Historical Geography of Rudbar Karaj

Since 1951, when I spent three months in summer stationed at Kushkak, I began to think about collecting the historical geography of Laura and Shahrestanak. Consulting old geography books, mostly written by Iranian authors in Arabic, I found no information about this region. Amin Razi’s Tazkereh Haft Aghlim mentions Kan and Sulqan, villages in Shemiran, but there is no sign of Laura and Shahrestanak. The inhabitants of this remote area mainly had dealings with Chalous, Noushahr, Shahsavar, and nearby villages. These movements were mostly due to the harsh life and cold mountain winters, which forced many mountain residents to move to warmer towns and villages during winter. Furthermore, Laura and Shahrestanak have been part of the rustamdar’s hinterland since ancient times, belonging to the Rouyan kings and local rulers who collected taxes. They had stronger commercial and trade relations with Mazandaran, evident from the linguistic mixing of the inhabitants. Since I found no pre-Qajar geographical or historical records about this area, I decided to collect information myself. Haj Ahmad Tirgar learned of my plan, pledged to help, and became my devoted assistant day and night for weeks. Without his efforts, the information might not have been collected with such precision and insight. He accompanied me to each village of Laura and Shahrestanak, where, being familiar with the elders and notable figures, he made sure my presence caused no issues. In every village, I was warmly welcomed and considered one of their own; people answered my questions peacefully without suspecting me to be a government agent who might hide truths. In the village of Sark, at Agha Sheikh Mohsen Sarki’s library, they gave me full access to all books. For three full days, from morning to night, we studied his notes behind various book covers, all tagged under the village name of Sark. The notable people, elders, and heads of local associations and cooperatives sincerely provided information about their respective villages. I carefully recorded these orally transmitted accounts in this booklet, which is now presented to esteemed readers in the form of a book.