Khuzestan province

Khuzestan province (; ) is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. An extension of the Mesopotamian Plain, it is located in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf, and covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's Region 4.

Khuzestan comprises much of what historians refer to as ancient Elam, whose capital was at Susa. It was once one of the most important regions in the Ancient Near East. In modern Iran, there has been episodic conflict between the province's Arab population and the central government. In 1982, an Iraqi invasion of Khuzestan was defeated at the Battle of Khorramshahr. Containing Iran's largest oil field, it is a key strategic province.

Etymology

The Old Persian word Hūjiya "Elam" appears abundantly in many texts and on Achaemenid inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rustam, and on Darius's epigraphs at Persepolis and Susa among others. Hūjiya, or its Greek counterpart Uxi, were names used to refer to the land or the peoples inhabiting Susiana. In Middle Persian, Hūjiya "Elam, Susiana Province" became Huź "Susiana", and the modern form of this word is Xuz. The name Khuzestan is derived from the Elamite (ʰŪvja), likely pronounced /xuʒa/, later Middle Persian Hūzīg, Arabic al-Xūzīya.

In fact, in the words of Elton L. Daniel, the Elamites were "the founders of the first 'Iranian' empire in the geographic sense." Hence the central geopolitical significance of Khuzestan, the seat of Iran's first empire. After Alexander, the Seleucid dynasty came to rule the area.

As the Seleucid dynasty weakened, Mehrdad I the Parthian (171–137 BC),

gained ascendency over the region.

Sassanid period

In 224, after the Parthians suffered defeat at the Battle of Hormozdgan, the Sassanids established control over the area. The Sassanids were responsible for the many constructions that were erected in Ahvaz, Shushtar, and the north of Andimeshk. During the early years of the reign of the Sassanian Shapur II (AD 309 or 310–379), Arabs crossed the Persian Gulf from Bahrain to "Ardashir-Khora" of Fars and raided the city. In retaliation, Shapur II led an expedition through Bahrain, defeated the combined forces of the Arab tribes of Taghleb, Bakr bin Wael, and Abd Al-Qays and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd. The Sassanids nonetheless resettled the aforementioned tribes in Kerman and Ahvaz. Arabs named Shapur II, as "Shabur Dhul-aktāf" after this battle.

The existence of prominent scientific and cultural centers such as Academy of Gundishapur which gathered distinguished medical scientists from Egypt, the Byzantine Empire, and Rome, shows the importance and prosperity of this region during this era. The Jondi-Shapur Medical School was founded by the order of Shapur I. It was repaired and restored by Shapur II (a.k.a. Zol-Aktaf: "The Possessor of Shoulder Blades") and was completed and expanded during the reign of Anushirvan.

Muslim conquest of Khuzestan

Rashidun period

thumb|right|Masjed Jame' Dezful. In spite of devastating damage caused by Iraqi shelling in the Iran–Iraq War, Khuzestan still possesses a rich heritage of architecture from Islamic, Sassanid, and earlier times.

In 639, the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate forces under the command of the Arab Abu Musa al-Ash'ari defeated the Sassanids in Ahvaz and drove the Persian satrap Hormuzan out of the city. Susa later fell, so Hormuzan fled to Shushtar. The Muslims led by Abu Musa thereafter imposed a siege on the Sassanid forces in Shushtar that lasted for 18 months. Shushtar finally fell in 642 and the Muslims subsequently established full control over the area. The Khuzistan Chronicle records that an unknown Arab, living in the city, befriended a man in the army, and dug tunnels through the wall in return for a third of the spoil. The Arabs purged the Nestorians—the Exegete of the city and the Bishop of Hormizd, and all their students—but kept Hormuzan alive.

There followed the conquests of Gundeshapur and of many other districts along the Tigris. The Battle of Nahāvand finally secured Khuzestan for the Muslim armies.

