Semnan province

Semnan province (Persian: استان سمنان) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is the city of Semnan.

The province of Semnan covers an area of 96,816 square kilometers and stretches along the Alborz mountain range, bordering on Kavir desert in its southern parts. The province was made part of Region 1 on 22 June 2014, as the provinces were grouped into 5 regions for coordination and development purposes.

In the Median and Achaemenid times, Semnan was one of the largest provinces of the empires, and corresponded to the borders of the ancient region of Parthia.

During the Islamic era, Semnan was part of the historical region of Gomess or Komesh.

Various ethnic groups with Kurdish, Turkish, Lor, Arab, Baloch and Gilak origins are settled in this province and it is also known as the Island of the Tribes due to the variety of ethnic groups living in the province.

The Semnani languages (known also as Komisenian languages) spoken in the province are a group of Northwestern Iranian languages, (only 68,700 native speakers in 2019) of Iran. These languages are accorded only "dialect" status in some sources. Most of the Semnani languages are descendants of the extinct Parthian while Semnani proper has been placed among the Caspian languages descended from the extinct Median.

There are six Semnani languages named in the literature, these being Semnani, Biyabunaki, Sangsari, Sorkhei, Aftari and Lasgerdi – of which some may only be dialects, although there has been little published concerning the relationships between them.

Semnani proper (Semnani: سمنی زفون), like other Caspian languages, bears some resemblance to the Old Iranian Median language but was influenced by Parthian in a later process.