Mythologies of the Māzandarān Tribe

The Mazanderani tribe (Mazanderani: مازرونی مردمون), also known as the Tabari people or Tapuri people (Mazanderani: توری مردمون or تپوری مردمون), are an Iranian people who are indigenous to the Caspian sea region of Iran. They are also referred to as Maznis for short. They inhabit the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and are part of the historical region known as Tabaristan. The Alborz mountains mark the southern boundary of the area settled by the Mazanderani people. The Mazanderani number was 4,480,000 in 2019 The Mazanderani number between three and four million (2006 estimate). Their dominant religion is Shi'a Islam. Mazandarani people have a background in the Tabari ethnicity, and speak the Tabari language. Their origin goes back to Tapuri people and Amardi people. Their land was called Tapuria or Tapurestan, the land of Tapuris. Most Mazanderanis live on the southeastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Their traditional professions are farming and fishing. The Mazanderanis are closely related to the neighbouring Gilaki people as well as South Caucasian peoples (e.g., the Georgians, Armenians, and Azerbaijanis).

An early Iranian civilization flourished in the beginning of the first millennium BC in Tabarestan (Māzandarān). It was overrun in about AD 720 by the Arab general Yezid ibn Mohallab and was the last part of Iran to be converted to Islām. Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed. It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qājār dynasty. The northern section of the region consists of a lowland alongside the Caspian and an upland along the northern slopes of the Elburz Mountains. Marshy backlands dominate the coastal plain, and extensive gravel fans fringe the mountains. The climate is permanently subtropical and humid, with very hot summers. The highland slopes rise abruptly in the west and more gently in the east. Forests have been largely destroyed; the higher parts are cultivated summer pasture studded with villages partly deserted in winter. Wild boar, deer, and birds are numerous; the tiger, formerly found in the lowland, has disappeared. Cattle are usually humped; the buffalo is widely used as a draft animal. There are many rivers, including the Chālūs, Heris, Talar, Tajan, and Nekā, which are well-stocked with trout and salmon. The population is of Iranian stock with a large admixture of Turkic tribes (especially Turkmen), Armenians, and Russian immigrants. Māzandarān is still famous for its Arab or Turkmen horses. The smaller Indo-Iranian-speaking ethnic minorities include the Qadikolahi and the Palavi. The Qājārs, from whom came the royal family that Reza Shah dethroned in 1925, form an enclave among the Māzandarāni. Some are settled farmers; others retain their original nomadic way of life.

Mazandarani (Mazanderani: مازِرونی, Mazeruni; also spelled Mazani (مازنی) or Tabari (تبری); also called Gelek) is an Iranian language of the Northwestern branch spoken by the Mazandarani people. As of 2021, there were 1.36 million native speakers. The language appears to be decreasing, as it is threatened, and due to the majority of its speakers shifting to Iranian Persian. As a member of the Northwestern branch (the northern branch of Western Iranian), etymologically speaking, it is rather closely related to Gilaki and also related to Persian, which belongs to the Southwestern branch. Though the Persian language has influenced Mazandarani to a great extent, Mazandarani still survives as an independent language with a northwestern Iranian origin. Mazandarani is closely related to Gilaki, and the two languages have similar vocabularies. The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages) share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically the non-Indo-European South Caucasian languages), reflecting the history, ethnic identity, and close relatedness to the Caucasus region and Caucasian peoples of Mazandaranis and Gilak people.

Mazandarani (also known as Mazani, Tabari, and Gilaki) is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken in northern Iran by more than 2 million speakers primarily in Mazandaran province (south of the Caspian sea). The three neighboring provinces of Semnan, Golestan, and Tehran are also home to relatively large numbers of Mazandarani speakers. Mazandarani is closely related with the Gilaki (or Gilani) language (spoken in Gilan province, west of Mazandaran). Many Mazandarani speakers (even in the heart of Mazandaran province) refer to their own language as Gilaki or Gelaki, a term used by Persian speakers and linguists worldwide solely to refer to the language spoken in Gilan province. Many have argued that the two language varietes (Gilaki proper and Mazandarani) are dialects of the same language, or form a language continuum. Within the range of dialects known as Mazandarani, a relatively high degree of variations exists, but mutual intelligibility is almost never lost. (The examples in this text are based on the dialect of Amol in central Mazandaran, unless otherwise stated). Mazandarani is claimed to have one of the oldest written traditions among Iranian languages. In particular, the original version of the classic work Marzban-name is reported to have been written in Mazandarani, which takes the history of the language as a written language back to at least a millennium ago (for arguments against this see Borjian, 2009). Putting aside this disputed claim, however, none of the oldest extant standalone Mazandarani texts seem to date back to earlier than 14th century C.E. There are, however, sporadic Mazandarani poems quoted in books from as early as 11th century C.E (see discussion in Borjian, 2009). Mazandarani is rarely used as a written language today; books and other publications in Mazandaran and the regions around it are almost exclusively in Persian. The language does, however, have some presence in the world wide web. The Perso-Arabic script is usually used for writing Mazandarani, although no agreed-upon standard for mapping the sounds of the language to the characters exists and dialectal variations also give rise to different writing standards. The use of Mazandarani is rapidly decreasing in almost all contexts, especially in urban centers. In the past few decades, a trend of choosing Persian as the language of communication with children is visible among Mazandarani families. As a result, existing estimates of the number of speakers of the language may be inaccurate since many young city-dwelling Mazandaranis are not fluent speakers of the language and rely solely on Persian in all contexts.