During the Muslim conquest the Sassanids were allied with non-Muslim Arab tribes, which implies that those wars were religious, rather than national. For instance in 633–634, Khaled ibn Walid leader of the Muslim Army, defeated a force of the Sassanids' Arab auxiliaries from the tribes of Bakr, 'Ejl, Taghleb and Namer at 'Ayn Al-Tamr.

The Muslim settlements by military garrisons in southern Iran was soon followed by other types of expansion. Some families, for example, took the opportunity to gain control of private estates. Like the rest of Iran, the Muslim conquest thus brought Khuzestan under the rule of the Arabs of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, from southeastern Iran, raised the flag of independence once more, and ultimately regained control over Khuzestan, among other parts of Iran, founding the short-lived Saffarid dynasty. From that point on, Iranian dynasties would continue to rule the region in succession as an important part of Iran.

Umayyad and Abbasid periods

In the Umayyad period, large groups of nomads from the Hanifa, Banu Tamim, and Abd al-Qays tribes crossed the Persian Gulf and occupied some of the richest Basran territories around Ahvaz and in Fars during the Second Fitna in 661–665 / 680–684 AD.

During the Abbasid period, in the second half of the 10th century, the Assad tribe, taking advantage of quarrels under the Buwayhids, penetrated into Khuzestan, where a group of Tamim had been living since pre-Islamic times. However, following the fall of the Abbasid dynasty, the flow of Arab immigrants into Persia gradually diminished, but it nonetheless continued. In the latter part of the 16th century, the Bani Kaab (pronounced Chaub in the local Gulf dialect), from Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan. And during the succeeding centuries, more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan.

Qajar period

thumb|right|Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. The shape is an architectural trademark of craftsmen of the province. [[Tomb of Daniel|Daniel's Tomb, located in Khuzestan, has such a shape. The shrine pictured here, belongs to Imamzadeh Hamzeh, located between Mahshahr and Hendijan.]]According to C.E. Bosworth in Encyclopædia Iranica, under the Qajar dynasty "the province was known, as in Safavid times, as Arabistan, and during the Qajar period was administratively a governor-generalate." Half of Khuzestan was not known as Arabistan. Khuzestan's northern, more populous parts, with the capital at Shushtar, retained the old name, but also occasionally was incorporated into the district of the Greater Lur due to the large Bakhtiari population in half of Khuzestan.

In 1856, in the course of the Anglo-Persian War over the city of Herat, the British naval forces sailed up the Karun river all the way to Ahvaz. However, in the settlement that followed, they evacuated the province. Some tribal forces, such as those led by Sheikh Jabir al-Kaabi, the Sheikh of Mohammerah, fared better in opposing the invading British forces than those dispatched by the central government, which was quite feeble. But, the point of the invasion of the province and other coastal regions of southern Persia/Iran were to force the evacuation of Herat by the Persians and not the permanent occupation of these regions.

Pahlavi period

Arab rebellion

In the two decades before 1925, although nominally part of Persian territory, the western part of Khuzestan known as the Emirate of Muhammara functioned for many years effectively as an autonomous emirate known as "Arabistan". The eastern part of Khuzestan was governed by Bakhtiari khans. Following Sheikh Khazʽal Ibn Jabir's rebellion, the western part of Khuzestan's emirate was dissolved by Reza Shah government in 1925, along with other autonomous regions of Persia, in a bid to centralize the state. In response Sheikh Khaz'al of Muhammerah initiated a rebellion, which was suppressed by the Pahlavi government in late 1924 and early 1925. A low level conflict between the central Iranian government and the Arab nationalists of the province continued since.

The name of 'Khuzistan' came to be applied to the entire territory by 1936. Over the next decades of the Pahlavi rule, the province of Khuzestan remained relatively quiet, gaining to hold an important economic and defensive strategic position.

