Caspian Sea

The Mazandaran coast lies between the Caspian and the green northern slopes of the Alborz. At the mouth of the Babol River stood Mashhad-e Sar, a settlement that grew around a shrine and became a busy port from the mid-eighteenth century. Boats connected it with the inland town of Barforush. Mazandaran was also one of the Caspian provinces that supplied raw silk to Safavid trade.