Encyclopedia
Khuzestan is one of the 28
provinces of
Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering
Iraq and the
Persian Gulf. Its capital is
Ahvaz and covers an area of 63,238 km². Other major cities include Behbahan,
Abadan, Andimeshk, Khorramshahr, Bandar Imam, Dezful,
Shushtar, Omidiyeh, Izeh, Baq-e-Malek, Mah Shahr, Dasht-i Mishan/Dasht-e-Azadegan, Ramhormoz, Shadegan,
Susa,
Masjed Soleiman, Minoo Island and Hoveizeh.
Historically Khuzestan is what historians refer to as ancient
Elam, whose capital was in
Susa, and in previous ages, Iranians referred to this province as
Elam. The Old Persian term for
Elam was
Hujiyā, which is present in the modern name. Khuzestan is the most ancient Iranian province and is often referred to in Iran as the
"birthplace of the nation," as this is the area where
Aryan tribes first settled, assimilating the native Elamite population, and thus laying the foundation for the future empires of
Persia,
Media, and
Parthia. Khuzestan is also where the medical college and the town of
Jondishapour was located.
From the 16th century and the advent of the
Safavid Dynasty in
Persia/Iran, the southern half of the province came to be gradually known as Arabestan. This was in recognition of the heavy Arabian tribal settlement of the area that had come to dominate the southern half of the province since the 13th century. Arabestan, however, was the name given only to the area south and southwest of the Ahvaz Ridge that runs midway of the province, from northwest to southeast and through Ahvaz. To the north and northeast of this line, the Iranian elements remaind and remains dominant, and retained the name Khuzestan. The areas to the south and southwest of the Ahvaz Ridge, however, took on a dominant Arabian ethnic composition, and the name Arabestan was coined by the authorities in the Safavid capital of Isfahan to recognize the reality on the ground.
Currently, Khuzestan has 18 representatives in Iran's parliament,
The Majlis, and 6 representatives in the
Assembly of Experts.
Geography and climate
The province of Khuzestan can be basically divided into two regions, i.e. the plains and mountainous regions. The former being in the south and west of the province. This area is irrigated by the
Karun,
Karkheh and
Jarahi rivers. The mountainous regions are situated to the north and east of the province, and are considered to be a part of southern regions of the
Zagros mountain ranges.
With regard to natural conditions, Khuzestan has unrivaled potentials unmatched by any other province in the country. Large permanent rivers flow over the entire territory contributing to the fertility of the land.
Karun, Iran's largest river, 850 kilometers long, flows into the Persian Gulf through this province.
The climate of Khuzestan is generally hot and humid, particularly in the south, while winters are much more pleasant and dry.
People and culture
According to the 1996 census, the province had an estimated population of 3.7 million people, of which approximately 62.5% were in the urban centres, 36.5% were rural dwellers and the remaining 1% were non-residents. According to the most recent census taken in 2004, the province had an estimated population of 4,277,998 inhabitants.
Khuzestan, unlike most other provinces in Iran, is inhabited by a number of ethnic minorities and peoples. Autochthonous
Persians in major cities,
Arabic-speakers and
Iranian Arab tribes, the Bakhtiari, Behbahanis, Laks, and
Lurs of the north, the
Turkic-speaking
Qashqai and Afshari tribes, the peoples of Dezful, Shushtar and the inhabitants of the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf all make up the population of the province of Khuzestan. There are no official ethnic statistics released by Iran's government.
Languages
The Persian, Bakhtiari and Lur groups of western Khuzestan all speak distinct dialects unique to their areas. Some Khuzestanis are
bilingual, speaking both
Persian and
Arabic. Most Arabic-speakers speak a variety of Arabic distinct to the region known as Khuzestani Arabic. It is also not uncommon to find people able to speak a variety of indigenous dialects in addition to their own.
Traditions and religion
Khuzestani folk music is colorful and festive, and each native group has their own rich traditions and legacy in this area.
The people of Khuzestan are predominantly
Shi'a, with small Sunni,
Jewish,
Christian, and Mandean minorities. Khuzestanis are also very well regarded for their hospitality and generosity.
