INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
festival usually observed as a rain festival
Tiragan, along with Noruz, Yalda Night and Mehregan are amongst feasts widely celebrated in the ancient land.Currently, the summer festival
is mainly celebrated by Iranian Zoroastrians
The celebration is widely attested by historians such as Abu Saeid Gardezi, Biruni, and Al-Masudi, as well as European travelers to Iran
The thirteenth day of the month of Tir on the Persian calendar (June 22 - July 22) is named after the respective month, Tir.Legend has it
that Arash was the best archer in the Persian army
He was selected to settle a land dispute between Persia and Turan (present-day Central Asia).When the kings of the two lands - Manouchehr
and Afrasiyab - decided to settle their dispute and set a permanent boundary between Persia and Turan, they arrived at a mutual
Wherever his arrow landed, they agreed, would determine the boundary between the two kingdoms.Arash shot his arrow (Tir) on the 13th day of
the Persian month of Tir, which fell on the banks of the Jeyhun (the Oxus) River
Thus, the borders of the two countries were marked.Legend has it that as soon as the border dispute was settled, rain began pouring down on
both lands, which had been suffering from an eight-year drought.Thus this day, the 13th of Tir (July 4th) is celebrated as the Festival of
Rain.It is customary for Zoroastrians to tie rainbow-colored ribbons around their wrists for ten consecutive days and toss the ribbons into
a stream on the day of the festival.The Festival of Rain is celebrated by people dancing, singing, reciting poetry, and serving delicacies
Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed
It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation
The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty.The northern section of the region consists of lowland alongside the Caspian and
upland along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains
Marshy backlands dominate the coastal plain, and extensive gravel fans fringe the mountains
