Rasht ( ; ; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt Recht in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ), it had a population of 679,995 as of the 2016 census and is the most populated city of northern Iran. Rasht is the largest city on Iran's Caspian Sea coast. Due to being between the coast and the mountains, the local environment is rainy with humid subtropical and mediterranean influences. It also has temperate rainforest to its south, contrasting to the mostly arid Iran. It is a major trade center between Caucasia, Russia, and Iran using the port of Bandar-e Anzali. Rasht is also a major tourist center with the resort of Masouleh in the adjacent mountains and the beaches of Caspian as some of the major attractions. Historically, Rasht was a major transport and business center which connected Iran to Russia and the rest of Europe, and because of this was known as the "Gate of Europe". The city has a history that goes back to the 13th century but its modern history dates back to the Safavid era during which Rasht was a major silk trade center with numerous textile workshops. In 2015, this city joined the network of creative cities of the world as a creative gastronomy city under the supervision of UNESCO. History Timeline 682: Rasht was first mentioned in Umayyad historical documents. 1669: Stenka Razin, a Cossack warlord, plundered the city. 1714: Rasht destroyed by earthquake. 1722–1732: Occupation by the Russians due to the Russo-Persian War. 1901: A major epidemic plague devastates the city. 1917–1920: The Russian and British armed forces fight in the port city of Bandar-e Anzali and Rasht. The British retreat and the Russians occupy the area. 1920–1921: The short-lived Gilan Soviet Socialist Republic was established with its capital in Rasht. 1937: A revolt, sparked by the desire to collect a "road tax" from the Russians, was suppressed. 1974: First university established in Rasht. Rasht was first mentioned in Umayyad historical documents in 682 CE, but it is certainly older than this and appears on the Peutinger Map of late antiquity. It has seen the Sassanid era, the Rashidun conquest, the armies of Peter the Great and later Russian rulers, and British colonialism. The people of Rasht also played a major role in the Constitutional