Provences of
Iran
Province of Khuzestan
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* HASC : IR.KZ
* ISO : 10
* Dom : kz
The province of Khuzestan is 63,213
km2 (24,407 sq mi) in the south-west of Iran, bordering Iraq and the
Persian Gulf. Ahvaz is the capital of this province and its cities are
Abadan, Behbahan, Dezful, Khorramshahr, Bander Imam, Shoush (Susa),
Masjed Soleiman, Andimeshk, Mah Shahr, Ramhormoz, Omidiyeh, Shushtar,
Izeh, Hoveizeh, Aqa Djari, Shadegan and Soosangerd.
Basically, the province of Khuzestan can be divided into two regions,
the plains and mountainous regions. The agricultural lands are fertile
and mainly in the west of the province, which are irrigated by the Karun,
Karkheh and Jarahi rivers. These three large and
permanent rivers flow over the entire territory contributing to the
fertility of the land. Karun, Iran's largest river, 850 kilometers long,
flows into the Persian Gulf through this province.
The name Khuzestan, which means "The Land of the Khuzi," refers
to the original inhabitants of this province, the Khuzi
people. Khuzestan is situated on the southern part of the Zagros
mountain ranges, which covers the north and east of the province. The
climate of Khuzestan is generally hot and humid, particularly in the
south, while winters are much more pleasant and dry.
 |
| The
ziggurat of Choqa Zanbil in Khuzestan was a magnificent structure of the
Iranian Elamite Empire. |
Khuzestan is inhabited by a number of ethnic groups and peoples.
Indigenous Persians in major cities, Iranian Arab tribes, the Bakhtiari,
Behbahani and Luri of the north, the Qashqai and Afshari tribes,
Armenians, the peoples of Dezful, Shushtar and the inhabitants of the
coastal regions of the Persian Gulf all make up the population of the
province of Khuzestan.
The Persian groups of western Khuzestan all speak distinct dialects
unique to their areas. Many Khuzestanis are bilingual, speaking both
Persian and Arabic. It is also not uncommon to find people able to speak
a variety of indigenous dialects in addition to their own.
Khuzestani folk music is colorful and festive, and each native group has
their own rich traditions and legacy in this area.
The people of Khuzestan are predominantly Shi'a, with small Sunni,
Jewish and Christian minorities. Khuzestanis are also very well regarded
for their hospitality and generosity.
Seafood is the most important part of Khuzestani cuisine, some few to
mention are "qaliye-mahi" (fish stew), "qaliye-meygu"
(shrimp stew), "ashe-mohshala" (a Khorramshahri breakfast soup)
and "soboor" which is prepared with heavy spices, onions and
cilantro.
 |
Shushtar,
mostly lies on a rocky plateau where the Karun River makes a sharp bend.
Shushtar is famous for its ancient hydraulic engineering works of
dams,
canals and bridges. |
The province of Khuzestan is one of the centers of ancient civilization,
based around Susa. French archeologists such as Jaques De Morgan date
the civilization here as far back as 8000 BCE when excavating areas such
as
Tal-e Ali Kosh. The first large scale empire based here was
that of the powerful 4th millennium BCE
Elamites,
a non-Semitic kingdom independent of Mesopotamia. Archeological ruins
verify the entire province of Khuzestan to be home to the Elamite
civilization.
In previous ages, Iranians referred to Khuzestan as Elam; and
historically historians refer to this province as ancient Elam, whose
capital was in Susa. Khuzestan is the most ancient Iranian province and
is often referred to in Iran as the
"birthplace of the nation",
as this is the area where Aryan tribes first settled, assimilating the
native Elamite population, and thus laying the foundation for the future
Persian Empires of
Median,
Achaemenid,
Parthian
and
Sassanid.
In 640 BCE, the Elamites were defeated by Ashurbanipal coming under the
rule of the Assyrians who wrought destruction upon Susa and Chogha
Zanbil. But in 538 BCE Cyrus the Great was able to re-conquer the
Elamite lands. The city of Susa was then proclaimed as one of the
Achaemenian capitals. Darius the Great then erected a grand palace known
as
Hadish there in 521 BCE. But this astonishing period of
glory and splendor of the Achaemenian dynasty came to an end by the
invasion of Alexander of Macedon. And after Alexander, the
Seleucid
dynasty ruled the area.
As the Seleucid dynasty weakened, Mehrdad I the Parthian (171-137 BCE),
gained victory over the region. During the Sassanid dynasty this area
thrived tremendously and flourished, and this dynasty was responsible
for the many constructions that were erected in Ahvaz, Shushtar and
Andimeshk.
The intellectual center or city of Sassanid Empire was Jondishapour (or
Gundishapur), founded in 271 CE, by Shapur I, one the most powerful
rulers of the Sassanid dynasty, in Khuzestan near Ahvaz and not far from
the Karun River. Gundishapur was home to the world's oldest known
teaching hospital, and also comprised a library and a university.
