Bampur ( bal, بُنپور, fa, بمپور, also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

d as Bampūr and Bampoor) is a city in and capital of

Bampur County Bampur County ( fa, شهرستان بمپور) is in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Bampur. At the 2006 census, the region's population (as Bampur District of Ir ...

, Sistan and Baluchestan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. At the 2006 census, its population was 9,073, in 1,664 families.

Location

It is located south-east of

Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in 221,389 households, ma ...

at an elevation of In 1911 its population was about 2,000 and it was the capital of the province. It is situated on the banks of the Bampur river which flows from east to west and empties itself about west into a ''

hamun A hamun (or hamoun) ( fa, هامون ''hāmūn'') refers to inland desert lakes or marshlands, formed as natural seasonal reservoirs in areas adjoining the Helmand basin, found across eastern Iran, southern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. They ...

'', or depression, in length, and called Jaz Murian.

History

The old citadel of Bampur, on a hill about high north of the river, fell into ruins. A new fort called Kalah Nasseri, was built at Pahrah, which is known as Iranshahr, further east, in the 1880s. Fahraj, which in 1911 had a population of about 2,500, has become more important than Bampur. Fahraj, which is also known as

Pahura Pahura, and also spelled Pihur/Pihuru, Pihura, and Pihuru/Pihure was a commissioner of the 1350 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Pahura's name means in Egyptian, '' ' the Syrian ' '', and he was commissioner to the Egyptian pharaoh. Pahura is r ...

(or Paharu or Puhra), is by some identified as the Poura where

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

halted on his march from the

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

. The majority of the population are ethnic Baloch, who speak the Balochi language.

Archaeology

Bampur is an important site in relation to the ancient Helmand culture of western Afghanistan, and to the closely related

Jiroft culture The Jiroft cultureOscar White MuscarellaJiroft(2008), in: Encyclopedia Iranica. "For archeological accuracy the terms "Jiroft" or "Jiroft culture" employed to define a specific ancient Iranian culture and its artifacts should only be cited within ...

of eastern Iran. The position of Bampur is near a river and major routes. Thus, prehistoric and later settlements were founded in the area. Sir

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

carried out reconnaissance here in 1932. In 1966, Beatrice de Cardi excavated next, and she established that there were six successive occupational phases (Periods I-VI) at the site.B. de Cardi
BAMPŪR
iranicaonline.org There were links with major sites such as Shahr-i Sokhta in Iran, and

Mundigak Mundigak ( ps, منډیګک) is an archaeological site in Kandahar province in Afghanistan. During the Bronze Age, it was a center of the Helmand culture. It is situated approximately northwest of Kandahar near Shāh Maqsūd, on the upper draina ...

. During the Period I of Shahr-e Sukhteh (3200–2800 BCE), there were already close connections between that city and the Bampur valley. These contacts also continued in the Period II of Shahr-e Sukhteh.Pierfrancesco Callieri, Bruno Genito (2012)
ITALIAN EXCAVATIONS IN IRAN
www.iranicaonline.org New ceramics appeared at the end of Period IV, suggesting contact with Iran,

Makran Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, f ...

, and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. Ceramics similar to Shahr-i Sokhta IV (ca. 2200-1800 b.c.) style were introduced in Periods V-VI. There are also links with

Umm an-Nar Umm Al Nar ( ar, أُمّ الـنَّـار, Umm an-Nār or Umm al-Nar, lit=Mother of the Fire) is a Bronze Age culture that existed around 2600-2000 BCE in the area of modern-day United Arab Emirates and Northern Oman. The Arabic name has in th ...

culture of Oman, dating possibly to the last quarter of the 3rd millennium.

Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some south of Kerman city, south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft. History Habitation spans the 6th to 2nd millennia BCE and the 10th to 4th centuries BCE. ...

in Kerman Province, Iran, is another important site that may be related.

Notes

{{Authority control Helmand culture Populated places in Bampur County Cities in Sistan and Baluchestan Province Jiroft culture