'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎259r] (522/706)

ary of Mazandaran, belongs to the Governor of Anazan, tbe adjoining
district of Astarabad— (Holmes.)
EAM A vm^Tin lower Silakhur, on tbe left bank of the Tahij river, 6* miles
south of Burujird.— (Schindler.)
RA “L«ge, a few miles beyond Nasrabad on the road from Yazd
to Isfahan; all possible ground is well cultivated — (Preece, No\em e
1892.)
RA ^This district with Mirabad, forms one of the districts of Persian Kurdistan.
— (Plowden.)
RAMISHT (2)—Elev. 5,850'. , . ir „
A village of 50 houses, Kurds ; stands at the mouth of a narrow valley
affluent to the valley of Deh Gulan (Persian Kurdistan) opposite the jdlage
of Amirabad. Above and below are some vineyards : gardens and grove, of
poplar willow and large orchards. There is a plentiful supp y of water,
a large number of cattle and sheep are owned, pastured on the lulls around.
(Button.)
BAN A K d?steict and village in Gllan. The district forms the eastern bound-
arv of Gllan, and is bounded on the west by the small river Bahsah.
The village of Raniku is a large one situated between the rivers Bahsah and
K T arud. —(H olmes. )
^ilk^e'in Azarbaijan between Jairan and Shaikh Muhammad, about
10 miles south of the former.— (Gerard.)
RASHT—Lat. 37° 17 ' 27"; Long. 49° 35' 45". . . ,, ,
Description.— The capital of the province of Gilan, is situated on the left
bank of the river Siah-Rudbar which flows into the Bay of Enzali; the town
lies about 64 miles from the bay. -i f
The town is situated on low swampy ground, only a few miles Iron
the sea, and is a most unhealthy spot, in which no European would re
side from choice. It was originally buried m jungle, like most other towns
and villages of this province, but the Russians, during tneir occupation
170 vears ago, cleared the timber and jungle as far as the mountains though
a good deal has sprung up since. The houses of Rasht are of the same
nature as those of Astrabad, red-tiled and raised from the ground with broad
verandahs and overhanging eaves, whilst hedgerows and gardens abound^
Population.— Its population is about 40,000, which with the revival of
' t he silk trade and the ingrease of the trade due to the construction by the_
Russians of the Rasht-Kazvin-Tehran road is likely to increase. The popula
tion of 40 000 are practically all Muhammadans, with the except on of foreign
ers and Armenians, the language spoken is a Persian patois, called Gilaki.
History.—T ot history see under Gllan. ,
Resources —Since early days Rasht—as the capital of the great silk produc
ing provinces of Persia—has enjoved a considerable commercial importance
and has been the residence of Consuls and Vice-Consuls of different nation
alities from an early period. In 1899 there was a drought in the province
C300GSB