Mehdishahr


Mehdishahr is a city in the Central District of Mehdishahr County, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

History

Sangsar area has an old history which goes back to 1st millennium BC. First inhabitants of Sangsar used to worship the moon and stars. There are some theories about Sangsar's name; One of them emphasizes a Saka origin and suggests the name used to be Sakasar or Saksar which means Saka settlement.

Demographics

Religion

The primary religious belief in the area now is Shi‘ite Islam. Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a major segment of Sangsar's population became followers of the Baháʼí Faith. The Bahais migrated from Sangesar to Tehran after the revolution.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 20,581 in 5,473 households, when it was capital of the former Mehdishahr District in Semnan County. The following census in 2011 counted 19,854 people in 5,705 households, by which time the district had been separated from the county in the establishment of Mehdishahr County. Mehdishahr was transferred to the new Central District as the county's capital. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 24,485 people in 7,679 households.

Geography

Mehdishahr is on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains. Here, the chain of Alborz mountains is very close to the desert of Dasht-e Kavir. Sangsar, specially the northern part of it, is completely mountainous with cold winters, heavy snowfalls but with mild summers. The distance between Sangsar city and Semnan city is 20 kilometers. The altitude is about 1630 meters above sea level.

Transportation

The most important network of roads consists of Semnan to Sangsar to Shahmirzad to Fooladmahale axis which connects these places with the city of Sari. This road connects the two provinces of Mazandaran and Semnan.

Notable people

Sangesar has signed the treaty of city twinning with the following cities: