Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of

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 ...

and the capital of

Khuzestan Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is home to

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. ...

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Bakhtiaris The Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; fa, بختیاری) are a Lur tribe from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and ...

, Dezfulis, Shushtaris, and others. Languages spoken in the area include

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...

, as well as dialects of

Luri Luri may refer to: * Luri people or Lurs, an Iranian people * Luri language, Western Iranian language continuum spoken by the Lurs * Luri language (Nigeria), dialect of the Afro-Asiatic language Polci * Luri, Haute-Corse, commune in France * Luri ...

( Bakhtiari),

Dezfuli Dezfuli (local names: دزفولی ezfulior دسفیلی esfili is a Persian dialect spoken in Dezful in the province of Khuzestan in Iran. It constitutes a language with the Shushtari dialect Shushtari ( fa, شوشتری �uʃtæri is a Persi ...

, Shushtari, and others. One of the 2 navigable rivers of

alongside the

Arvand Rud The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...

(

Shatt al-Arab The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...

), the

Karun The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable river. It is long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari people, Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tribut ...

, passes through the middle of the city. Ahvaz has a long history, dating back to the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

period. In ancient times, the city was one of the main centers of the

Academy of Gondishapur The Academy of Gondishapur ( fa, فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur), also known as the Gondishapur University (دانشگاه گندی‌شاپور Dânešgâh-e Gondišapur), was one of the three Sasanian ...

Etymology

The word Ahvaz is a Persianized form of the Arabic "Ahwaz," which, in turn, is derived from an older Persian word. The

Dehkhoda Dictionary The ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'' ( fa, لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا) is the largest comprehensive Persian encyclopedic dictionary ever published, comprising 200 volumes. It is published by the Tehran University Press (UTP) under the supervision of ...

specifically defines the "Suq-al-Ahvaz" as "Market of the Khuzis", where "Suq" is the Elamite word for market, and "Ahvaz" is a

broken plural In linguistics, a broken plural (or internal plural) is an irregular plural form of a noun or adjective found in the Semitic languages and other Afroasiatic languages such as Berber. Broken plurals are formed by changing the pattern of consonants ...

() of the form "af'āl" () of the word "Huz" or "هوز", which itself comes from the Persian ''Huz'', from Achaemenid inscriptions where the term first appears. Thus, "Ahvaz" in Persian means "the Huz-i people", which refers to the Khuzi original inhabitants of Khūzestān. The name of the region appears in medieval

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

sources as ', literally meaning "land of the Huzis". The term "Huz", meanwhile, is the

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

rendition of Suz (

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

Susiana Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

), the native

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

name of the region. See

Origin of the name Khuzestan Although Herodotus and Xenophon referred to the entire region as Susiana, the name Khuzestan is what has been referred to the southwesternmost province of Persia (Iran) from antiquity. Etymology In some instances, sugar and sugar cane have bee ...

and Elam#Etymology for more details.

History

Ancient history

Ahwaz is the analog of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in Achaemenid emperor Darius's epigraph. This word also appears in the Naqsh-Rostam inscription as "Khaja" or "Khooja". First named ''Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr'' (Persian: ''Hormozd ardeshir''), Ahvaz was built near the beginning of the

Sassanid dynasty The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as ''Sasanian'' in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sasa ...

on what historians believe to have been the site of the old city of ''

Taryana Taryana or Tareiana was an ancient city in southwestern Iran (Persia) where present Ahvaz is located, its history dates back to c. 500 BC. See also * Khuzestan * History of Iran * Ahvaz External links A brief history of Ahvaz.(in Persian) (in En ...

'', a notable city under the Persian

dynasty, or the city of Aginis referred to in Greek sources where

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and e ...

and his fleet entered the Pafitigris. The city was founded either by

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...

in 230 (cf. ''Encyclopædia Iranica'',

al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...

, et al.) or (according to the Middle Persian ''Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr (shahrestān hā-ye Irānshahr)'') by his grandson

Hormizd I Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I (also spelled Hormozd I or Ohrmazd I; pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣), was the third Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') of Iran, who ruled from May 270 to June 271. He was ...

; the city’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

, the ancient capital of Susiana, as the capital of what was then called Khuzestān. The city had two sections; the nobles of the city lived in one part while the other was inhabited by merchants. When 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

of ''Hûz'', taken from the ancient Persian term for the native

Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...

ite peoples, ''Hūja'' (remaining in medieval ''khūzīg'' "of the ''Khuzh''" and modern ''Khuzestān'' "Khuz State", as noted by Dehkhoda dictionary).

Medieval history

During the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

eras, Ahwaz flourished as a center for the cultivation of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

and as the home of many well-known scholars. It is discussed by such respected medieval historians and geographers as

ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler who travelled during the ye ...

Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari i ...

Istakhri Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri () (also ''Estakhri'', fa, استخری, i.e. from the Iranian city of Istakhr, b. - d. 346 AH/AD 957) was a 10th-century travel-author and geographer who wrote valuable accounts in Arab ...

Ya'qubi ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer and perhaps the first historian of world cultu ...

Masudi Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodot ...

, and Mostowfi Qazvini. Nearby stood the

Academy of Gundishapur The Academy of Gondishapur ( fa, فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur), also known as the Gondishapur University (دانشگاه گندی‌شاپور Dânešgâh-e Gondišapur), was one of the three Sasanian ...

, where the modern-day teaching hospital is said to have been first established. Ahwaz was devastated in the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries and subsequently declined into a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

. The dam and irrigation channels, no longer maintained, eroded and finally collapsed early in the 19th century. During this time Ahwaz was primarily inhabited by the original Khuzhis and a small number of

Sabians The Sabians, sometimes also spelled Sabaeans or Sabeans, are a mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the Quran (as , in later sources ), where it is implied that they belonged to the 'People of the Book' (). Their original ident ...

. Although most Arab migrants fled the city, a few stayed. Some minor cultivation continued, while all evidence of sugarcane plantations is still going on in Haft Teppe area in north of Ahwaz, although ruins of sugarcane mills from the medieval era remained in existence. Several ruins of water mills also still remain in Shush and Shushtar.

Modern history

The seat of the province has, for the most of its history, been in its northern reaches, first at

( Shush) and then at

Shushtar Shushtar ( fa, شوشتر; also Romanized as Shūshtar and Shūstar and Shooshtar) is a city and capital of Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province. ...

. During a short spell in the

Sasanian 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 ...

era, the capital of the province was moved to its geographical center, where the river town of Hormuz-Ardashir (modern Ahwaz). However, later in the Sasanian time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and stayed at

, until the late Qajar period. With the increase in the international sea commerce arriving on the shores of Khuzestan, Ahwaz became a more suitable location for the provincial capital. The River Karun is navigable all the way to Ahwaz (above which, the Karun flows through rapids). The town was thus refurbished by the order of the Qajar king,

Naser al-Din Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...

and renamed after him,

Nâseri Naseri was the name given to the town of Ahwaz, Khuzestan, Iran as it was refurbished and enlarged in the late 19th century by the eponymous Qajar king, Nasir al-Din Shah. The name lasted into the 1930s, when it was once again changed back to Ahwaz ...

. Shushtar quickly declined, while Ahwaz/Nâseri prospered to the present day. In the 19th century, "Ahwaz was no more than a small

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

inhabited mainly by Sabeans (1,500 to 2,000 inhabitants according to Ainsworth in 1835; 700 according to Curzon in 1890)." In the 1880s, under

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

rule, the Karun River was dredged and re-opened to commerce. A newly built railway crossed the Karun at Ahwaz. The city again became a commercial crossroads, linking river and rail traffic. The construction of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

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 Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...

. Oil was found near Ahwaz in the early 20th century, and the city once again grew and prospered as a result of this newfound wealth. From 1897 to 1925, the city of Ahwaz was in the hands of heshmatoddoleh Ghajar, who acted as governor and

Sarhang Reza Gholi Khane Arghoon Sarhang may refer to: * Sarhang (rank) * Male name in Kurdish. * Sarhang Mohsen, Iraqi footballer * Sarhang, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Iran * Sarhang, Razavi Khorasan, a village in Iran {{dab ...

commander of Ghajari's army based in Khuzestan.

Sheikh Khaz'al Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

was recognized by

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, مظفرالدین شاه قاجار, Mozaffar ad-Din Ŝāh-e Qājār; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907), was the fifth shah of Qajar Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with t ...

as hereditary ruler of

Mohammerah Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 170,976, in ...

, Sardar Asad Bakhtiari as the most powerful leader of Khuzestan's Bakhtiaries. He had power and authority over most regions of Khuzestan, such as Dezful, Shushtar, Izeh, even Ahwaz and Amir mojahede bakhtiari in Ramhormoz and Behbahan. At this time, the newly founded Ahwaz was named ''Nâseri'' in honour to its founder Nassereddin Shah Qajar. Afterwards, during the

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944 ...

period, it resumed its old name, ''Ahwaz''. The government of the

Khūzestān Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

was transferred there from Shûshtar in 1926. The

Trans-Iranian Railway The Trans-Iranian Railway ( fa, راه‌آهن سراسری ایران) was a major railway building project started in Pahlavi Iran in 1927 and completed in 1938, under the direction of the then-Iranian monarch Reza Shah. It was entirely built ...

reached Ahwaz in 1929 and by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ahwaz had become the principal built-up area of the interior of Khūzestān. Professional segregation remained well marked between various groups in that period still feebly integrated:

, sub-groupings of Persians and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s. Natives of the

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

region held an important place in retail trade, owners of cafes and hotels and as craftsmen.

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

attempted to annex Khūzestān and Ahwaz in 1980, resulting in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

(1980–1988). Ahwaz was close to the front lines and suffered badly during the war. Iraq had pressed its claims to Khūzestān. Iraq had hoped to exacerbate ethnic tensions and win over popular support for the invaders. Most accounts say that the

Iranian Arab Iranian Arabs ( ar, عرب إيران ''ʿArab Īrān''; fa, عرب‌های ايران ''Arabhāye Irān'') are the Arab inhabitants of Iran who speak Arabic as their native language. In 2008, Iranian Arabs comprised about 1.6 million people, ...

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 A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

; they agitate for the right to preserve their cultural and linguistic distinction and more provincial autonomy. See '' Politics of Khūzestān''. In 1989, the ''Foolad Ahwaz'' steel facility was built close to the town. This company is best known for its company-sponsored

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club,

Foolad F.C. Foolad Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. ...

, which was the champion of

Iran's Premier Football League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

in 2005.

In 2005 the city witnessed a series of bomb explosions. Many government sources relate these events to developments in Iraq, accusing foreign governments of organizing and funding Arab separatist groups. The

Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz ( ar, حركة النضال العربي لتحرير الأحواز, ḥarakat an-nidhāl al-arabiː litaħriːr al-aḥwāz; abbreviated ASMLA) is an Arab nationalist and separatist insur ...

claimed credit for several of the bombings, including four bombs on 12 June 2005, that killed 8 people. Gunmen killed at least 29 people in an attack on a crowd watching a military parade on 22 September 2018.

Bridges

There are 9 bridges over the

river.

Pol-e Siah (Black Bridge)

Black

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, also known as Victory Bridge, is the first bridge over of Ahvaz. The bridge was used in

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to supply

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and it had a vast impact in Allies victory.

White Bridge White Bridge ( ) or Bridge of love ( ), is a bridge in Vranje, over the Vranje river, in southeastern Serbia. It is in the old quarters of the city, in the Devet Jugovića Street. It was constructed with white stone and dates from 1844, durin ...

White Bridge (

: پل سفید), is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

completed on the 21st of September 1936 and inaugurated on the 6th of November 1936. The bridge remains a symbol of the city still today. The other 7 bridges are : Third bridge, Naderi bridge, Fifth bridge, Sixth bridge, Seventh bridge (also named ''Dialogue among civilizations bridge''), Cable bridge, and Ninth bridge.

Location and roads

Ahwaz is located 100 km north-east of

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

and is accessible via following routes in addition of a single runway airport: *

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 ...

Khorramshahr Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 170,976, in ...

national railway * Iran First Level Road 39

Ahvaz-

expressway (145 km) * Iran First Level Road 37

Ahvaz-

Andimeshk Andimeshk ( fa, اندیمشک, also Romanized as Āndīmeshḵ) is a city and capital of Andimeshk County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Andimeshk is located about north of Shush, on the main road and the rail line between Tehran and Ahvaz. The n ...