According to
"The Cambridge History of Iran (vol 4, p396.)", it
was the most important medical center of the ancient world (defined as
Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East) during the 6th and 7th
centuries. Jondishapour medical center was the Mecca of its time, and
used to attract the distinguished medical scientists from Greece, Egypt,
India, and Rome, shows the importance and prosperity of this region
during ancient times.
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| Bakhtiari
people of Izeh, Khuzestan, Iran |
Jondishapour (or Gundishapur) Academy offered training not only in
medicine but also in philosophy, theology and science. The faculties
were versed not only in the Zoroastrian and Persian traditions, but in
Greek and Indian learning as well
In 639 CE, Arabs Muslims, under the command of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari from
Basra, invaded Khuzestan and drove the Persian
Hormozan out of
Ahvaz. Susa fell in two days, so Hormozan fled to Shushtar where his
forces were besieged by Arab invaders for 18 months. Shushtar finally
fell in 642 CE, they, Arab invaders purged the entire Nestorian
population of the city along with the Bishop of Hormizd. There after
followed the conquests of Jondishapour and of many other districts of
Kuzestan. The battle of Nehavand finally secured Khuzestan for the
Muslim invaders.
The Arab settlements, by military garrisons in southern Iran, were soon
followed by other types of colonization. Some Arab families, for
example, took the opportunity to gain control of private estates. Like
the rest of Iran, the Arab invasion thus brought Khuzestan under
occupation of the Arabs Muslims of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates,
until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, from Sistan on the eastern part of
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.
In 1440 CE an Arab extremist Shi'a sect,
Mshashaiya, initiated a
wave of attacks on Khuzestan, leading to a gradual increase in the Arab
population of Khuzestan. From the middle of the 15th century to the
19th century, they came to dominate much of western Khuzestan and were
in continual conflict with the
Safavid
rulers during the reign of that dynasty, as well as with Iranian Arab
tribes. In the latter part of the 16th century, the
Bani Kaab,
from Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan. And during the succeeding centuries,
many more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan, and as a
result, Khuzestan became "extensively Arabized"
(Encyclopedia
Iranica, p216).
 |
City of
Abadan, lies on the bank of Arvand Roud (or Shat-ol Arab).
Abadan
during Iran-Iraq war was heavily damaged; and its oil refinery was
totally ruined. |
In the mid 1800s Britain initiated a war with Iran in a failed attempt
to conquer Khuzestan. Having lost, the British continued in their
attempts to wrest control of the province by supporting a number of
foreign Arab tribes that had invaded Iran. Sheikh Khaz'al, of Kuwaiti
origin, was the ruler of the last remnants of these tribes, who was the
first person to launch secessionist unrests in Khuzestan.
Sheikh Khaz'al rose to power in 1897 and had originally been supported
by the British colonialists. He was finally defeated and arrested in
1925 by
Reza
Shah of Pahlavi and the area of Khuzestan he had dominated
returned to the province. Reza Shah Pahlavi, however, restored the
original name of the province from Arabistan to Khuzestan.
Domination of Khuzestan was also Saddam Hussein's primary strategic
objective that launched the
Iran-Iraq
war. Being on the border with Iraq, Khuzestan suffered the
heaviest damage of all Iranian provinces during the 8 years of imposed
war, which forced thousands of Iranians to flee the province.
What used to be Iran's largest refinery at Abadan was totally destroyed
by Iraqi shells. Many of the famous
Nakhlestans (Date palm tree
grove) were annihilated, cities were destroyed, historical sites were
demolished, and half the province went under the boots of Saddam's
invading army.
However, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push Saddam's forces back
into Iraq. The battle of
"the Liberation of Khorramshahr" (one
of Khuzestan's largest cities and the most important Iranian port prior
to the war) was a turning point in the war and of course one the most
heroic battles ever taken place in defending the country, and is
officially celebrated every year in Iran. The city of Khorramshahr was
completely decimated as a result of Saddam's barbaric invasion.
The Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 in London was a terrorist siege and
initiated by Arab separatists, backed by Iraqi government of Saddam
Hussein. Arab separatists supported Saddam's invading army and attacking
the both Persian and Iranian-Arab townships, soldiers and civilians.
