Jibal

[1][3][4] The region never had any precisely defined boundaries, but was held to be bounded by the Maranjab Desert in the east, by Fars and Khuzistan in the south, by Iraq in the south-west and west, by Adharbayjan in the north-west and by the Alborz Mountains in the north, making it roughly coterminous with the ancient country of Media.

[3] For most of the 9th century, however, the area was ruled by an autonomous local dynasty, the Dulafids.

[3][5] In the late 10th and early 11th century, the larger portion of Jibal became one of the Buyid emirates, while the south passed to the Kakuyids.

[3] The language spoken in Jibal was known as Pahlavi, known as Fahla or Bahla in Arabic records.

"Pahlavi" most likely referred to a group of northwestern Iranian languages and dialects, which are still spoken today, such as Talysh, Southern Tati, or variants of Adhari.