Shahmirzadi

The Shahmirzadis are the native people of Shahmirzad, called Shamrza in their own speech, a garden town high on the southern slopes of the Alborz in Mehdishahr County, Semnan province. Unlike their Komisenian-speaking neighbours in Sangesar and Semnan, they speak a Caspian language. Shahmirzadi is a close relative of Mazandarani (Tabari): Glottolog puts the two in a single Mazandarani-Shahmirzadi subgroup, and many Iranian writers simply call it a dialect of Mazandarani. It does, however, have its own ISO code and some Komisenian features. This reflects history: Shahmirzad (Parthian-era Sindaga, later Shahmar) belonged to Tabaristan/Mazandaran until 1940, and families used to spend winters on the Caspian coast. About 6,000 people speak Shahmirzadi. The town had 11,191 residents in 2016 and swells to about 40,000 in summer. Shahmirzad was also home to Jewish and Baha'i families, most of whom have left for Tehran and abroad.

Shahmirzad lies at about 1,935 m among orchards, and its walnut grove of about 700 ha is said to be the largest in the world. Plums, almonds and pomegranates are also grown. The cool summers make it a resort for people from Semnan and Tehran, and old Qajar-era houses, the Shir Qal'eh fortress, seven springs and the 3,810 m peak of Neyzva attract visitors. A nostalgic local song goes 'God keep Shamrza safe, Shamrza far away', expressing the attachment of migrants to the town. In the past the people combined orchard farming in summer with winter migration to the warmer Mazandaran lowlands. Community members run Shahmirzadi language lessons on YouTube and Instagram, and young and old still speak the dialect, though everyone also speaks Persian and the dialect is increasingly mixed with it.

Most Shahmirzadis are Twelver Shia Muslims and observe Muharram mourning, Ramadan and shrine visits as in the rest of Semnan province. Shahmirzad was one of the earliest centres of the Babi and Baha'i religions. Babis from Shahmirzad and Sangesar survived the siege of Shaykh Tabarsi (1848-49), the scholar Mulla Nasrullah Shahmirzadi was killed in his home in 1916, and Baha'is in Shahmirzad faced arrests, military rule and the destruction of homes after the 1979 revolution. The town's former Jewish community has emigrated. No sources describe Christian believers among Shahmirzadis.

There is no Scripture or Jesus Film in Shahmirzadi. Global Recordings Network lists Shahmirzadi as a variety under Sangisari (language page 27159). Joshua Project reports audio recordings, and the Katartizo channel has posted a 28-minute recorded teaching in Shahmirzadi on YouTube. Shahmirzadis use Persian for reading and can use Persian Bibles and Christian media, but Persian-language church activity is banned in Iran.