For the administrative division of Gilan province, see Rudbar County.
Rudbar
City
Native namePersian: رودبار
CountryIran
ProvinceGilan
CountyRudbar
DistrictCentral
Population as of2016
Population total10504
Time zoneIRST (UTC+3:30)
Coordinates36°49′15″N 49°25′36″E
Area code+98(013)

Rudbar (Persian: رودبار)[a] is a city in the Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[1]

Etymology

Its name (meaning "by the river" in Persian) is a reference to the river Sepid Rood (Sepid Roud) that passes by the city. Rudbar is also called "Roodbar Zeitoun (olive)" for the olive gardens in the area.

History

Further information: Marlik

The civilization of Rudbar and its surroundings date back to about 3000 years BCE. The Marlik bowl, a famous archeological artifact and one of the oldest gold bowls in the world from 1st millennium BC, was found there. With the advent of Islam, tribes from Damascus and Halab (Aleppo) immigrated and became settlers there. Later, Nizari Isma'ili da'i made inroads and eventually established an Assassin stronghold. During the reign of Nader Shah, groups from the Kurds of Quchan and areas of northern Khorasan also settled there.

Benjamin of Tudela reported that Rudbar had 20,000 Jews in 1170.[2]

Rudbar was near the epicenter of the 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake of magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale (MS=7.7, MW=7.3, mb=6.4) at 12:31am local time on 21 June 1990, that killed around 50,000 and injured 100,000 city residents.[3] Despite reconstruction, it has not fully recovered.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

Main language there is the Roudbari Language, a subdivision of Mard indigenous language. There are several dialects and ethnicities in Gilan who have either their own language from South Caspies or slight variations to the way they speak. Some of these "sub-dialects" of Gilaki are Rashti, Some’e Sarai, Eastern Gilaki (Lahijan, Langerud, Rudesar, Amlash, chaboksar). The majority of the people in Rudbar are Mards, and a minority are Talysh. They speak the Talysh Language and Gilaki.[4][5]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 11,454 in 3,303 households.[6] The following census in 2011 counted 10,926 people in 3,406 households.[7] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 10,504 people in 3,559 households.[8]

Geography

Rudbar is located 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of Rasht, and is 261 kilometres (162 mi) away from Tehran.[9] It is located on the fringes of a valley through which the Sepid River (Sepidrood in Persian, Esparoo in Rudbari language) flows, and has a variable climate. Rudbar can be considered as a gateway to Gilan province from central Iran.

Climate

Rudbar has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) in the Köppen climate classification.

Economy

Rudbar's local economy notably includes olives and olive-based products. Groves of olive trees surround the city. Olive oil is produced locally. Rudbar is also known for its cream-hued, handcrafted carpets of fine quality. Despite the olive gardens that may suggest presence of a Mediterranean climate, the winters are very cold in the area. The winds in the Sepid Rood valley (Manjil) are well known in the country.

Notes

  1. ^ Also romanized as Rudbār; Gilaki: Rubâr[10]

References

  1. ^ Habibi, Hassan (12 September 1990 [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1369/06/21 (Iranian Jalali calendar)]). "fa:‌تصویب سازمان و سلسله تابعیت عناصر و واحدهای تقسیمات کشوری استان گیلان به مرکزیت شهر رشت" [‌Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Gilan province centered on the city of Rasht] (in Persian). لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam]. ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. کمیسیون سیاسی دفاعی هیأت دولت [Political Defense Commission of the Government Board]. شناسه [ID] 975475A9-5706-45C0-82E2-1A579CFF751D. شماره دوره [Course number] 69, شماره جلد [Volume number] 3. Archived 6 November 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  2. ^ Eckstein, Zvi & Botticini, Maristella (2012). The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492. Princeton University Press. p. 284. ISBN 9781400842483.
  3. ^ ReliefWeb Report of Earthquake, ReliefWeb, June 1990
  4. ^ "Gilaki"
  5. ^ Guyeš-e Tāti-y-e Rudbār (The Tati Dialect of Rudbar), Jahandoost Sabzalipour, Rasht: Farhang-e Iliya Press, 2011
  6. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان گیلان" [General Population and Housing Census 2006: Gilan Province] (Excel) (in Persian). مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 20 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  7. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان گیلان" [General Population and Housing Census 2011: Gilan Province] (Excel) (in Persian). Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 8 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  8. ^ "fa:سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان گیلان" [General Population and Housing Census 2016: Gilan Province] (Excel) (in Persian). مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived 4 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Distance between cities" (in Persian). bahesab. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  10. ^
  • Book of Amarlu – M.M.Zand