Kalantar (title)

Kalantar (Persian: کلانتر) was a term which referred to the mayor in charge of a town in Iran.

By the end of the 19th century, other authorities who represented new systems of governance had largely replaced the kalantar's position.

Members of Bakhtiari and Qashqai tribes still use the term to refer to the leaders of their respective tribal divisions.

[1] In Safavid Iran, the kalantar of the Armenian community in New Julfa was a significant and influential figure.

[2] The word is related to Persian kalān, which means "big, great".