Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran

Ancient history | edieval history | Modern history | Bridges | Location and roads | Transport : Air : Rail | Sport : Football | Futsal | Education : Universities

🇮🇷 Ahvaz is a city in the south-west of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's built-up area includes the nearby town of Sheybani. It is home to Persians, Arabs, Bakhtiaris, Dezfulis, Shushtaris, and others. Languages spoken in the area include Persian and Arabic, as well as dialects of Luri (Bakhtiari), Dezfuli, Shushtari, and others.

One of the 2 navigable rivers of Iran alongside the Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab), the Karun, passes through the middle of the city. Ahvaz has a long history, dating back to the Achaemenid period. In ancient times, the city was one of the main centres of the Academy of Gondishapur.

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Ancient history Ahvaz is the analog of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in the Achaemenid emperor Darius's epigraph. This word also appears in the Naqsh-Rostam inscription as "Khaja" or "Khooja".

First named Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr (Persian: هرمزداردشیر Hormozd ardeshir), Ahvaz 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, or the city of Aginis referred to in Greek sources where Nearchus and his fleet entered the Pafitigris. The city was founded either by Ardashir I in 230 (cf. Encyclopædia Iranica, al-Muqaddasi, et al.) or (according to the Middle Persian Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr (shahrestān hā-ye Irānshahr)) by his grandson Hormizd I; 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 Susa, 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 broken plural of Hûz, taken from the ancient Persian term for the native Elamite peoples, Hūja (remaining in medieval khūzīg "of the Khuzh" and modern Khuzestān "Khuz State", as noted by Dehkhoda dictionary).

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edieval history During the Umayyad and Abbasid eras, in Ahvaz flourished as a centre for the cultivation of sugarcane and as the home of many well-known scholars. It is discussed by such respected medieval historians and geographers as ibn Hawqal, Tabari, Istakhri, al-Muqaddasi, Ya'qubi, Masudi, and Mostowfi Qazvini. Nearby stood the Academy of Gundishapur, where the modern-day teaching hospital is said to have been first established.

Ahvaz was devastated in the Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries and subsequently declined into a 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 the original Khuzhis and a small number of Sabians. 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 the Haft Teppe area north of Ahvaz, although ruins of sugarcane mills from the medieval era remained in existence. Several ruins of water mills also still remain in Shush and Shushtar.

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Modern history The seat of the province has, for most of its history, been in its northern reaches, first at Susa (Shush) and then at Shushtar. During a short spell in the Sasanian era, the capital of the province was moved to its geographical centre, where the river town of Hormuz-Ardashir (modern Ahvaz). However, later in the Sasanian time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and stayed at Shushtar, until the late Qajar period. With the increase in the international sea commerce arriving on the shores of Khuzestan, Ahvaz became a more suitable location for the provincial capital. The River Karun is navigable all the way to Ahvaz (above which, the Karun flows through rapids). The town was thus refurbished by the order of the Qajar king, Naser al-Din Shah and renamed after him, Nâseri. Shushtar quickly declined, while Ahwaz/Nâseri prospered to the present day.

In the 19th century, "Ahwaz was no more than a small borough 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 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 to 1925, the city of Ahwaz was in the hands of heshmatoddoleh Ghajar, who acted as governor and Sarhang Reza Gholi Khane Arghoon commander of Ghajari's army based in Khuzestan. Sheikh Khaz'al was recognised by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar as hereditary ruler of Mohammerah, 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 period, it resumed its old name, Ahwaz. The government of the Khūzestān Province was transferred there from Shûshtar in 1926. The Trans-Iranian Railway reached Ahwaz in 1929 and by World War II, 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: 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.

Iraq attempted to annex Khūzestān and Ahvaz in 1980, resulting in the Iran–Iraq War (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 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 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 club, Foolad F.C., which was the champion of Iran's Premier Football League in 2005.

Commercial Building in Kianpars street

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 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.

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Bridges There are 9 bridges over the Karun river.

*Pol-e Siah (Black Bridge) * Black Bridge, also known as Victory Bridge, is the first bridge over of Ahvaz. The bridge was used in WWII to supply Allies in Soviet Union and it had a vast impact in Allies victory.

White Bridge White Bridge (Persian: پل سفید), is an arch bridge 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.

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Location and roads Ahvaz is located 100 km north-east of Abadan and is accessible via following routes in addition of a single runway airport: • Tehran-Khorramshahr national railway • Ahvaz-Abadan expressway (145 km) • Ahvaz-Andimeshk (152 km) expressway • Ahvaz-Bandar Imam Khomeini freeway (175 km).

Ahvaz, being the largest city in the province, consists of two distinctive districts: the newer part of Ahvaz which is the administrative and industrial centre, which is built on the right bank of the Karun river while residential areas are found in the old section of the city, on the left bank.

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Transport: Air Ahvaz International Airport (IATA: AWZ, ICAO: OIAW) (Persian: فرودگاه بین‌المللی اهواز) is an airport serving the city of Ahvaz, Iran.

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Transport: Rail Ahwaz railway station (Persian: ايستگاه راه آهن اهواز, Istgah-e Rah Ahan-e Ahvaz) is located in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province. • Ahwaz is accessible via freeways from Isfahan and Shiraz, and roadways to Tehran. • 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.

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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. There are several other smaller complexes for martial arts, swimming pools and gymnasiums. Also, a new privately owned stadium is currently under construction by Foolad F.C. in Ahvaz.

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Sport: Football Football is a major part of the city's culture. The abundant enthusiasm has made Ahvaz home to three Iranian major Football clubs: Foolad, Esteghlal Khuzestan are currently playing in the Persian Gulf Pro League, and Esteghlal Ahvaz is playing in Azadegan League.

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, Esteghlal Khuzestan 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.

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Futsal Ahvaz has also two teams in the Iranian Futsal Super League, which are Sherkat Melli Haffari Iran FSC and Gaz Khozestan FSC.

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Education: 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, Ahvaz Branch • 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.

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Asia/Tehran/Khuzestan 

Ahvaz was ranked #1323 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Ahvaz has a population of over 1,350,000 people. Ahvaz also forms the centre of the wider Khuzestan Province which has a population of over 4,936,000 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Ahvaz see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Nomad

Antipodal to Ahvaz is: -131.331,-31.32

Locations Near: Ahvaz 48.6692,31.3203

🇮🇷 Abadan 48.267,30.333 d: 116.3  

🇮🇷 Dezful 48.4,32.367 d: 119.1  

🇮🇶 Basra 47.819,30.494 d: 122.6  

🇰🇼 Kuwait City 47.983,29.377 d: 225.9  

🇮🇷 Khorramabad 48.35,33.483 d: 242.4  

🇰🇼 Al Jahra 47.683,29.35 d: 238.6  

🇰🇼 Kuwait 47.603,29.322 d: 244.7  

🇰🇼 Al Ahmadi 48.083,29.083 d: 255  

🇰🇼 Ahmadi 48.084,29.077 d: 255.7  

🇮🇶 Nasiriyah 46.256,31.045 d: 231.6  

Antipodal to: Ahvaz -131.331,-31.32

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 17622.3  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15588.9  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15465.8  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 15524.6  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 13798.6  

🇵🇪 Talara -81.267,-4.567 d: 14012.5  

🇵🇪 Piura -80.633,-5.2 d: 13996.5  

🇵🇪 Chiclayo -79.844,-6.764 d: 14023.9  

🇲🇽 Manzanillo -104.3,19.05 d: 13714.8  

🇵🇪 Máncora -81.05,-4.1 d: 13962.6  

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