During eight years of war the majority of the Khuzestani Arab population
was loyal to Iran and fought alongside fellow countrymen against
Saddam. This was one of biggest miscalculations of Iraqi government of
Saddam Hussein, as they expected that all Khuzestani Arabs will welcome
and support the invading Iraqi army. But at later months of war when
they didn't receive support as it was expected, they went on rampage and
started to rape, torture and kill the Iranian-Arab children, women and
men; and burn their villages and towns to ashes. Those Iranian-Arabs did
one thing to suffer like that in the hands of Iraqi army and their
separatist supporters, and that was "not supporting the separatist
movement". After the withdrawal of Iraqi forces towards the end of the
war, the remainder of these Arab separatists fled to Iraq, though Saddam
continued to entertain the notion of a potential future invasion of
Khuzestan for many years afterwards.
 |
| The
massive Karun-3 dam, was in 2004 inaugurated as part of a drive to boost
Iran's growing energy demands. |
In the last century, except during the Iran-Iraq war, the province of
Khuzestan thrived and prospered and today counts for one of the regions
in Iran that holds an economic and defensive strategic position.
-->
Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran, and as such is the
wealthiest province in Iran. Karun River is the only river in Iran
capable of sailing. The British, up until recent decades, after the oil
discovery in Khuzestan by Sir Henry Layard, transported their
merchandise via Karun's waterways, passing through Ahvaz all the way up
to Masjed Soleiman to the site of their first oil wells in the Naftoon
oil field. Karun is capable of the sailing of fairly large ships as far
up as Shushtar.
Karkheh, Jarrahi, Arvand, 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 such as wheat,
barley, oily seeds, rice, eucalyptus, medical herbs; the existence of
many palm and citrus farms. The abundance of water supplies, rivers, and
dams, also has an influence on the fishery industries
The Karun 3 / 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, and the power stations
that feed the national electricity demand, the chemical plants, and the
large refineries are some of Iran's major industrial facilities.
Khuzestan is also home to Yadavaran Field, a major oil field.
Iranians /
Bakhtiaris
|
Bakhtiari warrior in
traditional costume.
Bakhtiari men in folk
dance.
|
Iranian people of
about 1.3 million (2009 estimate) living in southwestern Iran, especially the
provinces of Lorestan; Khuzestan; Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari; and Esfahan.
Around 1 million of them speak Lori, with their own dialect, the
remaining 300,000 Persian.
The Bakhtiari belong to one of two major groups, Chahar Lang
and Haft Lang, each headed by a single powerful family. Bakhtiaris are Shi'i Muslims.
In their societies, women enjoy more freedom than in several
other Iranian societies. A part of the Bakhtiari population are still
living nomadic lives, with the migration between winter and summer
quarters. The Bakhtiaris have been important in the development of the
modern Iranian state, taking control of Teheran in 1909, forcing
Shah Mohammad
Ali to abdicate. When Reza
Shah Pahlavi became shah,
he tried to suppress the Bakhtiaris, having enough success to eradicate
them as an important power in Iran. In modern times, Bakhtiaris have
been quite successful in the Iranian society, with several notable
politicians.
کلیات : پیشینه تاریخی، جغرافیایی ، سیاسی و اجتماعی
ایل بختیاری آریایینژاد و از عشایر کوچر و کهن ایرانیاند که از قرنهای ششم و هفتم قبل از میلاد در دامنههای کوههای زاگرس و اطراف رودخانه کارون میزیستهاند و قلمرو امروزی آنان استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و مناطقی از استانهای اصفهان، کهگیلویه و خوزستان و جنوب لرستان است. زبان بختیاری ریشه در زبان پهلوی دارد و بختیاری شاخهای از لران(لر بزرگ) شامل دو گروه هفتلنگ (بهداروند، دروکی، سهدهستانی، بابادی ...) و چهارلنگ (موگویی، محمد صالحی و ممزایی، کندلرو، زلکی، میوند ... ) اند که معیشت آنان از راه دامپروری و شکارگری تامین میشود و ساختار سنتی ایلی آنان بر اساس قسمت طایفه، تیره، تش، اولاد (کریو) بهون (خانوار) است و اطلاق لنگ به معنی واحد مالیتی ( لنگ = پای مادیان) و تقسیم آنان به دو گروه به احتمال از عهد صفویه بوده باشد. بختیاریها مردمانی شیفته اسب و شکار و کوهند و دلاوری و شجاعت از خصایص بارز آنانست. مبارزه با افغانها در 1134 هجری قمری و مخالفت با سران قاجار و شرکت در نهضت مشروطه و مقابله با استعمار بیگانگان و مخالفت با حکومت پهلوی نشانگر موثر بودن بختیاریها در حیات سیاسی و تاریخ ایران است. ( عشایر مرکزی ایران، جواد صفینژاد، 109؛ مقدمهای بر شناخت ایلها، ایرج افشار سیستانی ، 321؛ تاریخ بختیاری، سردار اسعد بختیاری، 5 ؛ فرهنگ بختیاری، عبدالعلی خسروی، 62 ؛ فنون کوچنشینان بختیاری، ژانپیر دیگار، 235-237 )
بختیاریها در سادگی و مهربانی و دوستداری میهمان و هنردوستی زبانزدند. فرهنگ و هنر بختیاری یکی از غنیترین ذخایر فرهنگی و هنری ایران و تمدن بشری بهشمار میآید و دستاورد زنان زحمتکشی است که علاوه بر هیزمآوری، مشکزنی، شیردوشی، نانپزی، تربیت فرزندان و شرکت در امور زراعی، بزرگترین حامیان و اشاعهدهندگان فرهنگ و هنر بختیاری به شمار میآیند. هنروری و ذوق سرشار از تودرتوی طرحها و نقش متنوع و ترکیببندی بینظیر رنگها در بافت بداهه قالی، گلیم و جاجیم و نیز از دل قصهها و اشعار و شور آفرینی رقصها و لطافت نغمهها و ترانهها سر بر میآورد.
