View source for Gilaks

{{Short description|Iranian ethnic group}}{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{more footnotes|date=August 2015}}
 
{{Infobox ethnic group|
| group            = Gilaks
| image            = |
| caption          = 
| population       = 4.8 million (2023)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/glk/|title=Gilaki|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=April 15, 2025}}</ref>
| popplace         = [[Gilan]] and parts of the provinces of [[Mazandaran]], [[Qazvin]], [[Tehran]] and [[Alborz]]
| langs            = [[Gilaki language|Gilaki]], [[Persian language|Persian]]
| rels             = [[Shia Islam]]
| related          = other [[Iranian peoples]]
}}
'''Gilaks''' ([[Gilaki language|Gilaki]]: گيلٚکؤن, {{Langx|fa|گیلک‌ها}}) are an [[Iranian peoples]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-03-18|title=Iran: Land of various ethnicities (12)|url=https://parstoday.com/en/radio/programs-i48208|access-date=2021-11-13|website=Pars Today|language=en}}</ref> native to south of Caspian sea. They form one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. Gilak people, along with the closely related [[Mazandarani people]],{{r|CurrentBio0406}} comprise part of the [[Caspian languages|Caspian people]], who inhabit the southern and southwestern coastal regions of the [[Caspian Sea]].{{r|EncycIranicaX6}}

They speak the [[Gilaki language]], an Iranian language that is closely related to [[Mazandarani language|Mazandarani]].{{r|CurrentBio0406}}

==History==
{{Main|History of Gilan}}
The mountainous regions of northern [[Iran]] on the southwest coast of the [[Caspian Sea]],<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari | volume = 21 | page=90, note 336}}</ref> now comprising the southeastern half of [[Gilan Province]], was also referred to as [[Daylam]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Egger |first1=Vernon O. |title=A history of the Muslim world to 1750: the making of a civilization |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York (N.Y.) |isbn=978-1-138-21592-4 |edition=2d.}}</ref> The inhabitants of the region were called the [[Daylamites]].

Gilan was the place of origin of the [[Ziyarid dynasty]] and [[Buyid dynasty]] in the mid-10th century. 

The rule of the Daylamites were put to and end by the [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] invasions of the 10th and 11th centuries CE, which saw the rise of [[Ghaznavid]] and [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] dynasties. From the 11th century CE to the rise of [[Safavids]], Gilan was ruled by local rulers who paid tribute to the dominant power south of the [[Alborz]] range but ruled independently, such as the [[Eshaqvand Dynasty]] and the [[Ispahbads of Gilan]].

Scholars suggest a link between the Gilaks and the [[Zazas]]. Zaza calls themselves Dimlī or Dīmla, derived from the word [[Daylam]]. [[Dimli]] is the name of the [[Zaza language]].<ref>{{cite web |title=DIMLĪ |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/dimli |website=Encyclopedias Iranica |access-date=15 September 2023}}</ref>

==Culture==

===Economy===
Gilaki people live alongside the [[Alborz]] mountains and in the surrounding plains. Consequentially, those living along the northern side of the Alborz mountains tend to raise livestock, while those living in the plains farm. Gilaks play an important role in the provincial and national economy, supplying a large portion of the region's agricultural staples, such as rice, grains,<ref>M. ʿAṭāʾī, “Gozāreš-e eqteṣādī dar bāra-ye berenj-e Gīlān wa sāyer-e ḡallāt-e ān/Economic Report on Rice and Other Cereals in Gilan,” Taḥqīqāt-e eqteṣādī 2/5-6, 1342 Š., pp. 64–148 (Pers. ed.), 1963, pp. 32–53 (Eng. ed.).</ref> tobacco,<ref>Idem, “La culture du tabac dans le Gilân,” Stud. Ir. 9/1, 1980, pp. 121–30.</ref> and tea.<ref>Ehlers, “Die Teelandschaft von Lahidjan/Nordiran,” in Beiträge zur Geographie der Tropen and Subtropen. Festschrift für Herbert Wilhelmy, Tübingen, 1970, pp. 229–42.</ref>
Other major industries include fishing and caviar exports, and the production of silk.{{r|EncycIranicaX6}}<ref>Carré; Rostami; Bazin, 1980, II, pp. 129–37;</ref> In addition to agricultural activities, Gilaks also control other principal sectors of commerce of the province of Gilan such as tourism, and share administrative and government positions with civil servants from other regions of Iran.

===People===
The population of Gilaks is estimated to be between 3<ref name="Middle East Patterns">{{cite book|title=Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics
|author1=Colbert C. Held|author2=John Cummings|author3=Mildred McDonald Held|year=2005|page=119}}</ref> and 4 million<ref name="statoids">{{cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/uir.html|title=Iran Provinces|work=statoids.com}}</ref> in 2006.

