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Revision as of 07:15, 1 June 2005 by Zora (talk | contribs) (OK, here's the result of my researches in the Middle Persian text)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The township of Ahvaz (Persian: اهواز Ahvâz, Arabic pronunciation: Ahwaz) is built on the banks of the Karun River in the middle of the Iranian province of Khuzestan. The newer part of Ahvaz, the administrative and industrial center, has been built on the right bank of the Karun; residential areas are found in the old section of the city, on the left bank. Ahvaz is the largest city of the province. There are some 890,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate).
Contemporary Ahvaz
Ahvaz is notable for commerce and industry. It has long served the needs of Khuzestan's thriving oil industry. In 1989, the Fulad-e-Ahvaz steel facility was built close to the town. This company is best known for its company-sponsored soccer club, which was the chart-topper for Iran's Premier Football League in 2005. Ahvaz also supports another team, the Esteqlal-e-Ahvaz.
Ahvaz is also known for its universities. Ahvaz institutes of higher learning include:
- Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
- Petroleum University of Technology
- Shahid Chamran University-Ahvaz
- Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz
History
For a more comprehensive historical treatment of the area, see the history section of Khuzestan.
Historians believe that the city of Ahvaz itself was probably built on the site of the old city of Taryana, a notable city under the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.
According to the Encyclopedia Iranica, the Sassanid King Ardashir I rebuilt Taryana in 230 CE and named it after himself: Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr. He is also said to have constructed a dam and irrigation system. However, the late Sassanid text Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr says:
- The City of Hormizd-Ardaxšīr and the city of Rām-Hormizd were built by Hormizd the valiant, the son of Sābuhr. (Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr, Daryaee, 2002)
The city prospered under the Sassanids, and replaced Susa as the capital of Xūzestān (Khuzestan). When the Arabs conquered the area in 640 CE, Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr was renamed Sūq al-Ahwaz.
During the period of Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphs, Ahvaz flourished; it was a center for the cultivation of sugar-cane. It was the home of many well-known scholars. Nearby stood the Academy of Gundishapur (aka Jondishapour, Jondishapur), where the modern day teaching hospital is said to have been first invented.
Ahvaz was devastated in the bloody Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries CE. Ahvaz declined into a mere village. The dam and irrigation channels, no longer maintained, eroded and finally collapsed early in the 19th century. All evidence of sugarcane plantations vanished, save for the ruins of medieval sugarcane mills (X. de Planhol, Encyclopedia Iranica).
In the 1880s 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 was built near the old village, called Bandar-e-Naseri. The port and the village grew together, and the whole urban complex was called Nasiriyeh.
Oil was found near Ahvaz in the early 20th century. Ahvaz again became a rich and thriving city. Afterwards, during the Pahlavi period, it resumed its old name, Ahvaz.
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein 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 (Farsi), 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 heritage and more provincial autonomy. See Ethnic politics of Khuzestan.
The origin of the name Ahvaz
There is some dispute as to the origin of the name Ahvaz.
Some argue that it is a version of the ancient Persian term for the ancient native Elamite peoples, Hūja, which had been rendered into Persian as Xuzi, Khuzi, or Khuz. The 13th century chronicler Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179-1229 CE) says that the words Khūz, Hūz, Huwayza, and Ahwaz are related.
Some Khuzestani Arab separatists have disputed this derivation and say that Ahwaz is an Arabic word .
Some famous Ahvazis
Many scientists, philosophers, and poets have come from Khuzestan, including:
- Abu Nuwas, a well-known poet
- Majusi the famous physician
- Abdullah-lbn-Meymoon Ahvazi
- Naubakht, an astronomer, and his sons;
- Jorjis, the son of Bakhtshooa Gondishapoori
- Ibn Sakit
- Da'bal-e-Khazai
See also
External links
- 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