Sistan and Baluchistan Province
Encyclopedia
Sistan and Baluchestan Province is one of the 31 provinces
of Iran
. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan
and Afghanistan
and its capital is Zahedan
.
The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million. The counties of the province are Chabahar
, Dalgan
, Hirmand
, Iranshahr
, Khash
, Konarak
, Nikshahr
, Saravan
, Sarbaz
, Soran
, Zabol
, Zaboli
, Zahedan
and Zehak
.
The population comprises Sunni Muslim
Baluchis and Shi'a Persian Sistani
s.
with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are the 120-day wind of Sistan known as Levar, the Qousse wind, the seventh (Gav-kosh) wind, the Nambi or south wind, the Hooshak wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or (Gurich) wind and the western (Gard) wind.
In the south, east and west of Sistān and Balūchestān, the people are mostly Balōch and speak the Baluchi language. The name Balūchestān means "Land of the Balōch
i" in Persian language
. Similarly, the Persian language name Sistān comes from the Old Persian Sakastāna, meaning "Land of the Sakas".
Many scholars, orators, and literary personalities have sprung up from this part of Iran, amongst which are the reputed Farrokhi sistani, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar
and Rostam
. Ayatollah Sistani is also from Sistān; though he currently resides in Najaf
, Iraq
.
, Sistan
is mentioned as one of the eastern territories of Darius the Great. The name Sistan, as mentioned above, is derived from Saka
(also sometimes Saga, or Sagastan), one of the Aryan
tribes that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BCE. During the Arsacid Dynasty (248 BC to 224 CE), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period till the early Islamic period, Sistan flourished considerably.
During the reign of Ardashir I of Persia, Sistan
came under the jurisdiction of the Sassanids, and in 644CE, the Arab Muslims
gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.
During the reign of the second caliph of Islam
, this territory was conquered by the Arabs and an Arab
commander was assigned as governor. The famous Persian
ruler Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, whose descendants dominated this area for many centuries, later became governor of this province. In 916 CE, Baluchestan was ruled by the Daylamids
and thereafter the Seljuqids, when it became a part of Kerman. Dynasties such as the Saffarid
s, Samanid
s, Qaznavid
s, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.
In 1508 CE, Shah Ismail I
of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan, and during the reign of Nader Shah
there was further turmoil.
Baluchestan has always gone by two ancient names, the Maga/Maka (which through the passage of time it changed to Mokran / Makran
), and Godar (from the Bactrian language (Pashto) from which the Greeks derived Gedrosia
and which, through the passage of time, changed to Gwadar
). Both names still survive inside the Pakistan
administered part of Baluchestan today.
The province today is the most underdeveloped, desolate, and poorest of Iran
's provinces. The government of Iran has been trying to reverse this situation by implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
.
Provinces of Iran
Iran is subdivided into thirty one provinces , each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital of that province...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and its capital is Zahedan
Zahedan
Zahedan is a city in and the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552,706, in 109,488 families.-Geography:...
.
The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million. The counties of the province are Chabahar
Chabahar County
Chah Bahar County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. The capital of the county is Chah Bahar. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 214,017, in 41,532 families. The county is subdivided into three districts: the Central District, Dashtiari District, and Polan District...
, Dalgan
Dalgan County
Dalgan County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. The capital of the county is Galmurti. It was separated from Iranshahr County in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 52,419, in 9,894 families. The county has one district: the Central District...
, Hirmand
Hirmand County
Hirmand County is a county in Sistan va Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Dust Mohammad. It was separated from Zabol in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 73,254, in 14,677 families. The county has one city: Dust Mohammad.-References:* اطلس گیتاشناسی...
, Iranshahr
Iranshahr County
Iranshahr County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Iranshahr. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 264,226, in 49,443 families; excluding those portions, the population was 211,807, in 39,549 families...
, Khash
Khash County
Khash County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Khash. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 161,918, in 32,478 families. The county is subdivided into three districts: the Central District, Irandegan District, and Nukabad District...
