The importance of the Zaydi heritage in the political and cultural history of Gilan

Authors

1 university of guilan

2 PhD student in Iranian history, University of Isfahan

10.22111/jhr.2026.54913.3891

Abstract

Zaydism had an active presence in Gilan for about eight centuries, but the place of this religious movement in the political and cultural historiography of Gilan has received less attention. After introducing the most important Zaydi works, this research, with an analytical approach, examined the importance of this heritage in reconstructing the history of Gilan from the third to the tenth century AH. Zaydi texts, especially the biographies of the Imams, provided unique information about political developments and religious conflicts during periods when Gilan was faced with a severe lack of historical sources. In addition, the geographical data scattered in these works provides the opportunity to reconsider the recognition of the geographical boundaries and lesser-known places of the region. In another part of the research, the jurisprudential texts of the Zaydi people of Gilan were examined as valuable sources for studying social and economic history; these works, focusing on the daily issues of the people, presented a clear picture of livelihoods, family relations, and local culture. Also, linguistic analysis of these texts shows that the recording of Gilaki words and phrases in jurisprudential and interpretative margins is an important source for understanding the history of Gilaki lexical developments. Therefore, the Zaydi heritage is a multidimensional and fundamental source for studying the history of Gilan.

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 February 2026
  • Revise Date: 06 August 2026
  • Accept Date: 15 August 2026

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