Cuisine
Seafood is the most important part of Khuzestani
cuisine, but many other dishes are also featured. A popular dish that is prepared with heavy spices, onions and cilantro is simply called
soboor , after its main ingredient, a species of
fish found in southern Iranian waters. Other provincial specialties include
qæliye-mæhi ,
qæliye-meygu ,
ashe-mohshala ,
sær shir ,
hælim , and
kohbbeh .
Also see Iranian cuisine.
Historical figures
Many scientists, philosophers, and poets have come from Khuzestan, including
Abu Nuwas, Abdollah ibn-Meymun Ahvazi, the astronomer Nowbækht-e Ahvazi and his sons; as well as Jorjis, the son of Bakhtshua Gondishapuri; Ibn Sakit, Da'bal-e Khazai; Sheikh Morteza Ansari, a prominent Shi'a scholar from Dezful, and many more.
The origin of the name Khuzestan
Main article: Origin of the name Khuzestan The name
Khuzestan, which means "The Land of the Khuzi" , refers to the original inhabitants of this province, the
Khuzi people. The name
Ahvaz also has the same origin as the name Khuzestan.
The province, however, has also been called
Arabistan or
Arabestan at times, particularly starting during the reign of
Tahmasp I in the 16th century, after the Arab Muhammad ibn Falah, leader of the
Msha'sha'iya, initiated a wave of attacks on Khuzestan in AD 1440, leading to a gradual increase in the Arab population of Khuzestan.
Reza Pahlavi, however, restored the original name of the province in 1923.
History
Main article: History of KhuzestanPre-Islamic History
The province of Khuzestan is one of the centres of ancient civilization, based around
Susa. French archeologists such as Jaques De Morgan date the civilization here as far back as 8000 BC when excavating areas such as
Tal-i Ali-Kosh. The first large scale empire based here was that of the powerful 4th millennium BC
Elamites, a non-
Semitic kingdom independent of Mesopotamia.
Archeological ruins verify the entire province of Khuzestan to be home to the
Elamite civilization,
"the earliest civilization of Persia".
As was stated in the preceding section, the name
Khuzestan is derived from the Elamites , a non-Semitic people unrelated to their northern neighbors in Mesopotamia.
In fact, in the words of Elton L. Daniel, the Elamites were
"the founders of the first Iranian empire in the geographic sense." Hence the central geopolitical significance of Khuzestan, the seat of Iran's first empire.
In 640 BC, the Elamites were defeated by
Ashurbanipal coming under the rule of the Assyrians who wrought destruction upon Susa and Chogha Zanbil. But in 538 BC
Cyrus the Great was able to re-conquer the Elamite lands. The city of Susa was then proclaimed as one of the
Achaemenid capitals.
Darius the Great then erected a grand palace known as
Hadish there in 521 BC. But this astonishing period of glory and splendour of the Achaemenian dynasty came to an end by the conquests of
Alexander of Macedon. And after Alexander, the
Seleucid dynasty ruled the area.
As the
Seleucid dynasty weakened,
Mehrdad I the
Parthian , gained ascendency over the region. During the
Sassanid dynasty this area thrived tremendously and flourished, and this dynasty was responsible for the many constructions that were erected in
Ahvaz,
Shushtar, and the north of Andimeshk.
Over the centuries,
Nestorian missionaries brought Christianity to the region, using the
Aramaic language. From at least the 500s AD, the region was called "Beth Huzaye". As of AD 639, the Nestorian seat was at Mahoze, the complex encompassing
Ctesiphon and Seleucia on the Tigris; and the Nestorian Catholicos was Ishoyahb II of Gadala.
During the early years of the reign of
Shapur II , Arabs crossed the
Persian Gulf from
Bahrain to "Ardashir-Khora" of
Fars and raided the interior. In retaliation,
Shapur II led an expedition through
Bahrain, defeated the combined forces of the Arab tribes of "Taghleb", "Bakr bin Wael", and "Abd Al-Qays" and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd. The
Sassanids resettled these tribes in
Kerman and
Ahvaz. Arabs named
Shapur II, as
"Shabur Dhul-aktaf" after this battle.
The existence of prominent scientific and cultural centers such as
Academy of Gundishapur which gathered distinguished medical scientists from
Egypt,
Greece,
India, and
Rome, shows the importance and prosperity of this region during this era. The
Jondi-Shapur Medical School was founded by the order of
Shapur I. It was repaired and restored by
Shapur II and was completed and expanded during the reign of Anushirvan.
