Khuzestan province
Khuzestan ( خوزستان in Persian) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its center is Ahvaz and covers an area of 63,238 sq. km. Other major cities include Behbahan, Abadan, Andimeshk, Khorramshahr, Bandar Imam, Dezful, Shushtar, Omidiyeh, Izeh, Baq-e-Malek, Mah Shahr, 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 Jondishapour was located.
Khuzestan has 18 representatives in Iran's parliament, The Majles, and 6 representatives in the Assembly of Experts.
Geography and Climate
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.
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
Khuzestan, unlike 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, Behbahani and Luri of the north, the 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.
The Persian and Lur groups of western Khuzestan all speak distinct dialects unique to their areas. Many Khuzestanis are bilingual, speaking both Persian and Arabic. It is also not uncommon to find people able to speak a variety of indigenous dialects in addition to their own.
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.
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 ("shad"), after its main ingredient, a species of fish found in southern Iranian waters. Other provincial specialties include qæliye-mæhi ("fish stew"), qæliye-meygu ("shrimp stew"), ashe-mohshala (a Khorramshahri breakfast soup), sær shir (an Andimeshki breakfast of heavy cream) and hælim (a Shushtari breakfast of wheatmeal with shredded lamb). Also see Persian cuisine.
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, 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 province, however, has also been called Arabistan or Arabestan at times, particularly 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. (See [1], [2], [3] and [4]. Also see [5] under "Al-Ahwaz (Arabistan)".)
Reza Pahlavi, however, restored the original name of the province in 1923.
History
Pre-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 e 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" (according to A History of Persia, S. Percy Sykes, p38). As was stated in the preceding section, the name Khuzestan is derived from the Elamites (Ūvja according to The Cambridge History of Iran, 2, 259, ISBN 0521060351), a non-Semitic people unrelated to their northern neighbors in Mesopotamia. (see introduction of The Splendour of Iran, E. Booth-Clibborn, ISBN 1861540116)
In fact, in the words of Elton Daniel, the Elamites were "the founders of the first Iranian empire in the geographic sense." (The History of Iran, p26, ISBN 0313000301) 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 Achaemenian 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 (171-137 BC), gained victory 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 (A.D. 309 or 310-379), Arabs crossed the Persian Gulf from Bahrain to "Ardashir-Korra" 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 Zol-aktaf" after this battle. (see page 202 under "Arab-Persian relations, pre-Islamic Period" in online Encyclopaedia Iranica). [6]
It should be pointed out that the Arab presence in Iran, did not begin with the Arab destruction of the Sassanid Empire. The Arab infiltration into Iran, began before the Muslim conquests and continued as a result of joint exertions of the civilized Arabs (ahl al-madar) as well as the desert Arabs (ahl al-wabar). There were tribesmen of "Bakr bin Wael" and "Tamim( or Thamim)" 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 (Taghleb, Eyad), while others (Lakhmid, Shayban, Bakr bin Wael) 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 to wards Iran by converting to Islam and negotiating with Madina for support in their anti-Sassanid moves. (see pp.210,211 under "Arab Settlements in Persia" entry in the online Encyclopaedia Iranica [7]).
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. (Seeing Islam as Others Saw It, p184)
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. (Encyclopedia Iranica, p206)
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". (see online Encyclopaedia Iranica,[8], page 204, under "Arab conquest of Persia").
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. (Encyclopedia Iranica, p212). 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 eastern 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 Omayyad period, large groups of nomads from "Hanifa","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 Islam civil war, 661-665/680-684 A.D.)(online Encyclopaedia Iranica, page 215, under "Arab Tribes of Iran"). During the Abbassid period, in the second half of the 10th century, a group (the Assad), taking advantage of quarrels unedr 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. At the end of 16th century, the "Ka'ab" tribe settled down in Khuzestan. During the succeeding centuries many more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan. As a result, Khuzestan, which until recently was called "Arabestan", became extensively arabized. (online Encyclopaedia Iranica, page 216, under "Arab Tribes in Iran").
In the latter part of the 16th century, the Bani Kaab, from Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan. (see J.R. Perry, "The Banu Ka'b: An Amphibious Brigand State in Khuzestan", Le Monde Iranien et L'Islam I, 1971, p133) And during the succeeding centuries, many more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan, and as a result, Khuzestan became "extensively Arabized". (Encyclopedia Iranica, p216).
According to C.E. Bosworth in the 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 conquer Khuzestan. Having lost, the British continued in their attempts to wrest control of the province by supporting a number of foreign Arab tribes that had invaded Iran. The last remnants of these tribes (ruled over by Sheikh Khaz'al, of Kuwaiti origin) were finally defeated in 1925 by Reza Shah. 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.
