Ahvaz
|
Map of Iran and surrounding lands, showing location of Ahvaz |
The city of
Ahvaz, sometimes has mistakenly transcribed
Ahwaz (
Persian: اَهواز
ahvāz) , is capital of the
Iranian province of
Khuzestan. It is built on the banks of the
Karun River and is situated in the middle of the province of
Khuzestan. The city has an average altitude of 20 meters above sea level. There are approximately 841,145 inhabitants as of 2006.
[[1]] |
Aerial photo of Bustan park and Karun river. |
Ahvaz is located 120 km north-west of
Abadan and is accessible via following routes in addition of a single runway airport:
*
Tehran-
Khorramshahr national railway
*Ahvaz-
Abadan highway (145 km)
*Ahvaz-
Andimeshk (152 km) highway
*Ahvaz-
Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni highway (175 km).
Ahvaz being the largest city in the province is consisted of two distinctive districts: the newer part of Ahvaz, the administrative and industrial center, has been built on the right bank of the Karun while residential areas are found in the old section of the city, on the left bank.
Climate
Long and hot summers and mild and short winters. The maximum temperature in summer could soar up to 54 degrees Celsius while in winters the minimum temperature could fall around 2 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall is 195 mm.
For a more comprehensive historical treatment of the area, see the history section of
Khuzestan.
Ancient history
First named
Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr (Persian: هرمزداردشیر) it was built near the beginning of the
Sassanid dynasty on what historians believe to have been the site of the old city of
Taryana, a notable city under the Persian
Achaemenid dynasty. It was founded either by
Ardashir I in
230 (cf.
Encyclopedia Iranica,
al-Muqaddasi, et al.) or (according to the Middle Persian
Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr) by his grandson
Hormizd I of Persia; the town's name either combined Ardashir's name with the Zoroastrian name for God,
Ōhrmazd or Hormizd's name with that of his grandfather. It became the seat of the province, and was also referred to as
Hūmšēr. During the
Sassanid era, an irrigation system and several dams were constructed, and the city prospered. Examples of Sassanid-era dams are
Band-e Bala-rud,
Band-e Mizan,
Band-e Borj Ayar and
Band-e Khak. The city replaced
Susa, the ancient capital of Susiana, as the capital of what was then called Xuzestān.
The city had two sections; the nobles of the city lived in one part while the other was inhabited by merchants.
[cf. Encyclopedia Iranica] When the Arabs invaded the area in
640, the part of the city home to the nobility was demolished but the
Hūj-ī-stānwāčār "Market of Khūz State", the merchant area, remained intact. The city was therefore renamed
Sūq al-Ahwāz, "Market of the
Khuz", a semi-literal translation of the Persian name of this quarter -
Ahwāz being the Arabic
broken plural of
Hûz, taken from the ancient Persian term for the native
Elamite peoples,
Hūja (remaining in medieval
Xūzīg "of the
Khuz" and modern
Xuzestān "Khuz State", as noted by
Yaqut al-Hamawi (
1179-
1229) and
Abu-Mansoor Javalighi.
Medieval history
During the
Umayyad and
Abbasid eras, Ahvaz flourished as a center for the cultivation of
sugar-cane and as the home of many well-known scholars. It is discussed by such respected medieval historians and geographers as
ibn Hawqal,
Tabari,
Istakhri,
Muqaddasi,
Yaqubi,
Masudi, and
Mostowfi Qazvini. Nearby stood the
Academy of Gundishapur (also Jondishapour, Jondishapur), where the modern-day teaching hospital is said to have been first established.
Ahvaz was devastated in the bloody
Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries. Ahvaz subsequently declined into a mere village. The dam and irrigation channels, no longer maintained, eroded and finally collapsed early in the 19th century. During this time Ahvaz was primarily inhabited by
Arabs and a small number of
Sabians. Some minor cultivation continued, while all evidence of sugarcane plantations had vanished, although ruins of sugarcane mills from the medieval era remained in existence.
[X. de Planhol, Encyclopedia Iranica].
Modern history of Ahvaz
In the 19th century,
"Ahvaz was no more than a small borough inhabited mainly by Sha'ab Arabs and a few Sabeans (1,500 to 2,000 inhabitants according to Ainsworth in 1835; 700 according to Curzon in 1890)".
[Encyclopaedia Iranica, p.690, see entry: Ahvaz]In the 1880s, under
Qajar rule, the Karun River was dredged and re-opened to commerce. A newly-built railway crossed the Karun at Ahvaz. The city again became a commercial crossroads, linking river and rail traffic. The construction of the
Suez Canal further stimulated trade. A port city was built near the old village of Ahvaz, and named
Bandar-e-Naseri in honor of
Nassereddin Shah Qajar.