The Mazanderani people (Mazanderani: مازرونی مردمون), also known as the Tabari people or Tapuri people (Mazanderani: توری مردمون or تپوری مردمون), are an Iranian people who are indigenous to the Caspian sea region of Iran. They are also referred to as Mazanis for short. They inhabit the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and are part of the historical region known as Tabaristan. The Alborz mountains mark the southern boundary of the area settled by the Mazanderani people. The Mazanderani number was 4,480,000 in 2019 The Mazanderani number between three and four million (2006 estimate). Their dominant religion is Shi'a Islam. Mazandarani people have a background in the Tabari ethnicity, and speak the Tabari language. Their origin goes back to Tapuri people and Amardi people. Their land was called Tapuria or Tapurestan, the land of Tapuris. Most Mazanderanis live on the southeastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Their traditional professions are farming and fishing. The Mazanderanis are closely related to the neighbouring Gilaki people as well as South Caucasian peoples (e.g., the Georgians, Armenians, and Azerbaijanis). The Mazanderani language is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken by the Mazanderani people; however, most Mazanderanis are also fluent in Persian. The Gilaki and Mazanderani languages (but not other Iranian languages) share certain typological features with Caucasian languages. With the growth of education and the media, the distinction between Mazanderani and other Iranian languages is likely to disappear. Mazanderani is closely related to Gilaki and the two languages have similar vocabularies. They preserve more of the noun declension system characteristic of older Iranian languages than Persian does. Assistant professor Maryam Borjian of Rutgers University states that Mazanderani has different sub-dialects and there is high mutual intelligibility among Mazanderani sub-dialects. The dialects of Mazanderani are Saravi, Amoli, Baboli, Ghaemshahri, Chalusi, Nuri, Shahsavari, Ghasrani, Shahmirzadi, Damavandi, Firoozkoohi, Astarabadi and Katouli. The native people of Sari, Qaem Shahr, Babol, Amol, Nowshahr, Chalus, and Tonekabon are Mazanderani people and speak the Mazanderani language.

The Mazanderani live in northern Iran's Mazandaran province, bordering the Caspian Sea. It is there that early Iranian civilization flourished. Historically, this province had been invaded by outsiders, beginning with the Mongols in the 1200s and 1300s. In 1723, the region was conquered by the Russian Empire. The coast of the province is dominated by marshy plains. Farther inland, it merges into the highlands. Although the province is strategically located on the Caspian Sea, the coast lacks good natural harbors. This has forced them to build an artificial harbor. The Mazanderani are an ethnic mix of Turkic tribes, Armenians, and Russian immigrants. Other smaller groups include the Qadikolahi and the Palavi. The language of the majority, also called Mazanderani (or Palari), remains unwritten. This language is closely tied to Farsi, the official language of Iran. The mid-1970s saw a number of agricultural reforms in Mazandaran province. Farming became a large-scale business operation that included the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products, as well as the manufacturing of farm machinery, equipment, and supplies. At the same time, major agricultural movements were encouraged by the influx of large investments that were made as a result of the oil boom. Many new businesses were introduced, including cement, textile, and cotton industries. Fisheries also sprang up all along the coastal areas. Today, the coastal fisheries of this region harvest some of the finest caviar in the world. Although many Mazanderani farmers are settled, some maintain the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors. These nomads use the higher, cultivated regions for grazing their animals. Their herds include a certain breed of humped cattle, as well as buffalo, which are used as beasts of burden.