They mainly live along the southwest coasts of the [[Caspian Sea]] and are one of the main ethnic groups that reside in the northern parts of Iran. The Gilaks are closely related to the neighboring [[Mazandarani people|Mazandarani]], and other groups of [[Caucasus]] descent, such as [[Georgians]], [[Armenians]], and [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijanis]].<ref name="Middle East Patterns" />{{r|CurrentBio0406}}

===Distribution===

Gilaks make up approximately 70% of the population in [[Gilan province]].<ref>The Geography of Guilan Province, Educational Ministry of Iran, 2006</ref>

Gilaki, which has two main dialect types, eastern and western, with the Safidrūd River as the general border, is a member of the Caspian subgroup. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilan-x | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref> There are many subdialects of Gilaki, and, progressing to the east, it gradually blends into [[Mazanderani language|Mazandarani]]. The intermediate dialects of the area between Tonokābon and Kalārdašt serve as a transition between Gilaki and [[Mazanderani language|Mazandarani]]. The differences in forms and vocabulary lead to a low mutual intelligibility with either Gilaki or [[Mazanderani language|Mazandarani]], and so these dialects should probably be considered a third separate language group of the Caspian area.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilaki | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref>

In [[Mazandaran province|Mazandaran]], the Gilaks reside in the city of [[Ramsar, Mazandaran|Ramsar]] and [[Tonekabon]]. There, though their dialects are influenced by [[Mazandarani language|Mazandarani]], they are still considered dialects of the Gilaki language.<ref>{{Cite book|title=خائفی، عباس (۱۳۹۵). "بررسي ماضي نقلي در گويش هاي حاشيه درياي خزر". گردهمايي انجمن ترويج زبان و ادب فارسي ايران. ۱۱: ۲۰.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=ویکی|first=پارسی|title=معنی گیلکی|url=https://www.parsi.wiki/fa/wiki/472064/گیلکی|access-date=2021-03-28|website=پارسی ویکی|language=fa}}</ref> Furthermore, the eastern Gīlakī dialect is spoken in the entire valley of the [[Chalus, Iran|Čālūs river]].<ref name=calus>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calus |title=ČĀLŪS |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref>

In [[Qazvin province]], the Gilaks reside in the northern parts of the province, in [[Alamut]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://velaiatnews.com/?type=dynamic&lang=1&id=40835 | title=روزنامه ولایت قزوین – استان قزوین؛ گنجینه زبان‌های ایرانی }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alamut-valley-alborz-northeast-of-qazvin- | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref>

Apart from four Turkish-speaking villages higher up, the inhabitants of Alamut speak Gilaki and those of Rudbar Tati.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alamut-valley-alborz-northeast-of-qazvin- | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref>

===Language===
{{main|Gilaki language}}
The [[Gilaki language]] is a member of the Northwestern branch of the [[List of Northwestern Iranian languages|Iranian languages]]. It is the main language spoken amongst the Gilak people, although various regional and local dialects of the Gilaki language are common.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Bazin|first= Marcel|title= GĪLĀN|encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Iranica, X/VI, pp. 617–25|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilan-x|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> Gilak people are fluent in both the Gilaki language and standard [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref name="Borjan, Dictionary of Languages">Borjan, "Dictionary of Languages"</ref> [[Persian language|Persian]] is the official language of education in Iran, and since teachers are discouraged from using regional dialects and accents in class,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wenr.wes.org/2013/04/wenr-april-2013-an-overview-of-education-in-iran/|title=Education in Iran|work=WENR|date=7 February 2017}}</ref> the Gilaki language is taught to children at home.

The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages)<ref name=CurrentBio0406/> share certain typological features with [[Caucasian languages]].<ref name=CurrentBio0406/> However, with the growth of education and press, the differentiation between Gilaki language and other Iranian languages is likely to disappear.<ref name="Borjan, Dictionary of Languages"/> Gilaki is closely related to [[Mazandarani language|Mazandarani]] and the two languages have similar vocabularies.<ref name="Borjan, Dictionary of Languages"/> These two languages retain more than Persian does of the noun declension system that was characteristic of older Iranian languages.<ref name="Borjan, Dictionary of Languages"/>

===Genetics===
{{see also|Genetic history of the Middle East}}
The Gilaks and their closely related Mazandarani occupy the South [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] region of Iran and speak languages belonging to the North-Western branch of [[Iranian languages]]. It has been suggested that their ancestors came from the [[Caucasus]] region, perhaps displacing an earlier group in the South Caspian.{{r|CurrentBio0406}} Linguistic evidence supports this scenario, in that the Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages) share certain typological features with [[Caucasian languages]].{{r|CurrentBio0406}} There have been patterns analyzed of mtDNA and Y chromosome variation in the Gilaki and Mazandarani.

