یوسفی نیا، علی اصغر. تاریخ تنکابن محال ثلاث. تهران: نشر قطره، ۱۳۷۱، چاپ دوم، ۷٠۵ص.
Yusufiʹniya, ʻAli Asghar. Tarikh-i Tunukabun: Mahal-i Salas. Tehran: Nashrah-i Qatrah, 1991/1992, 2nd ed., 705pp.
ABSTRACT
The History of Tunukabun: the Triangular Region
تاریخ تنکابن محال ثالث
Tarikh-i Tunukabun aims to familiarise the reader with the land of Tunukabun. This includes areas that were formerly part of Tunukabun, meaning the areas of Kujur and Kilaristagh. These provinces are known as the Three Areas and are located between the two provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran. Due to the shared geographical, cultural, and ethnic connections of the provinces, the book attempts throughout to follow political and military incidents in both Gilan and Mazandaran. These incidents begin from the prehistoric and mythic times and continue until the period right before the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Within this vast amount of time, special attention is paid to the Constitutional Revolution, the Forest Movement, and the rise and fall of the Tudeh Party in Tunukabun.
Another stated goal of this work is to outline an ethnic identity for the people of this territory. Indeed, in considering over one hundred different sources, the author has attempted to provide an ethnic identity for the people of this region.
The first part of the book is primarily devoted to discussions of race, prehistoric anthropology, and biological anthropology. These sections are somewhat lacking in caution insofar as the conclusions reached about the “Kas” ethnic group are concerned, since the sources do not support the overstatements advanced in this section. In the rest of the work, there is also constant talk about the bravery and warrior-like qualities of the Dialimah people. Descriptions of their resilience as well as their reaction to foreign powers, central governments, and internal movements constitute the author’s main concerns.
The second half of the book focuses on events during and up to around fifty years after the Constitutional Revolution. These pages illustrate the role of Tunukabun in sustaining and creating important social movements. The writer, himself a native of Tunukabun, has briefly included in some cases content and memories from his life and from those who are close to him.
All of the sources and references are either in Persian or have been translated into Persian. Examples of primary sources include oral ones as well as short sections from a handwritten book about incidents during the Constitutional Revolution. The text of the book flows well and it keeps its focus on foreign invasions, political conflicts, as well as on local unrest and uprisings. It rarely addresses the geography and culture of Tunukabun. The main target audience for the book is made up of those with an interest in the politics, history, and residents of the south shores of the Caspian Sea.
Iradj Esmailpour Ghouchani
Translated by Niki Akhavan