Oil

Oil has been produced commercially in the province since 1908 when the Masjed Soleyman oil field was discovered 50 miles north-east of the provincial capital, Ahvaz. This initiated a period of intense foreign exploration and political involvement, culminating in the discovery in 1953 of a further, much larger, oil field in the region by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The new Ahvaz field entered into production a year later, after the parliamentary regime of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, which had sought to nationalise the oil industry, had been overthrown in a British and United States backed coup d'état in Tehran.

In the aftermath of the coup, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi consolidated power and negotiated the Consortium Agreement of 1954. Under the agreement, a consortium of European and American companies, the Iranian Oil Participants (IOP), formally acknowledged ownership of the oil and facilities by that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and agreed as the operator to share profits with Iran on a 50–50 basis. The IOP did so, however, on the understanding that the western consortium would "not to open its books to Iranian auditors or to allow Iranians onto its board of directors". The IOP continued to operate until the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini, brought to power in Shia Islamic Revolution in 1979, confiscated their assets.

Despite declining production, the Ahvaz field, owned by NIOC and operated by National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), remains the largest oil field and producer in Iran.

Oil production, and related investment, paved the way for the arrival in the province of other Iranian peoples, Persian and non-Persian. In the course of the 20th century, the new immigrants reduced the province's Arab majority to a plurality among its ethnic groups.

Islamic Republic

After the revolution

With the Iranian Revolution taking place in early 1979, minority ethnic rebellions swept the country. In April 1979, there was an uprising in Khuzestan led by the Arab separatist group Arab Political and Cultural Organisation (APCO) which protested the introduction of theocratic rule from Tehran and sought local autonomy or independence.

In the wake of the uprising's suppression, in 1980 a separatist group called the Arab Popular Movement in Arabistan (See Arab separatism in Khuzestan) seized the Iranian Embassy in London, taking 26 hostages. The standoff over their demand for the release of 91 of their comrades held in Iranian jails, ended in the storming of the building by the British SAS, with only one hostage-taker and one embassy staffer surviving. Decrying "the racist rule of Khomeini", APMA threatened further international action but their standing as an internal opposition group compromised by their links to Ba'athist Iraq.

Iran–Iraq war

thumb|Iraqi soldiers surrender during the [[Battle of Khorramshahr (1982)|Liberation of Khorramshahr, 1982]]

During the Iran–Iraq War, Khuzestan was invaded by Iraq. As a result, Khuzestan suffered the heaviest damage and population displacement of all Iranian provinces during the war. What used to be Iran's largest refinery in Abadan was destroyed, never to fully recover. Many of the famous nakhlestans (palm groves) were annihilated, cities were destroyed, and historical sites were demolished.

The Battle for Khorramshahr in May 1982, proved to be a turning point in the war and is officially celebrated every year in Iran. The city, which prior to the war had been Iran's most important port, was almost completely destroyed as a result of the scorched earth policy ordered by Saddam Hussein. Iranian forces were able to prevent the Iraqis from attempting to spread the execution of this directive to other major urban centres.

Postwar recovery and development of the province was slow. Despite benefiting from abundant natural resources, including oil, Khuzestan has compounding economic, environmental, social, and construction problems. High unemployment, water scarcity, degraded air quality, and lack of civil infrastructure are among the factors that fed popular dissatisfaction. The frustrations manifested in protests and rallies.

Arab unrest

In 2005, Ahvaz witnessed a number of bombing incidents which followed upon the violent riots in Ahvaz. Another wave of Arab protests occurred in the Ahvaz and surrounding districts in 2011. The unrest, which marked the anniversary of the 2005 riots, and was interrupted by some as a response to the regional Arab Spring, lasted for 4 days and resulted in the death of more than a dozen protesters.

In 2018, Amnesty International reported that the authorities were engaged in a sweeping crackdown against Arab activists. This was in the wake of an armed attack on a military parade in Ahvaz in September, during which at least 24 people, including spectators, were killed. Tehran, meanwhile, has accused Britain, Israel, and Saudi Arabia being behind the violence. frustrations came to the surface, and there were extensive demonstrations.