It should be pointed out that the Arab presence in
Iran, did not begin with the Arab destruction of the
Sassanid Empire. Mutual infiltration into and out of Iran, began before the Muslim conquests and continued as a result
of joint exertions of the civilized Arabs as well as the desert Arabs . There were tribesmen of "Bakr bin Wael" and "Tamim " in Khuzestan and
Fars prior to the arrival of the Arab Muslim armies. Some of these Arab groups were sedentary while others were nomadic. Some fought on behalf of the
Sassanid Empire , while others began struggling against the
Sassanids. These latter group had already won a celebrated, if limited, victory at "Du Qar" around AD 604.
Some local Arabs led by "Al-Motanna bin Hareta Al-Shaybani" helped to direct the attention of the nascent
Muslim state toward Iran by converting to
Islam and negotiating with
Madina for support in their
anti-
Sassanid moves.
The Arab Conquest of Khuzestan
The Arab invasion of Khuzestan took place in 639 AD under the command of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari from
Basra, who drove the Persian
Hormozan out of
Ahvaz.
Susa fell in two days, so Hormozan fled to
Shushtar. There his forces were besieged by Abu Musa for 18 months. Shushtar finally fell in 642 AD; the
Khuzistan Chronicle records that a
Qatari living in the city befriended a man in the army, and dug tunnels through the wall in return for a third of the spoil. The Basrans purged the Nestorians - the Exegete of the city and the Bishop of Hormizd, and all their students - but kept Hormozan alive.
There followed the conquests of
Jondishapoor and of many other districts along the Tigris. The battle of Nehavand finally secured Khuzestan for the Muslim armies.
It is interesting to notice that there was much cooperation between
Sassanids and non-Muslim Arabs during the Muslim conquest period, which shows that those wars were not Arab vs. Persian, rather Muslim vs. non-Muslims. For instance in 633-634, Khaled ibn Walid leader of the Mulsim Army, defeated a force of the Sassanids' Christian Arab auxiliaries from the tribes of "Bakr", "'Ejl", "Taghleb" and "Namer" at "'Ayn Al-Tamr".
The Arab settlements by military garrisons in southern Iran was soon followed by other types of colonization. Some Arab families, for example, took the opportunity to gain control of private estates. . Like the rest of Iran, the Arab invasion thus brought Khuzestan under occupation of the Arabs of the Umayyad and
Abbasid Caliphates, until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, from southeastern Iran, raised the flag of independence once more, and ultimately regained control over Khuzestan, among other parts of Iran, founding the short-lived Saffarid dynasty. From that point on, Iranian dynasties would continue to rule the region in succession as an important part of Iran.
In the Umayyad period, large groups of nomads from the
Hanifa,
Bani Tamim, and
Abd al-Qays tribes crossed the
Persian Gulf and occupied some of the richest
Basran territories around
Ahvaz and in
Fars during the second Islamic civil war in 661-665/680-684 A.D. .
During the
Abbassid period, in the second half of the
10th century, the
Assad tribe, taking advantage of quarrels under the Buwayhids, penetrated into Khuzestan, where a group of
Tamim had been living since pre-Islamic times. However, following the fall of the
Abbassid dynasty, the flow of Arab immigrants into
Persia gradually diminished, but it nonetheless continued.
In the latter part of the
16th century, the
Bani Kaab, from
Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan. And during the succeeding centuries, many more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan, and as a result, Khuzestan became "extensively Arabized". . According to C.E. Bosworth in Encyclopedia Iranica, under the
Qajar dynasty
"the province was known, as in Safavid times, as Arabistan, and during the Qajar period was administratively a governor-generalate."In the mid 1800s Britain initiated a war with Iran in a failed attempt to dominate Khuzestan. Tribal forces led by Sheikh Jabir al-Kaabi, the Sheikh of Mohammerah, had been vital in successfully defending the province. In the past eighty years, except during the
Iran-Iraq war, the province of Khuzestan thrived and prospered and today accounts for one of the regions in Iran that holds an economic and defensive strategic position.
Being on the border with Iraq, Khuzestan suffered the heaviest damage of all Iranian provinces during the
Iran-Iraq war.
