Semnan
سمنانThe desert's northern shore on the Silk Road, where the Alborz meets the Dasht-e Kavir.
Semnan lies on the old Silk Road from Rey to Khorasan, between the Alborz and the great salt desert, the Dasht-e Kavir. Caravanserais mark the road at intervals of about a day's journey.
Near Damghan stands the Tarikhaneh, one of the oldest surviving mosques in Iran, from the eighth century, and the province's dialects, such as Semnani, are among the most distinctive of the Iranian languages.
Cities and towns
Semnanسمنان
The provincial capital
Damghanدامغان
The town of the Tarikhaneh mosque
Shahrudشاهرود
A crossroads town below the mountains
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Dasht-e Kavir
دشت کویرThe great salt desert of the central plateau
Tarikhaneh
تاریخانهOne of the oldest surviving mosques in Iran
Semnan through time
Iranian historyThe Arab conquest and the Persian revivalفتح اعراب و احیای زبان فارسی
Islam reached Iran with the Arab armies of the 7th century. Persian survived, took on a new script and, under dynasties such as the Samanids, returned as one of the great literary languages of the world.
- Seljuk-period minaret added at Tarikhaneh
Stories from hereداستانها
The Asiatic cheetah
Once a hunting companion of kings, now the last of its line: the Asiatic cheetah survives in the wild only in Iran, and only a few dozen are thought to remain.
The Persian onager
The wild ass of the plateau gave its name, gur, to the most famous royal hunter in Persian legend, and a pun on that name to Khayyam.
The goitered gazelle
A small, fast desert gazelle, and in Persian poetry the shape of the beloved's eye and the image of a love that will not be caught.