(152 km) expressway * Road5

Ahvaz-

Bandar Imam Khomeini Bandar-e Shahpour ( fa, بندر شاهپور) is a city and capital of Bandar-e Shahpour District of Mahshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. As of the 2006 census, its population was 67,078, in 14,681 families. Bandar Shahpour is a port cit ...

freeway (175 km). Ahwaz, being the largest city in the province, consists of two distinctive districts: the newer part of Ahwaz which is the administrative and industrial center, which is built on the right bank of the

Karun river The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable river. It is long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as t ...

while residential areas are found in the old section of the city, on the left bank.

Climate

Ahwaz has a subtropical

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

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, notabl ...

''BWh'') with long, hot summers and cool, short winters. Summer temperatures are regularly at least sometimes exceeding with many sandstorms and duststorms common during the summer period. However, in winters, the minimum temperature can fall to around . Winters in Ahvaz have no snow. The average annual rainfall is around 230 mm. On June 29, 2017, the temperature reached . Furthermore, the dew point peaked at which is unusually humid for the usual dry heat. Despite the fact that it has never snowed in Ahvaz, it has fallen down to before.

People

According to the 2016 census, the city had an estimated population of 1.1 million people.

Languages

Based on a survey taken by the Iranian ministry of culture in 2010, the most common languages in Ahvaz are Persian (44.8%), Arabic (35.7%), and Bakhtiari (15.8%). Many Ahvazis are

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

, speaking both

and one of the following languages/Dialects. The indigenous inhabitants of Ahvaz speak Khuzestani Persian dialect that is unique to Khuzestan, and rooted in

old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

and

Elamite language Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

s. The Arabic spoken in Ahvaz is a variety of

Khuzestani Arabic Khuzestani Arabic is a dialect of Gelet (Southern) Mesopotamian Arabic spoken by the Iranian Arabs in Khuzestan Province of Iran. Whilst being a southern Mesopotamian Arabic dialect, it has many similarities with Gulf Arabic in neighbouring Kuwa ...

. Another part of Ahvazis speak

Bakhtiari dialect Bakhtiari dialect is a distinct dialect of Southern Luri spoken by Bakhtiari people in Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari, Bushehr, eastern Khuzestan and parts of Isfahan and Lorestan provinces. It is closely related to the Boir-Aḥmadī, Kohgīlūya, ...

Luri language Luri ( lrc, لٛۏری, Łôrī, luz, لُرِی, Lorī) is a Southwestern Iranian language continuum spoken by the Lur people, an Iranian people native to Western Asia. The Luri dialects are descended from Middle Persian and are Central Lur ...

. Modern Mandaic (or ''Mandaee'') language is also spoken among the

Mandaeans Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They ...

of Ahvaz. It is a descendant of the

Classical Mandaic Mandaic is a southeastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religious books. Classical Mandaic is still employed by Mandaean priests in liturgical rites. ...

language that has been partially influenced by Khuzestani Persian.

Pollution

In 2011, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

ranked Ahvaz as the world's most air-polluted city. The reason Ahvaz is so polluted is because of its oil industry. The pollution can be very dangerous, causing different types of diseases, and can harmful to plants.

Transportation

Airport

Ahvaz International Airport Ahvaz International Airport is an airport serving the city of Ahvaz, Iran. It offers flights to domestic destinations as well as regional international destinations, such as Dubai, Istanbul and Kuwait. Airlines and destinations Accidents and ...

(

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

: AWZ,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: OIAW) (

: فرودگاه بین‌المللی اهواز) is an airport serving the city of Ahvaz,

Railway

Ahwaz railway station (''

:'' ايستگاه راه آهن اهواز, ''Istgah-e Rah Ahan-e Ahvaz'') is located in Ahvaz,

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

. * Ahwaz is accessible via freeways from

and

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

, and roadways to

. * A metro urban railway system is being built by the Ahvaz urban railway. The system is planned to have a total of four lines. Line 1 will be a 23 km underground line with 24 stations.Ahwaz Urban & Suburban Railway Organization
(in Persian)

Sport

Traditionally, Khuzestan province has been a major soccer hub in Iran. The city has two existing sport complexes: Takhti Stadium and the newly constructed

Ghadir Stadium The Ahvaz Ghadir Stadium ( fa, ورزشگاه غدیر اهواز) is a new multi-use stadium in Ahvaz, Iran, has a capacity of 38,900 people. Background In 1974, Zohreh Malileh Farshid, one of Iran's first and youngest female architects designed ...