Khuzestan Arabs have complained of discrimination and the lack of linguistic and cultural rights, of poverty ("despite inhabiting the most economically productive part of the country"), of related problems of widespread drug addiction, and of the oil industry's environmental costs (Ahvaz is reputedly the most polluted urban area in the world).

2026 U.S.–Israeli airstrikes

On 28 February 2026, Israel and the United States launched surprise airstrikes on multiple sites and cities across Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other Iranian officials. On March 12 and 13, the Israel Defense Forces struck multiple internal security sites in Khuzestan Province. Among their reported targets were the provincial headquarters of the Law Enforcement Command and of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Ahvaz (hit the week before in an attack claimed by the Arab insurgent group, the Ahwaz Falcons), and the base of the Artesh (Iranian Army) 292nd Armored Brigade in Dezful. On March 11, Iranian authorities announced they had dismantled of an armed cell in Khuzestan, seizing weapons, ammunition and explosives intended for sabotage operations. On March 24, there were further air strikes on energy sites in Khorramshahr.

Demographics

Languages

Persian has long been the language of wider communication in the cities of Khuzestan, and there are several urban Khuzestāni Persian-speaking communities in the south of the province too.

Apart from Persian, other languages and dialects are also spoken in Khuzestan. For instance, a portion of Khuzestan's populace speaks Khuzestani Arabic. Another part of Khuzestanis speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language. Neo-Mandaic is spoken by no more than a few dozen elderly Mandaeans.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Population of language and dialect speakers in Khuzestan Province (based on Iran Atlas)

! Language !! Dialect !! Population

!Percentage

| Arabic|| Khuzestani Arabic|| 1,600,000

|33.8%

| Persian|| – || 1,300,000

|27.5%

| rowspan="3" | Luri

| Bakhtiari || 940,000

|19.9%

| Bahmai|| 190,000

|4.0%

| Northern Luri|| 120,000

|2.5%

| Shushtari–Dezfuli|| — || 310,000

|6.6%

| Behbahani–Qanavati|| — || 140,000

|2.9%

| Southern Kurdish|| — || 39,000

|0.8%

| Qashqai|| — || 22,000

|0.4%

| Neo-Mandaic|| — || 100

|—

| Mixed || — || 67,000

|1.4%

! colspan="2" |Total|| 4,728,100

!100%

Ethnic groups

Khuzestan is known for its ethnic diversity, the population of Khuzestan consists of Persians (including Dezfulis, Shushtari), Arabs, Qashqai from the Afshar tribe, Bakhtiaris, Northern-Lurs, Mandaeans, Kurds and Armenians. As part of a 2010 research commissioned by the General Culture Council, the following Iranian ethnic groups in Khuzestan were sampled: Arabs, Persians, Lurs, Qashqais, Kurds and others. A field survey was conducted as well as a statistical community among residents of 288 cities and about 1400 villages across the country. Khuzestan's population is predominantly Shia Muslim, there are small Christian, Jewish, Sunni and Mandean minorities as well.

Population

According to the 1996 census, the province had an estimated population of 3.7 million people, of which approximately 62.5% were in the urban centres, 36.5% were rural dwellers and the remaining 1% were non-residents. According to the most recent census taken in 2016, the province had 4,710,509 inhabitants. The following census in 2011 counted 4,531,720 people in 1,112,664 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 4,710,509 in 1,280,645 households.

