Gonbad-e Kāvus (Persian: گنبد کاووس‎‎) is the city known historically as Gorgan/Hyrcania. The modern name, meaning "the tower of Kavus", is a reference to the most imposing ancient monument in the city. The historic name cannot now be restored, as it was oddly and carelessly assigned to the neighboring historical city of Astarabad in the 1930s by the Iranian Government.