Gonbad-e Kavus (Persian: گنبد کاووس)[a] is a city in the Central District of Gonbad-e Kavus County, Golestan Province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[3] 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, because it was assigned to the neighboring historical city of Astarabad in the 1930s by the Iranian government. At one point, it was even known as the city of Dasht-e Gorgan,[4] meaning "the Plains of Gorgan".