Lankaran (Azerbaijani: Lənkəran, , Talysh: Lankon) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a distinct first-order division of Azerbaijan.
The city is mostly populated by the Talysh people, and serves as the main urban centre of this people and its ethnic homeland, Talish (Talyshstan). Historically, the city was the capital of the Iranian province of Talish, of Talysh Khanate, of Russian Lenkoran uezd, of Provisional Military Dictatorship of Mughan, of Mughan Soviet Republic and of Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic.
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There are a few historical museums in Lankaran that are both culturally informative as well as historically significant.
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Lankaran has a population of about 89,300, with about half comprised of ethnic Talish. The area is noted for a high concentration of Shia Islam adherents, like its neighbor to the south, Iran.