Administrative divisions

320px

The population history and structural changes of Khuzestan province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Khuzestan province

! Counties !! 2006 || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 17,654

| Ahvaz || style="text-align: right;" | 1,317,377 || style="text-align: right;" | 1,395,184 || style="text-align: right;" | 1,302,591

| Andika || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 50,797 || style="text-align: right;" | 47,629

| Andimeshk || style="text-align: right;" | 154,081 || style="text-align: right;" | 167,126 || style="text-align: right;" | 171,412

| Bagh-e Malek || style="text-align: right;" | 103,217 || style="text-align: right;" | 107,450 || style="text-align: right;" | 105,384

| Bandar Mahshahr || style="text-align: right;" | 247,804 || style="text-align: right;" | 278,037 || style="text-align: right;" | 296,271

| Bavi || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 89,160 || style="text-align: right;" | 96,484

| Behbahan || style="text-align: right;" | 172,597 || style="text-align: right;" | 179,703 || style="text-align: right;" | 180,593

| Dasht-e Azadegan || style="text-align: right;" | 126,865 || style="text-align: right;" | 99,831 || style="text-align: right;" | 107,989

| Dezful || style="text-align: right;" | 384,851 || style="text-align: right;" | 423,552 || style="text-align: right;" | 443,971

| Dezpart || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | —

| Gotvand || style="text-align: right;" | 58,311 || style="text-align: right;" | 64,951 || style="text-align: right;" | 65,468

| Haftkel || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 22,391 || style="text-align: right;" | 22,119

| Hamidiyeh || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 53,762

| Hendijan || style="text-align: right;" | 35,932 || style="text-align: right;" | 37,440 || style="text-align: right;" | 38,762

| Hoveyzeh || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 34,312 || style="text-align: right;" | 38,886

| Izeh || style="text-align: right;" | 193,510 || style="text-align: right;" | 203,621 || style="text-align: right;" | 198,871

| Karkheh || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | —

| Karun || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | 105,872

| Khorramshahr || style="text-align: right;" | 155,224 || style="text-align: right;" | 163,701 || style="text-align: right;" | 170,976

| Lali || style="text-align: right;" | 35,549 || style="text-align: right;" | 37,381 || style="text-align: right;" | 37,963

| Masjed Soleyman || style="text-align: right;" | 167,226 || style="text-align: right;" | 113,257 || style="text-align: right;" | 113,419

| Omidiyeh || style="text-align: right;" | 85,195 || style="text-align: right;" | 90,420 || style="text-align: right;" | 92,335

| Ramhormoz || style="text-align: right;" | 120,194 || style="text-align: right;" | 105,418 || style="text-align: right;" | 113,776

| Ramshir || style="text-align: right;" | 49,238 || style="text-align: right;" | 48,943 || style="text-align: right;" | 54,004

| Seydun || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | — || style="text-align: right;" | —

| Shadegan || style="text-align: right;" | 138,226 || style="text-align: right;" | 153,355 || style="text-align: right;" | 138,480

| Shush || style="text-align: right;" | 189,793 || style="text-align: right;" | 202,762 || style="text-align: right;" | 205,720

| Shushtar || style="text-align: right;" | 182,282 || style="text-align: right;" | 191,444 || style="text-align: right;" | 192,028

| Total || style="text-align: right;" | 4,192,598 || style="text-align: right;" | 4,531,720 || style="text-align: right;" | 4,710,509

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 3,554,205 people (over 75% of the population of Khuzestan province) live in the following cities: However, Khuzestan province suffers from major water problems that were aggravated by corruption in Iran's water supply sector, lack of transparency, neglect of marginalized communities, and political favoritism. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other politically connected entities control water resources, prioritizing projects for political and economic gain rather than public need. They divert supplies to favored regions, causing shortages in vulnerable provinces like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. For example, water diversion projects in Isfahan and Yazd provinces receive priority despite critical shortages in Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. Reports also indicate that certain agricultural and industrial enterprises with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have received significant amounts of water, while small farmers and rural communities struggle with severe shortages.