Based on mtDNA HV1 sequences, the Gilaks and Mazandarani most closely resemble their geographic and linguistic neighbors, namely other Iranian groups. However, their Y chromosome types most closely resemble those found in groups from the [[South Caucasus]].{{r|CurrentBio0406}}
A scenario that explains these differences is a south Caucasian origin for the ancestors of the Gilaki and Mazandarani, followed by introgression of women (but not men) from local Iranian groups, possibly because of patrilocality.{{r|CurrentBio0406}}
Given that both mtDNA and language are maternally transmitted, the incorporation of local Iranian women would have resulted in the concomitant replacement of the ancestral Caucasian language and mtDNA types of the Gilaki and Mazandarani with their current Iranian language and mtDNA types. Concomitant replacement of language and mtDNA may be a more general phenomenon than previously recognized.

The Mazandarani and Gilaki groups fall inside a major cluster consisting of populations from the [[Caucasus]] and [[West Asia]] and are particularly close to the South Caucasus groups—[[Georgians]], [[Armenians]], and [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijanis]]. Iranians from Tehran and Isfahan are situated more distantly from these groups.{{r|CurrentBio0406}}

===Haplogroups===
The Gilaks display a high frequency of [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y-DNA]] [[haplogroup]]s [[Haplogroup R-M420 (Y-DNA)|R1b]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grugni |first1=Viola |last2=Battaglia |first2=Vincenza |last3=Hooshiar Kashani |first3=Baharak |last4=Parolo |first4=Silvia |last5=Al-Zahery |first5=Nadia |last6=Achilli |first6=Alessandro |last7=Olivieri |first7=Anna |last8=Gandini |first8=Francesca |last9=Houshmand |first9=Massoud |last10=Sanati |first10=Mohammad Hossein |last11=Torroni |first11=Antonio |last12=Semino |first12=Ornella |title=Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians |journal=PLOS ONE |date=18 July 2012 |volume=7 |issue=7 |pages=e41252 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0041252 |doi-access=free |pmid=22815981 |pmc=3399854 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...741252G }}</ref> [[Haplogroup J-M172 (Y-DNA)|J2a]], and [[Haplogroup G-P303 (Y-DNA)|G2a3b]].{{r|PlosOne77}}

==Assimilated groups into the Gilak people==
During the [[Safavid]], [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid]], and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] eras, Gilan was settled by large numbers of [[Georgian people|Georgians]], [[Circassian people|Circassians]], [[Armenians]] and by other [[peoples of the Caucasus]], whose descendants still live across Gilan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/georgia-iv--2|title=Georgian communities in Persia|access-date=17 April 2014}}</ref><ref>^ Muliani, S. (2001) Jaygah-e Gorjiha dar Tarikh va Farhang va Tammadon-e Iran. Esfahan: Yekta [The Georgians’ position in the Iranian history and civilization]</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Caspian people]]
* [[Gilan Province]]
* [[Iranian peoples]]
* [[Mazandarani people]]
* [[Northwestern Iran]]
* [[Peoples of the Caucasus]]
* [[Persian dance]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em|refs=
<ref name=EncycIranicaX6>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bazin |first=Marcel |year=2001 |title=GĪLĀN |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=X |issue=6 |pages=617–25 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gilan-i-geography |access-date=19 August 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name=CurrentBio0406>{{cite journal |last1=Nasidze |first1=Ivan |last2=Quinque |first2=Dominique |last3=Rahmani |first3=Manijeh |last4=Alemohamad |first4=Seyed Ali |last5=Stoneking |first5=Mark |date=April 2006 |title=Concomitant Replacement of Language and mtDNA in South Caspian Populations of Iran |journal=[[Current Biology|Curr. Biol.]] |volume=16 |issue=7 |pages=668–673 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.021 |pmid=16581511 |s2cid=7883334 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2006CBio...16..668N }}</ref>
<ref name=PlosOne77>{{cite journal |last1=Grugni |first1=Viola |last2=Battaglia |first2=Vincenza |last3=Hooshiar Kashani |first3=Baharak |last4=Parolo |first4=Silvia |last5=Al-Zahery |first5=Nadia |last6=Achilli |first6=Alessandro |display-authors=5 |year=2012 |title=Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians |journal=[[PLOS ONE]] |volume=7 |issue=7 |page=e41252 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0041252 |pmid=22815981 |pmc=3399854 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...741252G |doi-access=free }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commonscatinline}}

{{Iranian peoples}}
{{Ethnic groups in Iran}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilaks}}
[[Category:Gilaks| ]]
[[Category:Iranian ethnic groups]]
[[Category:People from Gilan province| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Iran]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]