RESHT, the capital of the province of Gilan in Persia, in N., and 36' E., on the left bank of the Siah Rud which is a branch of the Safid Rud and flows into the murdab or lagoon of Pahlavi (Enzeli). The population in 1928 exceeded 70,000, chiefly Gilakis, with a few merchants and officials, known locally as Iraqis. During the Bolshevik invasion in 1920 about 8,000 refugees left the town, but have since returned; and a large part of the bazaar was burnt. The town is situated in low malarious ground and was originally buried in jungle, but the Russians dur ing their occupation of the place in 1723-24, cleared most of the jungle and it is now surrounded by rice fields. The summer cli mate is damp, sultry and unhealthy, with an average minimum temperature of 84.5° in August and a rainfall of 32 to 59 inches. The houses are red-tiled or thatched, and raised from the ground, with broad verandahs and overhanging eaves. Most of the streets are paved with cobble stones, an improvement which was begun in I 910; and Resht is almost unique in Persia in having the nucleus of a sewerage system running from the bazaar to the river. There are many caravanserais.
Resht is the centre of important roads in Gilan. The metalled road from Tehran (226 m. distant) via Kazvin to Pahlavi skirts the town on the east, upon which a regular motor transport serv ice is in operation. There is a similar road to Pir i Bazar (4 m.
up the river of the same name which runs into the lagoon), whence there is a regular daily service of flat-bottomed sailing boats to Pahlavi. Launches also run between the bar at the mouth of the Pir i Bazar river and Pahlavi. A narrow gauge railway runs along side the Resht-Pir i Bazar road. A carriageable road also runs laterally from Kasma through Resht to Lahijan, Langarud and Rud-i-Sar on the Caspian sea, following in great part a raised causeway through rice fields, with innumerable wooden bridges over irrigation canals. Resht is a centre of the rice trade and of the activities of the silk industry of Gilan, but the principal cen tre of the latter is Lahijan. There is a town telephone service with trunk lines to Pahlavi, to Rud-i-Sar, to Pir i Bazar and to Kasma. The Imperial bank of Persia has a branch at Resht and the town is lit by electric light.
Resht suffered a good deal during the World War, first from the Russian army and, afterwards in 1918, when the Dunsterville force had to fight its way to Pahlavi, strongly opposed by Kuchak Khan.