. There are several other smaller complexes for martial arts, swimming pools and gymnasiums. Also, a new privately owned

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

is currently under construction by Foolad F.C. in Ahvaz.

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is a major part of the city's culture. The abundant enthusiasm has made Ahvaz home to three Iranian major

clubs:

Foolad Foolad Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. ...

Esteghlal Khuzestan Esteghlal Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال خوزستان, ''Bašgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl-e Xuzestân''), commonly known as Esteghlal Khuzestan, is an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Iran. The club c ...

are currently playing in the

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

, and

Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz''), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the khu ...

is playing in

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

. Foolad have won the league on two occasions, the 2013–2014 season and the 2004–2005 season. Esteghlal Ahvaz finished runners–up in the league in the 2006–2007 season. In 2016,

won the league for the first time. A number of other teams such as Foolad B the second team of Foolad and Karun Khuzestan play in the 2nd Division.

Futsal

Ahvaz has also two teams in the

Iranian Futsal Super League The Iranian Futsal Super League ( fa, سوپرلیگ فوتسال ایران, ''SuperLig-e Futsāl-e Irān''), is a professional futsal league competition for clubs located at the highest level of the Iranian futsal league system founded in 2003. ...

, which are

Sherkat Melli Haffari Iran FSC Sherkat Melli Haffari Iran Futsal Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتسال شرکت ملی حفاری ایران, ''Bashgah-e Futsal-e Shirkât-e Mili-ye Hefari Iran'') is an Iranian professional futsal club based in Ahvaz Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, ...

and

Gaz Khozestan FSC Gaz Khuzestan Futsal Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتسال گاز خوزستان) is an Iranian futsal club based in Ahvaz. Season-by-season The table below chronicles the achievements of the Club in various competitions. Players Current ...

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 Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) is a medical school in Khuzestan Province of Iran. Located in southwestern Iran in the city of Ahvaz, the university was established as a ''College of Medicine'' administered by the Shahid ...

Petroleum University of Technology The Petroleum University of Technology ( fa, دانشگاه صنعت نفت) is an Iranian public university funded by the Ministry of Petroleum particularly by its main company, the NIOC. It was founded in 1939 in Abadan in response to the inc ...

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz is a major Iranian University in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran. By the ISC ranking, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz is 13th largest and top university in Iran. SCU University is considered one of Iran's "Grade A" u ...

Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch The Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch (IAUA) (Persian language, Persian: دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد اهواز), also known as the Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz, is a private university in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, K ...

*Islamic Azad University - Science & Research Branch, Khuzestan *Institute for Higher Education ACECR Khouzestan *Payame Noor University of Ahvaz *Amiralmoemenin University *Rahnama Institute of Higher Education

Notable people

* Ahmad Mahmoud, Persian novelist *

Ali Sajadi Hoseini Ali Sadjadi Hoseini ( fa, علی سجادی حسینی , 1953 in Ahvaz, Iran – 1994 in Tehran) was an Iranian film director. Selected filmography * ''The Silence'', 1990 * ''The Old Men's School'', 1991 * ''The Fire Line'', 1994 Reference ...

, filmmaker *

Ali Shamkhani Ali Shamkhani (Persian: , born 29 September 1955) is an Iranian two-star general. He is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. Early life and education Shamkhani was born on 29 September 1955 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan. His f ...

, Iranian Minister of Defense (1997–2005) *

Amir Taheri Amir Taheri ( fa, امیر طاهری; born 9 June 1942) is an Iranian-born columnist and activist author based in Europe. His writings focus on the Middle East affairs and topics related to Islamic terrorism. He has been the subject of many c ...

, Iranian conservative author *

Ezzat Negahban Ezatollah Negahban ( fa, عزت‌الله نگهبان; March 1, 1926 – 2 February 2009) was an Iranian archaeologist known as the father of Iranian modern archaeology. Biography Prof. Ezat O. Negahban was born Ahvaz, Iran. After graduating f ...

, patriarch of modern Iranian archaeology *

Hamed Haddadi Hamed Ehdadi Haddadi ( fa, حامد حدادی, , born May 19, 1985) is an Iranian professional basketball player for Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He plays at the center position and is 7'2" (2.18 meters) tall a ...

, NBA basketball player *

Hamid Dabashi Hamid Dabashi ( fa, حمید دباشی; born 1951) is an Iranian-American professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City. He is the author of over twenty books. Among them are ''Theology of Disc ...