Iran's central government prioritizes water allocation for industrial and urban centers, often at the expense of rural and minority populations. These groups face severe water shortages, ecological degradation, and a loss of livelihoods. This pattern of unequal development not only exacerbates regional disparities but also fuels social unrest and environmental crises. Iran's water policy is also characterized by an overreliance on dam construction and large-scale diversion projects, primarily benefiting politically connected enterprises and urban elites. This has led to the drying of rivers, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems, intensifying dust storms and land subsidence in regions like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. Such environmental degradation, combined with insufficient governmental oversight and transparency, worsens living conditions for marginalized communities, reinforcing cycles of poverty and socio-political marginalization.

Migration from Khuzestan province

Historically, Khuzestan, one of Iran's most water-rich provinces, has been hit hard by the mismanagement of water resources. The drying of rivers, including the Karkheh and Karun, has made agriculture unsustainable in many parts of the province. In recent years, Khuzestan has witnessed a significant exodus of its rural population as people move to cities for work and better living conditions. The situation has been exacerbated by periodic dust storms, which further degrade the environment and make life untenable in affected regions. This environmental migration from Khuzestan has led to social tensions in the region, as local communities face declining living standards and heightened unemployment.

Politics

Khuzestan is ethnically diverse, home to many different ethnic groups.

Culture

thumb|right|A bust from The [[National Museum of Iran of Queen Musa, wife of Phraates IV of Parthia, excavated by a French team in Khuzestan in 1939.]]

In literature

Khuzestan has long been the subject of many a writer and poet of Persia, banking on its ample sugar production to use the term as allegory for sweetness. Some popular verses are:

"Her lips aflow with sweet sugar,

The sweet sugar that aflows in Khuzestan."

Nizami

"Your graceful figure like the cypress in Kashmar,

Your sweet lips like the sugar of Khuzestan."

Nizari Qohistani

"So Sām hath not need ride afar

from Ahvaz up to Qandehar."

Ferdosi

Traditions and religion

The people of Khuzestan are predominantly Shia Muslims, with small Sunni Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Mandaean minorities. Khuzestanis are also very well regarded for their hospitality and generosity.

Cuisine

Seafood is the most important part of Khuzestani cuisine, but many other dishes are also featured. The most popular Khuzestani dish is Ghalyeh Mahi, a fish dish that is prepared with heavy spices, onions and cilantro. The fish used in the dish is locally known as mahi soboor (shad fish), a species of fish found in the Persian Gulf. Other provincial specialties include Ghalyeh Meygu ("shrimp casserole"), ashe-mohshala (a Khorramshahri breakfast stew), sær shir (a Dezfuli breakfast of heavy cream), hælim (a Shushtari breakfast of wheatmeal with shredded lamb), and kohbbeh (a deep-fried rice cake with ground beef filling and other spices of Arabic origin, a variant on Levantine kibbeh).

Historical figures

Many scientists, philosophers, and poets have come from Khuzestan, including Abu Nuwas, Abdollah ibn-Meymun Ahvazi, the astronomer Nowbækht-e Ahvazi and his sons as well as Jorjis, the son of Bakhtshua Gondishapuri, Ibn Sakit, Da'bal-e Khazai and Sheikh Mortedha Ansari, a prominent Shi'a scholar from Dezful.

Attractions of Khuzestan

Iran National Heritage Organization lists 140 sites of historical and cultural significance in Khuzestan, reflecting the fact that the province was once the seat of Iran's most ancient empire.

Some of the more popular sites of attraction include:

right|thumb|The [[Shami statue|Parthian Prince, found in Khuzestan c. AD 100, is kept at The National Museum of Iran, Tehran.]]