Oil was found near Ahvaz in the early 20th century, and the city once again grew and prospered as a result of this newfound wealth. From
1897-
1925,
Sheikh Khaz'al controlled this area and the name was changed to
Naseriyeh. Afterwards, during the
Pahlavi period, it resumed its old name,
Ahvaz. The government of the
Khuzestan province was transferred there from
shushtar in
1926. The trans-Iranian railroad reached Ahvaz in
1929 and by the
World War II, Ahvaz had become the principal built-up area of interior of Khuzestan. Professional
segregation remained well marked between various groups in that period still feebly integrated:
Persians, sub-groupings of Persians and
Arabs. Natives of the
Isfahan region held an important place in retail trade, owners of cafes and hotels and as craftsmen.
[Ibid, p.690]Iraq attempted to annex Khuzestan and Ahvaz in 1980, resulting in the
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Ahvaz was close to the front lines and suffered badly during the war.
Iraq had pressed its claims to Khuzestan in part because many of the inhabitants of the area spoke Arabic rather than
Persian, the dominant language in Iran. Iraq had hoped to exacerbate ethnic tensions and win over popular support for the invaders. Most accounts say that the
Iranian Arab inhabitants resisted the Iraqis rather than welcome them as liberators. However, some Iranian Arabs claim that as a minority they face discrimination from the central government; they agitate for the right to preserve their cultural and linguistic distinction and more provincial autonomy. See
Ethnic politics of Khuzestan.
During the year 2005 the city witnessed a
series of bomb explosions. Many government sources relate these events to developments in Iraq, accusing foreign governments of organising and funding Arab separatist groups.
In 1989, the
Foolad Ahvaz steel facility was built close to the town. This company is best known for its company-sponsored soccer club,
Foolad FC, which was the chart-topper for
Iran's Premier Football League in 2005. Ahvaz is also home to another IPL soccer team,
Esteghlal Ahvaz.
Colleges and universities
Ahvaz is also known for its universities as well as its role in commerce and industry. Ahvaz institutes of higher learning include:
*
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences*
Petroleum University of Technology*
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz* Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz
Many scientists, philosophers, and poets have come from Khuzestan, including:
*
Mohammad Mousavi Ney soloist
*
Abu Nuwas, a well-known poet
*
Haly Abbas Majusi the famous physician
*
Abdullah-lbn-Meymoon Ahvazi*
Naubakht, an astronomer, and his sons;
* The family of
Bakhtshooa Gondishapoori*
Ibn Sakit*
Da'bal-e-Khazai*
Ehsan Farrokhmanesh*
Ali Shamkhani, Iran's minister of defense (1997-2005)
*
Hosein Ka'bi, national football star
*
Jalal Kameli Mofrad, national football player
* Ezatollah
Negahban, Patriarch of the Iranian modern
archaeology*
Mohammad Reza Eskandari, Iran's current minister of Agriculture
[Link: http://www.president.ir/farsi/ahmadinejad/cabinet/jahad.htm]Image:Talat basari.jpg|Soon after the founding of the modern University of Jondishapur, Dr. Tal'at Basāri was appointed vice chancellor of the university, the first woman to reach such a post in any university in Iran[Piyrnia, Mansoureh. Salar Zanana Iran. 1995. Maryland: Mehran Iran Publishing.]Image:Zohreh Malileh Farshid.jpg|Zohreh malileh Farshid: One of Iran's first and youngest female architects. She designed the Ahvaz Sports Complex. Her wish was to have it ready for Ahvaz to host the 1984 Summer Olympics.[Piyrnia, Mansoureh. Salar Zanana Iran. 1995. Maryland: Mehran Iran Publishing.]
*
Mandaeanism,
Mandaic language*
Khuzestan*
Jundishapur*
Susa*
Elamite Empire*
Chogha Zanbil*
History of Iran*
Takhti Stadium(Ahvaz)*
Ahwaz Municipal Office*
Union of Iranian Southern Universities*
Fulad Ahvaz Football Club*
Esteqlal Ahvaz Football Club*
Iran Premiere League*
Haft Tappeh Archeological Site, North of Ahvaz*
Ayapir Archeological Site, North of Ahvaz*
Chogha Zanbil Elamite Ziggurat, north of Ahvaz*
Ahvaz Photo Gallery from the Khuzestan Governorship*
The History of Ahvaz and Khuzestan according to Bakhtiari tribes of Khuzestan*
Ahväz entry in the
Encyclopædia Iranica
