Ashraff

Behshahr بهشهر
city
Abbas Abad Behshahr
Behshahr
Coordinates: 36°41′32″N 53°33′09″E / 36.69222°N 53.55250°E / 36.69222; 53.55250Coordinates: 36°41′32″N 53°33′09″E / 36.69222°N 53.55250°E / 36.69222; 53.55250
Country	Iran
Province	Mazandaran
County	Behshahr
Bakhsh	Central
Government
• Mayor	Hamid Azmoudeh
• City Council	Chairman: Abbas Asgaria
Population (2006)
• Total	83,537
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)

Behshahr (Persian: بهشهر‎‎; formerly Ashraf and Ashraf ol Belād) is a city in Mazandaran, Iran. Located on the cost of the Caspian Sea, at the foot of the Alborz, it is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Sari. At the 2006 census, its population was 83,537, in 22,034 families.

In 1832 David Brewster wrote in The Edinburgh Encyclopædia that "Ashraff is celebrated as the favourite residence of Shah Abbas, and enjoys the only good harbour on the southern side of the Caspian".

Prior to the arrival of Shah Abbas I Ashraf was a village of no distinction. The location took the fancy of Abbis I who made it an imperial residence in 1613 and he commissioned the construction of a palace and gardens. The heyday of the town was from that time until the middle of the 18th century. At the time that Sir Thomas Herbert visited the palace in 1628 there were about 2,000 families living in the town that at that time contained at least 300 public bath houses. However the town was the scene of both internal disorder and external threats (it was repeatedly sacked by Turkomans), so although it was still a significant town in 1727 when the peace of concluded the Ottoman–Persian War (1722–1727), the town was gradually abandoned. Jonas Hanway visited the town in 1744 when it was in a state of decay, and by 1812 when Sir William Ouseley visited there the palace was in ruins. By 1860 Ashraf was no more than a large village of 845 houses with between eight and ten thousand inhabitants.

Kamarband cave is notable for three human skeletons discovered there, dating to approximately 9000 years B.C. Other finds included flint blades, walrus and deer bones, giving valuable information about human development from the ice age in the Mazandaran area.

The name Behshahr literally means great city. It includes many historical sites such as Abbas Abad the home of Shah Abbas I of Persia, Cheshmeh Emarat Palace, Baghe Shah Gardens and the Chit Sazi weaving factor Abbas Abbad which is famous for its greenery and beauty and also its historic significance is a major tourism attraction. There is a road which leads up to a mountain through the jungle. In the touristic Abbas Abbad, the jungle surrounds a lake with a semi-destroyed castle in the middle. The castle once belonged to the Shah Abbas.