Choqa Zanbil: The seat of the Elamite Empire, this ziggurat is a magnificent five-story temple that is one of the greatest ancient monuments in the Middle-East today. The monolith, with its labyrinthine walls made of thousands of large bricks with Elamite inscription, manifest the sheer antiquity of the shrine. The temple was religiously sacred and built in the honor of Inshushinak, the protector deity of the city of Susa.
Shush-Daniel: Burial site of the Jewish prophet Daniel. He is said to have died in Susa on his way to Jerusalem upon the order of Darius. The grave of Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, who rose against the oppression of the Umayyad Caliphate, is also located nearby.
Dezful (Dezh-pol), whose name is taken from a bridge (pol) over the Dez river having 12 spans built by the order of Shapur I. This is the same bridge that was called "Andamesh Bridge" by historians such as Istakhri who says the city of Andimeshk takes its name from this bridge. Muqaddasi called it "The City of the Bridge."
Shushtar, home to the famous Shushtar Watermills and one of the oldest fortress cities in Iran, known as the "City of Forty Elders" in local dialect. In and around Shushtar, there are many displays of ancient hydraulic engineering. There are also the Band Mizan and Band Qeysar, 2000-year-old dams on the Karoun river and the famous Shadervan Bridge which is over 2000 years old. The Friday Mosque of Shushtar was built by the Abbasids. The mosque, which features "Roman" arches, has 54 pillars and balconies.
Izeh, or Izaj, was one of the main targets of the invading Islamic army in their conquest of Persia. Kharezad Bridge, one of the strangest bridges of the world, was situated in this city and was named after Ardeshir Babakan's mother. It is built over cast pillars of lead each 104 meters high. Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in the 14th century, refers to many monasteries, caravanserais, aqueducts, schools, and fortresses in the town. The brass statue of The Parthian Man, kept at the National Museum of Iran, is from here.
Masjed Soleiman, another ancient town, has ancient fire altars and temples such as Sar-masjed and Bard-neshondeh. It is also the winter's resting area of the Bakhtiari tribe, and where William Knox D'Arcy dug Iran's first oil well.
Abadan is said to be where the tomb of Elijah, the long lived Hebrew prophet is.
Iwan of Hermes, and Iwan of Karkheh, two enigmatic ruins north of Susa.

Economy

thumb|right|The government of [[Iran is spending large amounts of money in Khuzestan province. The massive Karun-3 dam, was inaugurated recently as part of a drive to boost Iran's growing energy demands.]]

Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran, and as such is one of the wealthiest provinces in Iran. Khuzestan ranks third among Iran's provinces in GDP.

In 2005, Iran's government announced it was planning the country's second nuclear reactor to be built in Khuzestan province. The 360 MW reactor will be a light water PWR Reactor.

Khuzestan is also home to the Arvand Free Trade Zone. It is one of six economic Free Trade Zones in Iran, including the PETZONE (Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in Mahshahr).

Shipping

The Karun River is the only navigable river in Iran. The British, up until recent decades, after the discovery by Austen Henry Layard, transported their merchandise via Karun's waterways, passing through Ahvaz all the way up to Langar near Shushtar, and then sent by road to Masjed Soleimanthe site of their first oil wells in the Naftoon oil field. Karoun is capable of the sailing of fairly large ships as far up as Shushtar.

Karkheh, Jarrahi, Arvandrood, Handian, Shavoor, Bahmanshir (Bahman-Ardeshir), Maroon-Alaa', Dez, and many other rivers and water sources in the form of Khurs, lagoons, ponds, and marshes demonstrate the vastness of water resources in this region, and are the main reason for the variety of agricultural products developed in the area.

thumb|250px|Sketch of the Abadan island showing rivers and date palm plantations

Agriculture

The abundance of water and the fertility of the soil have made this region a rich and well-endowed land. The variety of agricultural products such as wheat, barley, oilseeds, rice, eucalyptus, medicinal herbs; the existence of many palm and citrus farms; the proximity of mountains suitable for raising olives, and of course sugar cane—from which Khuzestan takes its name—all show the great potential of this fertile region. In 2005, 51,000 hectares of land were planted with sugar canes, producing 350,000 tons of sugar. The abundance of water supplies, rivers, and dams, also have an influence on the fishery industries, which are prevalent in the area.