, intellectual historian, cultural and literary critic * Hamid Zangeneh, economist, author, and activist *

Hossein Kaebi Hossein Kaebi ( fa, حسین کعبی, born September 23, 1985) is a former Iranian professional football player who last played for Sepidrood and Perspolis among other clubs in Persian Gulf Pro League. Club career Kaebi started his football ...

, national football player * Hossein Karimi, bodybuilder *

Jabbar Choheili Sheikh (''Rabbi'') Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili ( fa, جبار چحیلی, also known as Sheikh Jabbar Tawūsī Al-Kuhaili, ar, جبار طاووس الكحيلي; born 1923, died December 27, 2014) was the head of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz, w ...

, Mandaean priest *

Jalal Kameli Mofrad Jalal Kameli-Mofrad ( fa, جلال كاملی مفرد, born 15 May 1981 in Shadegan, Iran) is an Iranian football player Club career Kameli Mofrad started his career at Foolad FC. At first, due to his physical style, Mofrad played some good foo ...

, national football player *

Manuchehr Shahrokhi Manuchehr Shahrokhi is a professor of Global Business-Finance at California State University, Fresno, founding editor of the ''Global Finance Journal'' and Executive Director of the Global Finance Association/Conference. He has authored over 80 publ ...

, Professor of Finance, California State University; Editor, Global Finance Journal; Executive Director, Global Finance Association-Conference *

Meamar Meamar is an Iranian artist based in the United States. Biography Meamar was born Ali Meamar in Ahvaz, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is borde ...

, Iranian artist * Mehdi Yarrahi, Iranian Musician *

Mehrangiz Kar Professor Mehrangiz Kar ( fa, مهرانگیز کار) (born 10 October 1944 Ahvaz, Iran), a human rights lawyer from Iran, is an internationally recognized writer, speaker and activist who advocates for the defense of women’s and human rights in ...

, human rights activist *

Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad-Ali Mousavi Jazayeri ( fa, محمدعلی موسوی جزایری) (born 1941) is an Iranian Twelver Shia cleric, who has been appointed as the representative of Vali-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) in Khuzest ...

, former Wali-Faqih representative in Khuzestan, former Ahwaz Friday Imam * Mohammad Hossein Adeli, Iranian economist and diplomat * Mohammad-Reza Eskandari, Iran's former Minister of Agriculture *

Muhammad ibn Falah Muhammad ibn Falah (1400 in Wasit, Iraq – 1461 in Hoveizeh, Iran) was an Iraqi-born theologian who founded the '' Musha'sha'iya'', a Shi'a sect. He received his theological education in the city of al-Hillah, and there came to believe himself to b ...

, theologian *

Parviz Abnar Parviz Abnar ( fa, پرویز آبنار , born 19 July 1958 in Ahvaz, Iran) is an Iranian sound recordist. He graduated from the Academy of Cinema and Television in 1978. Abnar was the sound recordist for the film ''Rapport'' in 1986. He start ...

, Iranian Sound recordist *

Patrick Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, '' Las ...

, Irish Iranian comedian *

Saleh Hosseini Saleh Hosseini (born 1946, Songhor, Kermanshah Province, Iran) is a retired professor of literature, translator and critic. Having completed his tertiary education in his hometown, he continued his education at ''Shiraz University'' in Iran whe ...

, Translator, Critic, Professor of English Literature *

Siavash Ghomayshi Siavash Ghomayshi ( fa, سیاوش قمیشی; born 11 June 1945, Ahvaz) is an Iranian musician, singer and song writer. Siavash studied music in London where he got his master's degree. He left Iran in 1978 and now lives in Los Angeles. Over t ...

, Musician, Singer and Songwriter * Sousan S. Altaie, PhD Scientific Policy Advisor, OIVD CDRH, FDA

Gallery

File:Molanasq.jpg,

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...

statue File:Eighth Bridge.jpg, The 8th Bridge (Qadir) File:AhwazWhiteBridge.jpg, The White Bridge File:Ahvaz White Bridge1.jpg, White Bridge over Karun river

References

External links

Foolad Ahvaz Football Club
{{Authority control Ardashir I Cities in Khuzestan Province Iranian provincial capitals Populated places in Ahvaz County