What used to be Iran's largest refinery at
Abadan was destroyed, never to fully recover. Many of the famous
nakhlestans were annihilated, cities were destroyed, historical sites were demolished, and nearly half the province went under the boots of Saddam's invading army . This created a mass exodus into other provinces that did not have the logistical capability of taking in such a large number of refugees.
However, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push Saddam's forces back into Iraq. The battle of "
the Liberation of Khorramshahr" was a turning point in the war, and is officially celebrated every year in Iran.
Struggle over the province
Domination of Khuzestan was
Saddam Hussein's primary strategic objective that launched the
Iran-Iraq war, which forced thousands of Iranians to flee the province.
The government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran does not conduct any official ethnic census in
Iran, thus it is difficult to determine the exact demographics. Beginning in the early nineties, many ethnic Persian Khuzestanis began returning to the province, a trend which continues to this day as the major urban centres are being rebuilt and restored. Restoration has been slow due to neglect by the regime of the Islamic Republic. The city of Khorramshahr was almost completely decimated as a result of Saddam's
scorched earth policy. Fortunately, Iranian forces were able to prevent the Iraqis from attempting to spread the execution of this policy to other major urban centres.
The
Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 was a terrorist siege of the Iranian Embassy in
London initiated by an Arab separatist group. Initially it emerged the terrorists wanted autonomy for Khuzestan; later they demanded the release of 91 of their comrades held in Iranian jails.
The group which claimed responsibility for the siege- the Arab Popular Movement in Arabistan- gave a number of press conferences in the following months, referring to what it described as "the racist rule of Khomeini". It threatened further international action as part of its campaign to gain self- rule for Khuzestan. But its links with
Baghdad served to undermine its argument that it was a purely
Iranian opposition group; there were allegations that it was backed by Iran's regional rival,
Iraq. Their leader along with four other members of the group were killed and the fifth member, Fowzi Badavi Nejad, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Khuzestan in literature
In Persian literature
Khuzestan has long been the subject of many a writer and poet of Persia. Some popular verses are:
??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??????
??? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ??????
"Her lips aflow with sweet sugar,
The sweet sugar that aflows in Khuzestan."
Nizami?? ????? ?? ? ???? ??? ????
?? ????? ?? ? ??? ????????
"Your graceful figure like the
cypress in Kashmar,
Your sweet lips like the sugar of Khuzestan."
Nizari Qohistani?? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????
?????? ?? ????? ?? ??????
"So Sam hath not need ride afar
from
Ahvaz up to
Qandehar."
FirdawsiEconomy
Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of
Iran, and as such is one of the wealthiest province in Iran, though it is claimed that this wealth does not benefit the average citizen. The government of Iran claims the province to rank third among Iran's provinces in GDP.
In 2005, Iran's government announced it was planning the country's second nuclear reactor to be built in Khuzestan province. The 360 MW reactor will be a Light Water
PWR Reactor.
Khuzestan is also home to the . It is one of six economic Free Trade Zones in Iran.
Shipping
Karun river is the only river in
Iran capable of sailing. The British, up until recent decades, after the discovery by Sir Henry Layard, transported their merchandise via Karun's waterways, passing through Ahvaz all the way up to
Masjed Soleiman, the site of their first oil wells in the Naftoon oil field. Karun is capable of the sailing of fairly large ships as far up as
Shushtar.
Karkheh, Jarrahi,
Arvand, Handian, Shavoor, Bahmanshir , Maroon-Alaa', Dez, and many other rivers and water sources in the form of
Khurs, lagoons, ponds, and marshes demonstrate the vastness of water resourses in this region, and are the main reason for the variety of agricultural products developed in the area.
Agriculture
The abundance of water and fertility of soil have transformed this region into a rich and well-endowed land. The variety of agricultural products such as
wheat,
barley, oily seeds,
rice,
eucalyptus, medical herbs; the existence of many palm and
citrus farms; having mountains suitable for raising
olives, and of course
sugar cane - from which Khuzestan takes its name - all show the great potential of this fertile plain. The abundance of water supplies, rivers, and dams, also have an influence on the fishery industries, which are prevalent in the area.
Industry
The
Karun 3 and 4, and Karkheh Dam, as well as the petroleum reserves provide Iran with national sources of revenue and energy. The petrochemical and steel industries, pipe making, the power stations that feed the national electricity grid, the chemical plants, and the large refineries are some of Iran's major industrial facilities.
