Bam, Iran
Bam is a city in southern Iran, in Kerman province. It is a modern city with a population of around 100,000, situated near the site of the ancient city of Bam Citadel, in Persian: Arg-é Bam.
2003 Earthquake
In December 26, 2003 at 1:56 AM UTC (5:26 AM local time) Bam Citadel -- "the biggest adobe structure of the world" -- and most of the city of Bam proper were devastated by an earthquake. The USGS estimated its magnitude as 6.6 on the Richter scale. The BBC reported that "70% of the modern city of Bam" was destroyed. As of December 30, 2003, there are speculations about more than fifty thousand people dead. According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, the Bam Citadel (Arg-é Bam) was "levelled to the ground".
History
The ancient citadel of Arg-é Bam probably has a history dating back around 2,500 years to the Parthian period, but most buildings were built during Iran's Safavid dynasty. The city was largely abandoned due to an Afghan invasion in 1722, which overcame a weak Iranian government and ended Safavid rule. Subsequently, after the city had gradually been re-settled, it was abandoned a second time due to an attack by invaders from Shiraz. It was also used for a time as an army barracks.
The modern city of Bam was established considerably later than the old citadel. It has gradually developed as an agricultural and industrial centre, and until the 2003 earthquake was experiencing rapid growth. In particular, the city is known for its dates and citrus fruit. The city also benefited from tourism, with an increasing number of people visiting the ancient citadel in recent years. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, was born in Bam. His influence is sometimes credited for Bam's rapid development.
Philology of the word Bam
About the origin of the word Bam, there are some links even to the mythical history of Iran, namaly according to some sources “Bam” is metamorphosis of the word “Bahman”, which is the name of a king, about whom Ferdowsi (940? -1020?), the most renown epic poet of Iran, narrates in his most famous work Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), written during 30 years (980-1010). This epic, consisting of 60,000 verses, is the most ancient book written in the modern Persian, in which Ferdowsi both crystalised the Persian language (long after when the Arabic was spread in Iran consequently of the arrival of Islam), and gives an account for the 1. 5-millenium history of ancient Persia starting before Achemenids (the first Persian royal dinasty in 7th century B.C.), i.e. from Pishdadids period, until the arrival of Islam in Iran, i.e. 641 A.D.. Bahman was the son of Esfandiyar who had fought against Rostam, one of the chiefheroes in the Shahnameh. As Ferdowsi epically narrates, Bahman fights against the son of Rostam, who was called Faramarz. A sandstorm hinderred Faramarz and Bahman defeated him and as a triumph he built a fortress on the rock hill there, where now is situated the Bam Citadel.