Semnan, Iran Semnan, Iran Semnan (; , also Romanized as Semnān and Samnān) is the capital city of Semnan Province, Iran. Its population was 153,680 people and 36,298 families as of the 2011 census. Semnan is located 216 kilometers east of Tehran in north central Iran. It is home to Semnani languages and is known as "Seman" locally. The city offer various recreational activities, historical and religious sites, festivals, gardens and parks, colleges and universities, and Semnani culture. The city serves as the cultural and political capital of the Semnan Province. The city's main souvenirs are daffodil flowers, Shirmal pastry, Kolüçe cookies,
Name of Iran "Persia" and "Iran" could officially be used interchangeably. However the issue is still debated today. The name "Irān" is first attested in the Avesta as "airyānąm" (the text of which is composed in Avestan, an old Iranian language spoken in northeastern Greater Iran, or in what are now Turkmenistan and Tajikistan). The Modern Persian word "Īrān" () derives immediately from Middle Persian "Ērān" (Pahlavi spelling: "ʼyrʼn"), first attested in an inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of the first Sassanid king Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's Middle Persian appellation is "ardašīr šāhān šāh ērān" while