or CASWEEN, a city of Persia, in the province of Irak. It is situated on a great sandy plain, nine miles west of the highest ridges of Mount Taurus. Although the largest portion of it was thrown down by an earthquake, it is still regarded as one of the largest and most populous towns in the kingdom, and carries on a great trade with Ghilan. It is built in the form of a square, each side of which is about a mile long, and surrounded by a wall. There is a palace here built by Nadir Shah, adjoining to an old one erected by Shah Abbas the Great. It became the capital of Persia during the reigns of the immediate predecessors of this latter monarch; and when visited by Chardin in 1674, contained many magnificent buildings, which are now mostly in ruins. It has manufactures of carpets of different colours, which are in high repute, and also of sword blades; and still carries on a considerable trade with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ghilan, and the Caspian Sea. The population is estimated at 60,000. It is 240 miles N.W. of Isphahan, and 180 S.E. of Tabreecz. Long. 49. 33. E. Lat. 36. 12. N. (Kinneir's Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire.)