Semnan

Semnan lies south of the Alborz Mountains on the route across northern Iran toward Damghan and Khorasan. Its dry setting made irrigation important, and traditional qanats carried water to the town and its gardens.

The city suffered during the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century. The Safavids later contributed to its rebuilding and established Twelver Shi'ism. Under the Qajars, Semnan occupied a strategic position on the road between Tehran and the shrine city of Mashhad; the dynasty fortified the city and members of its ruling family maintained residences there.