Shahr-e Kord ( fa, شهركرد, also

Romanized 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, and ...

as Shahrekord and Shahr Kord) is the capital city of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 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 ...

. It is the largest city in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

, and is 90 km away from Iran's third largest city,

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

. At the time of the 2006

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Shahrekord had a population of about 148,464 and the Shahrekord metropolitan area had a population of 380,312. The city is populated by

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

Lurs Lurs () are an Iranian people living in the mountains of western Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language. Lorestan Province is named after the Lur ...

and Turkic people.

Etymology

Shahr-e Kord, at face value, seems to mean "City of the

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

". In antiquity, the place had been called "Dezh Gord" (دژگرد), where ''dezh'' (دژ) means "fortress" and ''gord'' (گرد) means "hero". After the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...

, the name changed to "Deh Kord" ( fa, دهكرد); ''dezh'' was reinterpreted as ''deh'' (ده) meaning "village" and ''gord'' became ''kord'' because the Arabic alphabet lacks the letters "g" (گ), and "zh" (ژ). Other examples of cities whose names changed partly due to the influence of the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

are

Chamgordan Chamgordan ( fa, چمگردان, also Romanized as Chamgordān, Chamgordān, Cham-e Gordān, and Cham Gordān; also known as Cham-e Gordūn) is a city in the Central District of Lenjan County Lenjan County ( fa, شهرستان لنجان) i ...

Boroujerd Borujerd ( fa, بروجرد ''Borūjerd'') is a city and the capital of Borujerd County, Lorestan Province in western Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 234,997 persons. Among the existing modern cities in Iran, Borujerd is one of the ...

and

Dezful Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popu ...

, which were called Chamgord, Borougord and Dezhpol, respectively, before the Islamic conquest. In 1935, the name was finally changed to its present form with ''deh'' being replaced with ''shahr'' (شهر) meaning "city", which better reflects the size of Shahr-e Kord. On the other side, Lurs have been known as Kurds in the post Islamic conquest literature. Michael M. Gunter states that Lurs are closely related to the Kurds but that they "apparently began to be distinguished from the Kurds 1,000 years ago."

History

Coins have been found in Shahr-e Kord dating back to the

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

and Parthian era. Notable people from Shahr-e Kord include artist

Arghavan Khosravi Arghavan Khosravi (; born 1984) is an Iranian-born American visual artist, and illustrator. She is known for her three dimensional paintings with works that cross between the traditions of European Renaissance and Persian miniature; with themes ...

Language

The linguistic composition of the city:

Geography

Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) is located about southwest of

and of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. It is topographically situated in the north of the

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

Mountains. Being located above the sea level, Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) is the most elevated among the centers of the provinces of Iran, known as the Roof of Iran. Mellat.jpg, Mellat Park, Shahr-e Kord شهرکرد-خیابان ملت.jpg, Bazaar Intersection, core of the City شهرکرد- فلکه آبی.jpg, Abi Square شهرکرد- میدان فردوسی.jpg, Ferdowsi Square شهرکرد- میدان امام حسین.jpg, Imam Hossein Square

Climate

Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) enjoys a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(''Dsa'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

) with hot summer days, mild summer nights, cool winter days and cold winter nights. The annual average temperature in Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) is about 11 °C but the minimum and maximum absolute temperatures recorded in Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) during the last 30 years have been -32 °C and 42 °C, respectively. January is the coldest month and July is the hottest month. Although the humidity level is moderate or high in winter, the amount of rainfall is close to zero in planting seasons, except for April and May.

Business and industry

Barfab Company
manufactures home appliances including

Evaporative cooler An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning s ...

, Gas/ Kerosene/ Electric Water Heaters, Gas Space Heater,

Refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

Freezer A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

and Twin-Tub

Washing Machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

. Hiring about 1400 people within the firm, Barfab is the biggest private unit in the province.
Shahrekord (Zagros) cement Co
is located in the center of the mountain range of

, 35 km away from Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) city.
Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) Zagros Steel Company
engages in the manufacturing of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuri ...

.
Farokh Shahr Steel Industries
is a

tinplate Tinplate consists of sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rusting. Before the advent of cheap milled steel, the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture ...

producer. It is located 10 km away from Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) city.
Shahrekord (Zagros) Carbon Dioxde Corp.
is the largest producer of and

Dry Ice Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily ...

.
Shahrekord (Zagros) Textile Industries Co
founded in Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) in 1991, is a fabric retail store which specializes in clothing fabrics, polyester viscose and black

Chador A chādor ( Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of I ...

.
PAK PAY CO
founded in Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) in 1991, is a dairy factory which produces pasteurized milk, flavored milk,

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

and

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...

. In 1996
Pak Dairy Co
bought approximately 99% of company's stock.
Photonic and Optoelectronic Research Group
founded in Shahr-e Kord (Zagros) in 2014. This research group is managed by Dr. Hamed Saghaei, one of the prominent researchers in this field of study. The research group focused on design and fabrication of Micro and Nano-Photonic devices including photonic crystal fibers and waveguides, photonic chips based on optofluidic approach, etc. This research group is supported b
Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Kord Branch (best university among 6 universities in Shahrekord)

Transportation

The Shahr-e Kord Bus Organization has 150 buses in its fleet which operate different routes throughout the city. Shahrekord Airport is a domestic airport located to the south of the city. It currently has flights to and from two cities:

and

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...

Education

There are three universities in the city of Shar-e Kord, Public and state university is Shahr-e Kord University(SKU) with 5,713 students. The other universities are Shahr-e Kord University of Medical Sciences (SKUMS) with 1,690 students and

Islamic Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; fa, دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی, ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleg ...

of Shahr-e Kord Branch (IAUSHK) with 7,400 students that is the one of most popular universities in Iran with talented faculty members and students.

Sister cities

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

http://www.farsnews.ir/newstext.php?nn=13900612000453

References

External links

Official site of the GovernorshipShahr-e Kord (Zagros) University website
{{authority control Populated places in Shahr-e Kord County Cities in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Iranian provincial capitals Luri settlements in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province