Manjil

Manjil منجيل
—  city  —
A view of modern Manjil; the wind power generators are seen in the background
Manjil
Coordinates: 36°44′36″N 49°24′08″E / 36.74333°N 49.40222°E / 36.74333; 49.40222Coordinates: 36°44′36″N 49°24′08″E / 36.74333°N 49.40222°E / 36.74333; 49.40222
Country	Iran
Province	Gilan
County	Rudbar
Bakhsh	Central
Population (2006)
– Total	16,028
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
– Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)

Manjil (Persian: منجيل, also Romanized as Manjīl and Menjīl)^[1] is a city in the Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,028, in 4,447 families.^[2]

History and Geography

Manjil is located between N36º45´18˝-N36º41´42˝ and E49º23´6˝ and E49º31´ 48˝. Its known as the windy city of Iran; a reputation it owes to its geographical position in the Alborz mountains i.e., at a small cleft in Alborz that funnels the wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau. Throughout the history Manjil has been a gate to the Southern Caspian region. There are numerous archaeological site excavations (mostly illegal) in Manjil area because of its rich cultural history. Some of these sites are related to the Ismaili era i.e., Hassan Sabbah movement based in Alamoot forte (one may find artifacts from 2-3 millennia B.C., in some households in the area!).

Manjil is also known for its olive gardens and the river Sefīd-Rūd (or "Sepid Rood", "Sefid Rood", "white river"). This river that passes by the town is formed in Manjil by two joining rivers and since 1960 has been the site of Manjil dam built on it that significantly contributes to Gilan's agriculture while generating electric power. The lake behind the Sepid Rood dam also ads to the beauty of the area (visible on Google earth at the above coordinates).

Modern history

In modern era Manjil was the site of a historical battle between the nationalist revolutionary forces of Jangal (led by Mirza Koochak Khan) and the joint British and White Russian forces on June 12, 1918. The latter forces (led by General Dunsterville and Colonel Bicherakhov) willing to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian in order to reach Baku and overthrow the newly formed Baku Commune (led by Stepan Shahumian). General Dunsterville's private diaries and notes, including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North Persia and Baku, 1918 were transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville's great granddaughter, and are co-located on the Great War Primary Documents Archive [1].

Although devastated by an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 on June 21, 1990^[3], for the last few decades Manjil has enjoyed industrial and economic growth but could have more potential given its natural and human resources.

See also

• 1990 Iran earthquake (Manjil-Rudbar Earthquake)

References

1. ^ Manjil can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3073927" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
2. ^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Islamic Republic of Iran. http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/01.xls. 
3. ^ "Iranian Town, Once a Jewel, Lies Entombed", The New York Times: A6, June 25 

External links

• General Dunsterville's diary - Great War Primary Documents Archive