Fuman, Iran

For the administrative division of Gilan province, see Fuman County. For the chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens, see Fuman.

Fuman (Persian: فومن)^[a] is a city in the Central District of Fuman County in Iran's northwestern Gilan province, serving as capital of both the county and the district.^[4]

Fuman Persian: فومن
City
Top to bottom, left to right: A street in Fuman, Gilan; Fouman's Anahita Statue; Fouman's Old Public Bath entrance tiles; Fouman's Rudkhan Castle; Masouleh, a historial city in Fouman county
Fuman
Coordinates: 37°13′27″N 49°18′45″E[1]
Country	Iran
Province	Gilan
County	Fuman
District	Central
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	35,841
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)

Rice has been cultivated in this region for many years, where some indigenous cultivars were conventionally bred by farmers.^[5] Fuman also produces popular cookies known as koluche. Fuman's koluche is thinner and larger than its brethren in Lahijan.

The city is also known for its statues, including the statue of the ancient Iranian goddess Anahita and the statue of the Four Girls.

History

From 660 to 760, Fuman functioned as the seat of the Zoroastrian^[6] Dabuyid rulers.^[7] During the period of the Mongol occupation of Iran, Fuman and Lahijan were among the main towns of Gilan.^[7] The local ruler of Fuman at that time, who was reportedly the "only Shafi'ite among the rulers of Gilan", was able to generate a large amount of revenue through lucrative silk trade.^[7] According to Hamdallah Mustawfi (died 1349), Fuman was a large city, and the center of a wealthy region which produced large quantities of "wheat, rice and silk".^[7]

Fuman continued to function as the capital of the Bia-pas region (western Gilan) until 1572–1573, when ruler Jamshid Soltan made Rasht the capital.^[7][8] From the reign of King (Shah) Sultan Husayn (r. 1694–1722) to Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1797–1834), the local rulers of Fuman were involved in a fierce rivalry with the local rulers of neighboring Shaft.^[7] John Elton, who had been prominent under Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747), was killed in 1751 on the order of one of these rulers, Agha Jamal Fumani.^[7]

In 1805, during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Fuman was reportedly "still a small, open town with about a thousand houses and a very lively market".^[7] However, the situation changed when Hajji Mohammad Khan abandoned Fuman for Rasht during the early reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848–1896). In the subsequent period, Fuman "fell into decay".^[7] According to Grigorii Melgunov, who visited Fuman in 1860, it was little more than a village consisting of just 140 houses surrounding the palace of the local ruler.^[7] Fuman has regained importance since the mid-20th century.^[7]

Demographics

Language, ethnicity, and religion

The majority of the inhabitants are Shia Muslims, with a minority of Sunnis present in the city.

The Inhabitants of Fuman are mostly Gilaks and they speak a Fumani variety of Western Gilaki language.^{[9][10][11][12] [13] [14]}

Linguistic composition of the city.^[15]

Fuman linguistic composition language percent New Persian   60% Gilaki   25% Talysh   15%

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 27,763 in 7,728 households.^[16] The following census in 2011 counted 30,608 people in 9,332 households.^[17] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 35,841 people in 11,849 households.^[2]

Geography

Fuman is only 21 kilometres to the west-southwest of Rasht,^[7] and 356 kilometres away from the national capital Tehran. It is situated near the foothills of the Talysh Highlands.^[7] Fuman is on the road to the historical city of Masuleh and as a result receives a sizeable number of tourists.

Sports

Football is the most popular sport in Fuman, and the city is host to Shahrdari Fuman who play in the Iranian third tier.

Notable people

• Jafar Shojouni, Shia Cleric
• Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani, Shia Cleric

Gallery

• 
  Renowned thin koluche (cookies) in Fuman.
• 
  Fuman's koluche prior to being cooked.
• 
  The statue of Anahita, an ancient Iranian goddess, in Fuman.
• 
  The Engineering College of Fuman belongs to the University of Tehran.
• 
  Gasht is also located in Fuman County, near the city of Fuman.

See also

Fouman travel guide from Wikivoyage

Iran portal

Notes

1. Also romanized as Fooman, Fūman, and Fumen; Gilaki: فؤمن^[3]

References

1. OpenStreetMap contributors (12 October 2024). "Fuman, Fuman County" (Map). OpenStreetMap (in Persian). Retrieved 12 October 2024.
2. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Gilan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
3. Fuman, Iran can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3063110" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
4. Habibi, Hassan (21 October 2015) [Approved 21 June 1369]. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Gilan province centered on the city of Rasht. rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Board. Proposal 3233.1.5.53; Notification 82846/T135K. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Islamic Parliament Research Center.
5. Pazuki, Arman & Sohani, Mehdi (2013). "Phenotypic evaluation of scutellum-derived calluses in 'Indica' rice cultivars" (PDF). Acta Agriculturae Slovenica. 101 (2): 239–247. doi:10.2478/acas-2013-0020. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
6. C.E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties, (Columbia University Press, 1996), 162; "Hence in 758 the caliph undertook the definitive conquest of Tabaristan, successfully drove out Khurshid II and ended the dynasty of the Dabuyids(who, as Zoroastrians, had never accepted Islam..".
7. Bazin 2000, pp. 227–228.
8. Goto 2017.
9. Jahangiri, Dr. Nader. گویش گیلکی لاهیجان [Lahijani Dialect of Gilaki] (in Persian). Iran: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
10. Resaei, Ayoub (2006). "گویش گیلکی فومنات". Fumanat's Dialect of Gilaki (in Persian). Iran: Allameh Tabataba'i University: 65.
11. Sotoudeh, Manouchehr (1953). فرهنگ گیلکی [Gilaki Culture] (in Persian and Gilaki). Iran: فرهنگ ایلیا. pp. 17, 18.
12. Shokri, Giti (2006). گویش رامسری [Ramsari Dialect] (in Persian). Iran: پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات فرهنگی. p. 14.
13. "Glottolog 4.6 - Western Gilaki".
14. "Gilaki".
15. "Language distribution: Gilan Province". Iran Atlas. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
16. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Gilan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
17. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Gilan Province. irandataportal.syr.edu (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University.

Sources

• Bazin, Marcel (2000). "FŪMAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 3. pp. 227–228.
• Goto, Yukako (2017). "KĀR KIĀ". Encyclopaedia Iranica.