The Abadan island is an important area for the production of datepalms, but it has suffered from the invasion of the Iraqi army during the Iran–Iraq War. The palm groves are irrigated by tidal irrigation. At high tide, the water level in the rivers is set up and the river flow enters the irrigation canals that have been dug from the river towards the inland plantations. At low tide, the canals drain the unused part of the water back to the river.

Industry

200px|thumb|Shahid Abbaspour Dam

There are several cane sugar mills in Khuzestan province, among them Haft Tepe and Karun Agro Industry near Shushtar.

The Karun 3 and 4, and Karkheh Dam, as well as the petroleum reserves provide Iran with national sources of revenue and energy. The petrochemical and steel industries, pipe making, the power stations that feed the national electricity grid, the chemical plants, and the large refineries are some of Iran's major industrial facilities.

Oil

The province is also home to Yadavaran Field, which is a major oil field in itself and part of the disputed Al-Fakkah Field. Khuzestan holds 80% of Iran's onshore oil reserves, and thus 57% of Iran's total oil reserves, making it indispensable to the Iranian economy.

Higher education

Khorramshahr University of Nautical Sciences and Technologies
Institute for Higher Education ACECR Khouzestan
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
Petroleum University of Technology
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Shahid Chamran University – Dezful
Abadan University of Medical Sciences
Dezful University of Medical Sciences
Rahnama Institute of Higher Education
MehrArvand University
PNU of Abadan
Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch
Islamic Azad University – Science & Research Branch, Khuzestan
Islamic Azad University of Abadan
Islamic Azad University of Shushtar
Islamic Azad University, Masjed Soleyman Branch
Islamic Azad University of Abadan
Islamic Azad University of Omidiyeh
Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz
Islamic Azad University of Behbahan
Islamic Azad University of Izeh
Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr Branch
Amirkabir University of Technology, Mahshahr campus
Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan
Payame Noor University of Ahvaz
Amiralmoemenin University

Notable people

Antiochus III the Great, 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire
Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, previous Wali-Faqih representative, Ahvaz Friday Imam
Siavash Shams, famous Persian pop singer, songwriter and record producer
Mehrangiz Kar, feminist lawyer and human rights activist
Ezzat Negahban, Patriarch of the Iranian modern archaeology
Siavash Ghomeyshi, singer, songwriter and composer
Kaiser Aminpour, famous poet
Hamid Dabashi, intellectual historian, cultural and literary critic
Patrick Monahan, Irish comedian
Parviz Abnar, sound recordist
Saeed Abdevali, wrestler
Nasser Taghvaee, director, photographer
Parviz Dehdari, well-known footballer
Mohsen Chavoshi, pop singer
Bizhan Emkanian, actor
Hamed Haddadi, NBA athlete
Ali Shamkhani, Iran's minister of defense (1997–2005), Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
Masoud Shojaei, national football star
Hossein Kaebi, national football star
Jalal Kameli Mofrad, national football player
Iman Mobali, national football star
Ahmad Mahmoud, novelist
Mohammad Reza Eskandari, Iran's minister of agriculture (2017–2021)
Mohsen Rezaee, Secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Discernment Council until 2021
Abu Nuwas, a well-known poet
Majusi, famous physician
Naubakht, astronomer
Seyyed Nematollah Jazayeri, Shia Islam scholar
Ali Hashemi, commander in the Iran–Iraq War

Bibliography

The Iran-Iraq War (Revised & Expanded Edition): Volume 1 – The Battle For Khuzestan, September 1980 – May 1982. by E.R. Hooton (Author), Tom Cooper (Author), Farzin Nadimi (Author)
Ahmadi, Shaherzad, Bordering on War: A Social and Political History of Khuzestan. University of Texas Press (2024) Austin, TX, ISBN 978-1-4773-2993-1

Notes

References

External links

(Bibliography)
Khuzestan: The First Front in the War on Iran? by Zoltán Grossman (ZNetwork, 2005)
Escalation of this War Could Shatter Iran into Ethnic Enclaves by Zoltán Grossman (Counterpunch, 2026)