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Sangsar (Mahdishahr)
Encyclopedia
Mehdishahr
Mehdishahr ' onMouseout='HidePop("46839")' href="/topics/Mehdishahr_County">Mehdishahr County
, Semnan Province
, Iran
. At the 2006 census, its population was 20,581, in 5,473 families.
Mehdishahr is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains. Here, the chain of Alborz mountains
is very close to the desert
of Dasht-e Kavir
.
Sangsar, specially the northern part of it, is completely mountainous with cold winters, heavy snowfalls but with mild summers.
The distance between Sangsar city and Semnan city is 20 kilometers. The altitude is about 1630 meters above sea level.
The primary religious belief in the area now is Shi‘ite Islam, but before the Islamic Revolution, there were many Bahá'ís
in Sangsar, who had to migrate from the city after the revolution, due to a wide range of persecutions. As for other towns of Iran, the name has thus been changed by the Islamic authorities into Mahdishahr as if to signal its imposed pure Muslim identity. Mahdi is the Shia Muslim hidden Imam and Shahr means town in Persian, so Mahdishahr literally means town of Mahdi.
The most important network of roads consists of Semnan
to Sangsar to Shahmirzad to Fooladmahale axis which connects these places with the city of Sari
. This road connects the two provinces of Mazandaran and Semnan.
origin and suggests the name used to be Sakasar or Saksar which means Saka (scythian) settlement.
Mehdishahr ' onMouseout='HidePop("46839")' href="/topics/Mehdishahr_County">Mehdishahr County
Mehdishahr County
Mehdishahr County is a county in Semnan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Mehdishahr. It was separated from Semnan County in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 36,093, in 9,573 families. The county has two districts: the Central District and Shahmirzad District...
, Semnan Province
Semnan Province
Semnan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north of the country, and its center is Semnan. The province of Semnan covers an area of 96,816 square kilometers and stretches along the Alborz mountain range and borders to Dasht-e Kavir desert in its southern parts.Counties of...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 20,581, in 5,473 families.
Mehdishahr is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains. Here, the chain of Alborz mountains
Alborz
Alborz , also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
is very close to the desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
of Dasht-e Kavir
Dasht-e Kavir
Dasht-e Kavir , also known as Kavir-e Namak or Great Salt Desert is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian plateau. It is about 800 kilometers long and 320 kilometers wide with a total surface area of about 77,600 square kilometers , making it the Earth's 23rd largest desert...
.
Sangsar, specially the northern part of it, is completely mountainous with cold winters, heavy snowfalls but with mild summers.
The distance between Sangsar city and Semnan city is 20 kilometers. The altitude is about 1630 meters above sea level.
The primary religious belief in the area now is Shi‘ite Islam, but before the Islamic Revolution, there were many Bahá'ís
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
in Sangsar, who had to migrate from the city after the revolution, due to a wide range of persecutions. As for other towns of Iran, the name has thus been changed by the Islamic authorities into Mahdishahr as if to signal its imposed pure Muslim identity. Mahdi is the Shia Muslim hidden Imam and Shahr means town in Persian, so Mahdishahr literally means town of Mahdi.
The most important network of roads consists of Semnan
Semnan, Iran
Semnan is a city in and capital of Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 124,999, in 36,298 families.Semnan is located in the central northern portion of the Islamic Republic of Iran...
to Sangsar to Shahmirzad to Fooladmahale axis which connects these places with the city of Sari
Sari, Iran
Sari is the provincial capital of Mazandaran and former capital of Iran , located in the north of Iran, between the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and southern coast of the Caspian Sea...
. This road connects the two provinces of Mazandaran and Semnan.
History
Sangsar area has an old history which goes back to 1st millennium BC. First inhabitants of Sangsar used to worship moon and stars. There are some theories about Sangsar name; One of them emphasizes about a SakaSaka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
origin and suggests the name used to be Sakasar or Saksar which means Saka (scythian) settlement.
Sister cities
Sangesar has signed the treaty of city twinning with the following cities:- Saskatoon
SaskatoonSaskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...