, Konarak
Konarak County
Konarak County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Konarak. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 68,605, in 14,288 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Zarabad District...
, Nikshahr
Nikshahr County
Nikshahr County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Nik Shahr. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 185,355, in 37,858 families. The county is subdivided into five districts: the Central District, Bent District, Fanuj District, Qasr-e...
, Saravan
Saravan County
Saravan County is a county in Sistan and Baluchistan in Iran, near to the international border of Pakistan. The capital of the county is Saravan...
, Sarbaz
Sarbaz County
Sarbaz County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Rasak. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 162,960, in 31,449 families. The county is subdivided into four districts: the Central District, Pishin District, Ashar District, and Sarbaz...
, Soran
Sib o Soran County
Sib and Soran County is a county in Sistan va Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Suran. It was separated from Saravan County in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 44,041, in 9,033 families. The county has one city: Suran.-References:* اطلس گیتاشناسی...
, Zabol
Zabol County
Zabol County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Zabol. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 317,357, in 67,778 families; excluding those portions, the population was 244,103, in 53,101 families...
, Zaboli
Zaboli County
Zaboli County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Zaboli. It was separated from Saravan County in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 31,679, in 6,872 families. The county has one city: Zaboli....
, Zahedan
Zahedan County
Zahedan County is a county in Sistan va Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Zahedan. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 663,822, in 130,763 families. The county is subdivided into four districts: the Central District, Mirjaveh District, Kurin District, and...
and Zehak
Zehak County
Zehak County is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Zehak. It was separated from Zabol County in 2005. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 70,839, in 14,683 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and...
.
The population comprises Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Baluchis and Shi'a Persian Sistani
Sistani people
Sistani Persian people or Sistanis are a Persian speaking ethnic group who primarily inhabit Sistan in southeastern Iran.They live in the northern part of Sistan and Balouchistan province, where they form a minority after Baluchis...
s.
Geography and culture
The province comprises two sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The combined Sistan & Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are the 120-day wind of Sistan known as Levar, the Qousse wind, the seventh (Gav-kosh) wind, the Nambi or south wind, the Hooshak wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or (Gurich) wind and the western (Gard) wind.
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
i" in Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. Similarly, the Persian language name Sistān comes from the Old Persian Sakastāna, meaning "Land of the Sakas".
Many scholars, orators, and literary personalities have sprung up from this part of Iran, amongst which are the reputed Farrokhi sistani, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar
Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar
Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar or Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari was the founder of the Saffarid dynasty in Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj . He ruled territories that are now in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as portions of West Pakistan...
and Rostam
Rostam
Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
. Ayatollah Sistani is also from Sistān; though he currently resides in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
History
In the epigraphs of Bistoon and PersepolisPersepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
, Sistan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
is mentioned as one of the eastern territories of Darius the Great. The name Sistan, as mentioned above, is derived from Saka
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
(also sometimes Saga, or Sagastan), one of the Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
tribes that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BCE. During the Arsacid Dynasty (248 BC to 224 CE), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period till the early Islamic period, Sistan flourished considerably.
During the reign of Ardashir I of Persia, Sistan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
came under the jurisdiction of the Sassanids, and in 644CE, the Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims are adherents of the religion of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, or genealogically as Arabs. They greatly outnumber other ethnic groups in the Middle East. Muslims who are not Arabs are called mawali by Arab Muslims....
gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.
During the reign of the second caliph of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, this territory was conquered by the Arabs and an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
commander was assigned as governor. The famous Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
ruler Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, whose descendants dominated this area for many centuries, later became governor of this province. In 916 CE, Baluchestan was ruled by the Daylamids
Buwayhid
The Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids , also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Persian dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan...
and thereafter the Seljuqids, when it became a part of Kerman. Dynasties such as the Saffarid
Saffarid dynasty
The Saffarids or the Saffarid dynasty was a Persian empire which ruled in Sistan , a historical region in southeastern Iran, southwestern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan...
s, Samanid
Samanid
The Samani dynasty , also known as the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids was a Persian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran, named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility...
s, Qaznavid
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...
s, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.
