Iran: Short-lived entities

Last modified: 2002-07-05 by ivan sache
Keywords: persia | gilan | azadistan | kaveh |
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• Gilan
• Azadistan
• Republic of Mahabad

See also:

• Iran

Gilan

In 1915 the liberal and progressive people of Iran created the movement namedDjangali (from djangal, forest, since the movement was born in the Gilan forest) under the leadership of Mirza Kucik Khan, Ihsan Allah Khan and other liberal people (named Azadikhahan) and constitutionalist people (Mudjahidin). A Revolutionary Commitee was created, and German, Austrian and Turkish officers trained the Djangali volunteers . The movement spread to Gilan and a great part of Mazanderan. In March 1918 an attack against Kazwin failed . A treaty with the British (12 August 1918) granted to Mirza Kucik Khan the domain of Gilan, and the German, Austrian and Turkish instructors were sent back to their countries. In 1919 the Cossaks (in the Persian governments' service) seized the territory of the Djangali.
The flags of the Djangali Revolutionary Comitee and the Republic of Gilan and Mazanderan are unknown to me.

In 1920 the Soviets helped the rest of the remaining people of the Djangali movement. A Soviet ship attacked Enzeli (18 May 1920) and Soviet troops took possession of Resht, Gilan's capital. A new Committee was formed and on the 5 June 1920 Mirza Kucik Khan proclaimed the Socialist Soviet Republic of Perse, and the Soviet Republic of Gilan, with the flag:

by Jaume Ollé

After the treaty between URSS and Iran (26 February 1921) the Soviet troops retired from Gilan (8 September 1921) and in October the country was seized by Rida Khan (later on Rida Shah). Mirza was captured and executed.
(Source: L. Philippe - Flaggenmitteilung [fml] 77)

Jaume Ollé, 01 March 1997 & 08 April 1997

According to my office mate (who is Iranian) the word Kaveh in the canton is the name of a person in Persian history. It was a medieval blacksmith who was leading a rebellion against the local ruler. So, the Gilani people were referring to an earlier revolutionary.

Harald Müller, 05 March 1997

Azadistan

by Jaume Ollé

I read about a government called Azadistan in Tabriz (1920). I suppose that the Persian liberal movement Azadikhahan is related with this government. The flag is the national one, with the inscription Zindabad Azadistanin black in the white stripe .

Jaume Ollé, 08 April 1997

Azadistan means "free land" (free as in freedom).For Azad, there is also the Pakistan part of Kashmir called Azad Kashmir.
As for the -istan or -astan suffix, it is an indo-iranian root that was borrowed by many Turkish languages and also by the Armenian language (Hayastan).Azadalso means free in Armenian.

Luc Baronian, 10 April 1997