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 ancient times. The Jondi-Shapur Medical School was founded by the order of Shapur I (241-271 AD). It was repaired and restored by Shapur II (a.k.a. Zol-Aktaf: "The Possessor of Shoulder Blades") and was completed and expanded during the reign of Anushirvan.
The Iran-Iraq war
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 half the province went under the boots of Saddam's invading army. This created a mass exodus into 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" (one of Khuzestan's largest cities and the most important Iranian port prior to the war) was a turning point in the war, and is officially celebrated every year in Iran.
Struggle over the province
The first person to launch secessionist unrests in Khuzestan was Sheikh Khaz'al, who rose to power in 1897 and had originally been supported by the British colonialists. He was finally arrested in 1925 by Reza Shah and the area of Khuzestan he had dominated returned to the province.
Domination of Khuzestan was also 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. (see [9] and [10]) 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 ("Salim" - Awn Ali Mohammed) along with four other members of the group were killed and the fifth member, Fowzi Badavi Nejad, was sentenced to life imprisonment. (see [11])
Human Rights Situation
In 1997, Human Rights Watch reported "Iranian Arabs, an ethnic minority centered in southwest Iran, have cited significant restrictions on their language and culture, and on their right to participate effectively in decisions affecting the area in which they live." [12]. According to another report in the same year, "Arabic is not taught in elementary schools, and the Arabic teaching in secondary schools focuses exclusively on religious texts. The governor of Khuzestan is not an Arab" while "Arabs make up 70 percent of the three million inhabitants of Khuzestan Province in the southwest of Iran" [13] In 2005, there has been reports of unrest over grievances of local arabs such as "inadequate attention to their culture and language by state media, facing discrimination in getting jobs, unfair distribution of Khuzestan's oil wealth." [14]
In spite of the aforementioned, Iran claims that efforts to disproportionately accentuate the problems in Khuzestan are by certain foreign media or political groups such as British based [15] and pan-Arab nationalists trying to fish from muddy waters. Many Iranians have in fact critcized the heavily pro-Arab influence of Iran's government in all spheres of common life. While the Azeris, Kurds, Lurs, and other ethnic groups that contribute over 50% of Iran's population, are prohibited from studying their respective languages; contrary to the HRW report, all Iranians are obliged to take seven years of modern Arabic in schools in addition to classical Arabic. The government even operates several 24 hour Arabic networks inside Iran, with nearly all programs specializing on world affairs and politics (e.g. SAHAR TV, Al-ALAM TV). No other minority group enjoys such priviledges in Iran. And contrary to what is claimed about the disproportionality of public spending based on regional wealth and revenues, Iran's other wealthy regions fair no better than Khuzestan. In fact, most of Iran's lucrative massive gas fields and petrochemical industry and oil refineries are outside of Khuzestan, making Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashad the only centers of relative prosperity in Iran. Compared to Khuzestan, there are numerous far more destitute regions in Iran, such as Sistan and Baluchestan and Kohkiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad that rarely if ever receive the attention of the central government's inadequate economic policies. And all provincial governors in Iran are Persian, appointed by the central government, whether they be in Khuzestan or Azarbaijan.
In effect, what Iran counter claims in the face of such charges is that the problems seen in Khuzestan are also found in other parts of Iran abundantly and are not specific to Ahvaz. Yet the "British backed foreign media" has been trying to shine an exclusive light on Khuzestan as a way of getting back at Iran for gaining the upperhand in current Iraq.[16]
Economy
Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran, and as such is 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. source (in Persian)
In 2005, Iran's government announced it was planning the country's second nuclear reactor to be built in Khuzestan province.[17] The 360 MW reactor will be a Light Water PWR Reactor.[18]
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 (Bahman-Ardeshir), 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.
Universities
- Khorramshahr University of Nautical Sciences and Technologies
- Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
- Petroleum University of Technology
- Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
- Shahid Chamran University-Dezful
- 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
Attractions of Khuzestan
Iran's 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:
- Choqa Zanbil: 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 (Dezh-pol), whose name is taken from a bridge (pol) 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, 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.
See also
- Ahvaz
- Susa
- Choqa Zanbil
- History of Khuzestan
- Iran-Iraq war
- Ethnic politics of Khuzestan
- Islamic conquest of Iran
External links
- Haft Tappe archeological site in Khuzestan
- Choqa Zanbil Ziggurat Official website
- Official website of Khuzestan Governorship
- Ayapir archeological site
- The History of Khuzestan according to Bakhtiari tribes of Khuzestan
- Khuzestan Province Department of Education (in Persian)
- Images of Khuzestan
- Khuzestan ISNA Official News Agency
