People or land · Gilan and Daylam · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Western Gilan

The lowlands west of the Sefid Rud, from the delta to the hills of Masuleh and the Anzali lagoon, with Fuman as its chief town and Rasht still a lesser place.

Like the east, it is divided among local chiefs unnamed in the sources read. Gilan is also a homeland of Sunni learning: the Hanbali saint Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad (died 1166) came from here.

Who holds it

Title
Local Gil chiefs
Since
not pinned
Confidence
low

Overlord

None in practice.

What it holds

  • Fuman and its district
  • Tulim and Kuchisfahan by the delta (not pinned)
  • Rasht
  • Shaft and Masal at the foot of the hills
  • The Anzali lagoon

How things stand that morning

Under local chiefs.

Wealth

Rice, silk, fish; the hill road from Fuman to Khalkhal and Ardabil.

Military

Gil foot soldiers. Numbers not in the sources.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: As for eastern Gilan.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Gilan and Daylam

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • History of Tabaristan, Ibn Isfandiyar (Baha al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan) (begun 1206, extended about 1216; continued anonymously to 1349). The local history of the Caspian province and the only account of the Bavandid kings of Tabaristan: Husam al-Dawla Ardashir (reigned 1173 to 1206) at Sari and Amul, his dealings with the Khwarazmshahs Tekish and Ala al-Din Muhammad, the Nizaris of Alamut, the Eldiguzids and the caliph, and the marriages, feuds and raids of the Daylamite and Gilaki lords. Read online
  • Dictionary of Countries, Yaqut al-Hamawi (1224 to 1228, at Aleppo). An alphabetical gazetteer of every place Yaqut had read of or seen: he travelled as a bookseller's agent through Syria, Iraq, Persia, Khurasan and Khwarazm (about 1213 to 1220) and settled in Aleppo. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. G. Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate (1905), chs. on Tabaristan, Gilan, Jurjan, Qumis and Quhistan
  2. W. Madelung, 'The minor dynasties of northern Iran', Cambridge History of Iran vol. 4 (1975) (background to Gilan and Daylam before the Seljuks)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.