Lāhijān

Lahijan lies east of the Safidrud in the humid lowlands of Gilan. It was the chief town of Biapish, the lands on that side of the river, and a centre of silk manufacture. Medieval accounts describe a fertile district of rice and fruit, including oranges and shaddocks. Along with Fuman to the west, Lahijan was among the principal towns of the Caspian province.

From 1367–68 the city was ruled by the Kia dynasty, whose power reached beyond Gilan in the fifteenth century. Mirza Ali Kia sheltered the young Ismail Safavi near Lahijan from 1493 to 1499, when the future shah was fleeing the Aq Qoyunlu. Ismail later founded the Safavid dynasty. Under Shah Abbas I, Gilan was brought under the Persian crown in 1592; Rasht became the provincial seat, and Lahijan's former prominence diminished.