The province is also home to Yadavaran Field, a major oil field.
Higher education
- Khorramshahr University of Nautical Sciences and Technologies
- Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
-
- Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
...
-
- Islamic Azad University of Shushtar
- Islamic Azad University of Abadan
- Islamic Azad University of Omidiyeh
- Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz
- Islamic Azad University of Behbahan
- Islamic Azad University of Izeh
- Amirkabir University of Technology, Mahshahr campus
- Azad University of Mahshahr
Attractions of Khuzestan
Iran National Heritage Organization lists 140 sites of historical and cultural significance in Khuzestan, reflecting the fact that the province was once the seat of Iran's most ancient empire.
Some of the more popular sites of attraction include:
...
: The seat of the
Elamite Empire, this
ziggurat is a magnificent five-story temple that is one of the greatest ancient monuments in the Middle-East today. The monolith, with its labyrinthine walls made of thousads of large bricks with Elamite inscription, manifest the sheer antiquity of the shrine. The temple was religiously sacred and built in the honor of Inshushinak, the protector deity of the city of
Susa.
- Shush-Daniel: Burial site of the Jewish prophet Daniel
...
, who was revered by Cyrus The Great. He is said to have died in
Susa on his way to
Jerusalem upon the order of Darius. The grave of Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who rose against the oppression of the Umayyad Caliphate, is also located nearby.
- Dezful , whose name is taken from a bridge over Dez river having 12 spans built by the order of Shapur I. This is the same bridge that was called "Andamesh Bridge" by historians such as Istakhri who says the city of Andimeshk takes its name from this bridge. Muqaddasi called it "The City of the Bridge."
- Shushtar, one of the oldest fortress cities in Iran, known as the "City of Forty Elders" in local dialect. The Friday Mosque of Shushtar was built by the Abbasids. The mosque, which features "Roman" arches, has 54 pillars and balconies.
- Izeh, or Izaj, was one of the main targets of the invading Islamic army in their conquest of Persia. Kharezad Bridge, one of the strangest bridges of the world, is situated in this city and was named after Ardeshir Babakan's mother. It is built over casted pillars of lead each 104 meters high. Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in the 14th century, refers to many monasteries, caravanserais, aqueducts, schools, and fortresses in the town. The brass statue of The Parthian Man, kept at the National Museum of Iran, is from here.
- Masjed Soleiman
[i]
...
, another ancient town, has ancient fire alters and temples such as
Sar-masjed and
Bard-neshondeh. It is also the winter's resting area of the Bakhtiari tribe, and where William Knox D'Arcy dug Iran's first oil well.
- Abadan is said to be where the tomb of Elias, the long lived Hebrew prophet is.
- Iwan of Hermes, and Iwan of Karkheh, two enigmatic ruins north of Susa.
Khuzestan celebrities
...
, feminist lawyer and human rights activist.
...
, national football star.
- Siavash Ghomeyshi, singer, song writer and composer.
- Kaiser Aminpour, famous poet.
- Kianoush Ayyari, Director.
- Hamid Labkhandeh, Director.
- Nasser Taghvaee, Director, photographer.
- Ahmad Najafi, Actor, film producer.
- Alireza Hayati Abadani, famous news reporter.
- Mohammad Mousavi Ney soloist.
- Rita Asgharpour, Author.
- Bizhan Emkanian, Actor.
- Ezzat Negahban, Patriarch of the Iranian modern archaeology.
- Ali Shamkhani, Iran's minister of defense .
- Hossein Ka'abi, national football star.
- Jalal Kameli Mofrad, national football player.
- Kamran Delan, popstar.
- The family of Bakhtshooa Gondishapoori
- Iman Mobali, national football star.
- Ahmad Mahmoud, novelist.
- Akbar Golrang, author and film director.
- Mohammad Reza Eskandari, Iran's current Minister of Agriculture
- Mohsen Rezaee, Secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Discernment Council
- Abu Nuwas, a well-known poet.
- Majusi
...
the famous physician.
- Abdullah-lbn-Meymoon Ahvazi
- Naubakht, an astronomer, and his sons;
- Ibn Sakit
- Da'bal-e-Khazai
- Ehsan Farrokhmanesh
- DR.Mehrzad Shams
- Reza Ebrahimi
References
See also
