Astara (pronounced (listen); Persian: آستارا, also romanized as Āstārā) is a city and capital of Astara County, Gilan Province, Iran. It lies on the border with Azerbaijan Republic and on the Caspian Sea. It is an important border trade center between Iran and the Caucasus. The earliest mention, under the name Astārāb, comes in the Ḥodūd al-ʿālam, written toward the end of the 10th century. In the 14th century, Astara became the seat of the small principality of the Esfahbad or Espahbad (-bod) of Gīlān. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the Ṭālešī Khans of Āstārā were either autonomous or nominally subordinate to the governors of Gīlān or Ardabīl; on several occasions they played an important role in the history of the Caspian provinces. According to Minorsky, we do not know whether the later governors of Astara still continued the line of the Ispahbads. Even after the conquest of Northern Tālish by the Russians (1813) the family of the Tālish-khans retained certain rights. More information...
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