumzari among them, have lived for centuries. Choose a region to read its history, its cities and its landmarks.
The provinces of Iranاستان‌های ایران
- TehranتهرانThe capital province: Tehran, a town that became a capital under the Qajars and grew into a city of millions beneath the Alborz.
- AlborzالبرزIran's newest province, separated from Tehran in 2010, around the city of Karaj at the foot of the mountains that give it its name.
- QomقمA city of pilgrimage and learning, built around the shrine of Fatima Masumeh on the edge of the central desert.
- MarkaziمرکزیThe central province, known for Arak's industry and, for more than a century, for the carpets woven in its villages.
- IsfahanاصفهانHalf the world, as the old saying goes: the Safavid capital of blue domes, river bridges and the great square.
- FarsفارسThe heartland that gave Persia its name: Persepolis, Pasargadae, and Shiraz, the city of Hafez and Saadi.
- KermanکرمانA vast province of desert, mountains and gardens, from the citadel of Bam to the pistachio orchards of Rafsanjan.
- YazdیزدAn old desert city of windcatchers, qanats and Zoroastrian fire temples, where caravan routes crossed the central plateau.
- Razavi Khorasanخراسان رضویKhorasan, the land where the sun rises: the shrine city of Mashhad, Ferdowsi's Tus and Khayyam's Nishapur.
- North Khorasanخراسان شمالیA mountain province on the old road between Khorasan and the Caspian, where Kurdish, Turkic and Persian communities meet.
- South Khorasanخراسان جنوبیA dry eastern frontier of saffron, barberries and qanats on the edge of the Lut desert.
- GolestanگلستانGreen hills and open steppe at the south-east corner of the Caspian, the ancient land of Hyrcania.
- MazandaranمازندرانThe Caspian shore of rice fields and forest beneath the Alborz, crowned by Mount Damavand.
- GilanگیلانThe rainiest corner of Iran: rice paddies, tea gardens, the lagoon of Anzali and the stepped village of Masuleh.
- ArdabilاردبیلHigh, cold country under Mount Sabalan, cradle of the Safavid dynasty.
- East Azerbaijanآذربایجان شرقیTabriz and its great bazaar, capital of the Ilkhanids and the early Safavids, on the road to Anatolia and the Caucasus.
- West Azerbaijanآذربایجان غربیLake Urmia, Azerbaijani and Kurdish towns, Armenian churches and the Sasanian fire temple of Takht-e Soleyman.
- ZanjanزنجانA highland province on the Tehran–Tabriz road, known for knives, hand-made shoes and the great dome of Soltaniyeh.
- QazvinقزوینA Safavid capital of calligraphers and the gateway to the valley of Alamut.
- HamadanهمدانAncient Ecbatana, capital of the Medes, and the resting place of Avicenna and Baba Taher.
- KurdistanکردستانThe mountains of Iranian Kurdistan around Sanandaj: a land of music, weaving and terraced villages.
- KermanshahکرمانشاهRoyal rock reliefs from Darius to the Sasanians, cut into the cliffs of the Zagros.
- IlamایلامA mountainous border province of oak forests and Kurdish and Lur communities, looking down onto the Mesopotamian plain.
- LorestanلرستانThe heart of the Zagros, home of the Lurs and of the famous Luristan bronzes.
- KhuzestanخوزستانThe lowland of ancient Elam: Susa, the ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil and the waterworks of Shushtar, beside the Karun.
- Chaharmahal and Bakhtiariچهارمحال و بختیاریThe high Zagros pastures of the Bakhtiari, where the Zayandeh and Karun rivers begin.
- Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmadکهگیلویه و بویراحمدOak forests, waterfalls and the peaks of Dena, home to the Lur tribes that give the province its name.
- BushehrبوشهرIran's Gulf port of coral-stone merchant houses, sea songs and the ruins of Siraf.
- HormozganهرمزگانThe Strait of Hormuz and its islands: red earth, palm groves, sailors and the port of Bandar Abbas.
- Sistan and Baluchestanسیستان و بلوچستانThe south-east: the Sistan basin, legendary home of Rostam, and Baluchestan reaching down to the Sea of Oman.
- SemnanسمنانThe desert's northern shore on the Silk Road, where the Alborz meets the Dasht-e Kavir.
Greater Iranایران بزرگ
- HeratهراتThe pearl of Khorasan: Herat was the Timurid capital of painting, poetry and gardens.
- Nimruz and Helmandنیمروز و هلمندThe lower Helmand, the eastern half of historic Sistan, which Afghanistan shares with Iran.
- BalkhبلخAncient Bactria and Balkh, the mother of cities, where Rumi was born.
- KabulکابلKabul and its valleys, a Persian-speaking city at the crossroads of Central and South Asia.
- BamiyanبامیانA high valley on the Silk Road where two giant Buddhas stood in the cliffs until 2001.
- Kandahar and Ghazniقندهار و غزنیAncient Arachosia and the Pashtun south, from Kandahar to the Ghaznavid capital of Ghazni.
- TajikistanتاجیکستانThe Persian-speaking republic of Central Asia, home of the Tajik language and the memory of the Samanids.
- Samarkand and BukharaماوراءالنهرTransoxiana: Samarkand and Bukhara, the cities beyond the river, centres of Persian learning for a thousand years.
- KhwarazmخوارزمThe delta of the Amu Darya: an ancient Iranian civilisation and the home of al-Khwarizmi and al-Biruni.
- Merv and Nisaمرو و نساThe Parthian homeland and Merv, one of the great cities of the medieval world.
- Arran and Shirvanاران و شروانThe Caucasian lands of Nezami of Ganja and of the Shirvanshahs, today the Republic of Azerbaijan.
- Iraqi Kurdistanکردستان عراقErbil, Sulaymaniyah and the mountains of Kurdistan in Iraq, where Kurdish, an Iranian language, is spoken.
- BalochistanبلوچستانThe Baloch homeland east of Iran, a vast land of mountains and desert reaching to the Arabian Sea.
- Mesopotamiaمیان‌رودانThe land between the rivers, where the Parthian and Sasanian kings ruled from Ctesiphon.
- Van and the Kurdish highlandsوان و کوهستان‌های کردSouth-eastern Anatolia, around Lake Van and the upper Tigris, where Kurdish is spoken.
- ArmeniaارمنستانA Christian kingdom of the Caucasus with deep ties to Iran: an Achaemenid satrapy, an Arsacid dynasty and centuries of shared history.
- GeorgiaگرجستانThe Caucasian kingdom that lived beside Iran for two thousand years and retold the Shahnameh in Georgian.
- Derbent and DagestanدربندDerbent, the Sasanian gate between the Caspian and the Caucasus, where Tat, an Iranian language, is still spoken.
- North OssetiaاوستیاThe Ossetians of the central Caucasus speak an Eastern Iranian language descended from that of the Alans and Scythians.
- BahrainبحرینThe island kingdom of the Gulf, long tied to Iran, with an old community of Persian descent, the Ajam.
- MusandamمسندمThe mountain tip of Arabia on the Strait of Hormuz, where Kumzari, an Iranian language, is spoken.