In 1508 CE, Shah Ismail I
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan, and during the reign of Nader Shah
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
there was further turmoil.
Baluchestan has always gone by two ancient names, the Maga/Maka (which through the passage of time it changed to Mokran / Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
), and Godar (from the Bactrian language (Pashto) from which the Greeks derived Gedrosia
Gedrosia
Gedrosia from Pashto Gwadar-khua is the hellenized name of an area that corresponds to today's Balochistan. Eastern Balochistan is southwestern province of Pakistan and parts of southwestern and south-central Afghanistan and western Balochistan is divided between Iranian provinces of Hormozgan and...
and which, through the passage of time, changed to Gwadar
Gwadar
Gwadar also known as Godar is a developing port city on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. It is the district headquarters of Gwadar District in Balochistan province and has a population of approximately 50,000.Gwadar is strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the...
). Both names still survive inside the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
administered part of Baluchestan today.
Sistan and Baluchestan today
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's provinces. The government of Iran has been trying to reverse this situation by implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone is an Iranian free trade zone formed according to the law on the establishment and administration of free trade–industrial zones ....
.
Colleges and universities
- University of Sistan and BaluchestanUniversity of Sistan and BaluchestanUniversity of Sistan and Baluchestan is a university in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan in Iran.-History:The University of Sistan and Baluchestan was founded in 1974 originally named University of Balochistan in Zahedan with initial opening of the Faculty of Engineering and enrolments in...
- Chabahar Maritime University
- Zabol UniversityZabol UniversityUniversity of Zabol is a university in the city of Zabol in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan in Iran.-See also:*Higher Education in Iran...
- Islamic Azad University of Iranshahr
- Islamic Azad University of Zahedan http://www.iauzah.ac.ir
- Zahedan University of Medical Sciences http://www.zdmu.ac.ir
- Zabol University of Medical Sciences
- International University of ChabaharInternational University of ChabaharInternational University of Chabahar , is located in the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone, in the city of Chabahar, part of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran.-Affiliates:...
- Iranshar University
Publications
A number of Iranian scholars have published their works on the cultural and social issues of Balochistan of Iran such as Dr. Iraj Afshar Sistani, Dr. Azim Shahbukhsh, Ghasem Siasar, and Abdolvodod Sepahi. On political issues several major works have been done by Professor Selig Harrison and Dr. Taj Mohammad Berissiq. However, on the politics of Balochistan after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, two substantial studies have been carried out by Dr. Mohammad Hassan Hosseinbor and Dr. Ahmad Reza Taheri.See also
- BazmanBazmanBazman is a stratovolcano in a remote desert region of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. A 500-m-wide crater caps the summit of the dominantly andesitic volcano. Although no historic eruptions have been reported from Bazman, it does contain fumaroles. Its satellite cones have...
- Baluch peopleBaloch peopleThe Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
- Baluchi musicBalochi musicBalochi music refers to music performed by the Baloch people in Sistan and Baluchestan Province an eastern province in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Balochistan, a western province in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, southern Oman, some parts of Afghanistan and Middle East. Baluchi music is very...
- Ancient Persia
- SistanSistanSīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
- Balochistan (region)Balochistan (region)Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...
- Balochistan (Afghanistan)Balochistan (Afghanistan)Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region that includes part of southern and southwestern Afghanistan. It extends into southeastern Iran and western Pakistan and is named after the Baloch people.-Geography:...
- KakazaiKakazaiThe Kakazai , also known as Loye Mamund , are a Pashtun tribe originally from the Laghman province of Afghanistan.They came to South Asia during Afghan invasions such as those of Mahmud of Ghazni, settling in various regions....
External links
- Chabahar Free Trading Zone, Sistan and Baluchistan
- Chris Zambelis, "Insurrection in Iranian Balochistan," Jamestown Foundation, Vol. 6, Iss. 1, 11 January 2008.
- Chris Zambelis, "Violence and Rebellion in Iranian Balochistan," Jamestown Foundation, Vol. 4, Iss. 13, 29 June 2006.