Gēl or Gēlak is the name of one of the ancient tribes living in northern Iran on the shores of Caspian Sea. This ethnonym has been recorded by different forms – Gēl, Gēlī, Gēlak and Gēlakī in Persian texts. This article investigates the first evidences of using this word in Classical Persian literature. It is worth noting that in Classical Persian texts there is valuable ethnographical information about this tribe.
)