and cultivate diverse crops. Climate Semnan has a hot desert climate (BWh) bordering a cold desert climate (BWk) according to the Köppen climate classification. The city enjoys the traditional four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn each year. The rain season starts in December and lasts into May, however, precipitation throughout the rain season is generally very light. During some winters, moisture-abundant blizzards make their way down from the Alborz mountains to the north of the city and dump several centimeters of snow in a single twenty-four-hour period. As a result of the city's position straddling the open desert plain, many winter days are dominated by a cold and gusty wind that often produces a potent windchill factor which makes the city feel much colder than the actual air temperature. According to Iranian Meteorological statistics, Semnan experiences around 48 days in which the temperature falls below freezing each year. Spring is characterized by mild to warm day temperatures and cold to cool nights. Summers are often hot during the day and mildly warm at night. Summer months remain extremely dry with only trace amounts of rain. Occasionally, moisture from the Caspian Sea passes over the High Alborz. With the right amount of heat and moisture, thunderstorms may develop during the afternoon and evening hours. Though the amount of precipitation is light, these thunderstorms often produce strong and gusty winds with frequent lightning strikes. Autumn is mostly a transitional season. History Pre-Islamic Era The city of Semnan has historically been one of the fourteen civil establishments of the ancient, Avesta-era province of "Vern." Semnan remained an important city throughout the era of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. After the invasion of Alexander the Great, which resulted in the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, and the establishment of the Seleucid Empire, the region which hosts the city of Semnan became known as Komesh. The beginning of the prosperous era of the city arrived with the rise of the Arsacid Dynasty of Parthia. The Parthians are an Iranian people. The Arsacid Dynasty of Parthia was very interested in the importing of Hellenism, or Greek culture. This resulted in the pioneering of sculpting and other forms of Western art in the city of Semnan. One of the capital cities of the Parthian Empire was Hecatompylos, and its ruins and numerous historical sites remain between the modern day city of Semnan and Damghan. With the