| Shahrud شاهرود |
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| — city — | |
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Shahrud
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Semnan |
| County | Shahrud |
| Bakhsh | Central |
| Elevation | 1,345 m (4,413 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 126,916 |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) |
Shahrud[1] (Persian: شاهرود, also Romanized as Shāhrūd, Shahrood, Shahroud, and Shārūd; formerly, Emamshahr (Persian: اِمامشَهر, also Romanized as Emāmshahr) is a city in and capital of Shahrud County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 126,916, in 35,548 families.[2]
Situated about an altitude of 4413 ft (1345 m), it is located at latitude 36°25'N, longitude 055°01'E. Now, it is the largest city of Semnan Province and also its county has same position in the province. The main launch site of the Iranian Space Agency is near Shahroud.
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Some 410 kilometers to the east of Tehran, half-way between the capital and Mashad, and at the junction with the Gorgan road, sits the modern city of Shahrood, which has grown to absorb the historic town of Bastam situated in the hills a few kilometers to the north.
From the north, it is surrounded by the Alborz mountains, and from the south by the arid salty deserts. The river of Tash, after crossing this town, reaches the south deserts. The weather on the mountainous areas is cold and it is somewhat temperate in other parts of the city.
Shahrood is located in the Damghan basin, a sub-basin of the Kavir basin which also contains the Great Salt Desert.
| Climate data for Shahrud | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6 (42) |
8 (46) |
15 (59) |
21 (69) |
27 (80) |
31 (87) |
33 (91) |
31 (88) |
28 (83) |
22 (72) |
13 (55) |
9 (48) |
20.2 (68.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −3 (26) |
−3 (27) |
2 (36) |
8 (46) |
13 (56) |
17 (62) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
14 (57) |
9 (49) |
2 (35) |
0 (32) |
8.0 (46.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 15 (0.6) |
13 (0.5) |
18 (0.7) |
10 (0.4) |
13 (0.5) |
3 (0.1) |
3 (0.1) |
0 (0) |
5 (0.2) |
8 (0.3) |
10 (0.4) |
25 (1) |
122 (4.8) |
| Source: Weatherbase [3] | |||||||||||||
In 2006, traces of a prehistoric, 8,000-year-old settlements were found in Shahrud. The discoveries included ovens, craft workshops, and other evidence of settlements. [1]
As a modern city, the city of Shahrood was merely a village before the reign of Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty, with two old castles and a small farm named "Shabdary". The surrounding areas however, such as Biarjomand, Miami and Bastam do have a distant history.
The old town of Bastam is located 6 kilometers north of Shahrood. Its pre-Islamic history is not clear, but according to some historians, it was built during Shapur II period (310-379 CE). During the Abbasid era, it was the second largest town (following Damghan) in the Qomis province.
The town was visited by Nasser Khosrow Qubadiani, the great Iranian poet of the 12th century, and mentioned by him as the center of the Qomis province. But Bastam declined during the Mongol era assaults, and Shahrood eventually took its place.
The most interesting historical sites of Shahrood are:
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