موسیقی بختیاری متنوع و آوازخوانی در آن شاخص است. (متر آزاد مشخص) مضامین آوازها از توصیف طبیعت و رنج و مرارت زندگی کوجنشینی و اندوه هجران و فراق یار و دیار تا ستایش عشق و زیبایی را در بر میگیرد. رواج منظومههای تغزلی ادبفارسی ( لیلی و مجنون و خسرو و شیرین) و منظومههای بومی ایل و تقدس و ستایش پهلوانان حماسی با وجود 100 شاهنامهخوان حرفهای در مناطق مختلف بختیاری و ستایش قهرمانان و دلاوران و سرداران ایل در آوازهای مختص رویدادهای تاریخی معاصر (نظیر علیداد، ابوالقاسم خان) نشانگر علاقه بختیاریها به حفظ میراثهای ادبی و موسیقیایی و فرهنگ و تاریخ خود است.
بخشی از موسیقی با متر مشخص شامل ترانههای عروسی است که همراه دستزدن ( شپ = shep = تنگه = Tenge ) توسط زنان و گاهی با دایره (بیشتر در شهرها و روستاها) اجرا میشود. موسیقیسازی مختص مراسم شادی و سرور بیشتر برای اجرای آهنگهای رقصی و نیز مراسم سوگواری ( پرسه = پرس) با کرنا، سرنا و دهل اجرا میشود. کمانچهنوازی در هفتاد هشتاد سال اخیر به تاثیر از عاشیقهای قشقایی و مطربهای دورهگرد و نیز رسانهها در شهرکرد مرکز استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و سایر شهرها ( بن ، بروجن ... ) رایج شده که با آنها آهنگهای چهار محالی ، ترکی و بختیاری و موسیقی دستگاهی ایران ( رنگها و چهار مضراب و برخی دستگاها و آوازها نظیر شور ، دشتی ، همایون، کردبیات، چهارگاه، سهگاه، و ماهور را که به موسیقی بختیاری نزدیکترند) اجرا میکنند. تار و تنبک را مطربها رواج دادهاند. نیهفتبند یا چوپانی خاص عشایر کوچرو و نگهدار گله است و رپورتوار آن در حال حاضر رو به اضمحلال میباشد.
تحقیق در موسیقی بختیاری با وسعت و تنوع موسیقی یک سرزمین گسترده یکی از دشوارترین تحقیقات موسیقیایی حوزهی موسیقیشناسی قومی ایران به شمار میرود و با توجه به نتایج تحقیقات این مجموعه میتوان جغرافیایی موسیقیایی بختیاری را در چهار حوزه بررسی و طبقهبندی کرد:
الف) حوزهی مرکزی : موسیقی عشایر کوچ روی دامنههای زاگرس در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری یعنی منطقه جنگلی بازفت ، کوهرنگ، چلگرد، شیخعلی خان و روستاهای حاشیه زاگرس دهچشمه، کران، گوشه باباحیدر، اردل که به سبب موقعیت دشوار جغرافیایی اصیلتر باقی ماندهاند. ( موسیقیهای چهارمحالی در سی – دی جداگانه بررسی شدهاند)
ب) حوزه ی غربی: موسیقی بختیاریهای شمال خوزستان و یک جانشینان مسجد سلیمان، لالی، رامهرمز ایذه، دزفول، اندیمشک، شوشتر، اهواز و اطراف آن را شامل میشود که منطقه قشلاقی کوچروان حوزه مرکزاند.
ج) حوزة جنوبی: منطقه لردگان، خانمیرزا، جوانمردی تا شمال کهگیلویه که موسیقی آن با موسیقی حوزة مرکزی و غربی تفاوت دارد.
د) حوزه ی شمالی: مختص جنوب لرستان، ازنا، الیگودرز، دهبهار، چشمه پر، بر بورود و شمال استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و روستاهای پشتکوه نظیر، خویه، صالح کوتاه، عینا، کلوشه، دورک و اطراف آن است که به سبب حضور اکثریت طوایف چهارلنگ با گویش زانی و لحن متفاوت موسیقیایی با حوزههای سهگانه مذکور و با صرفنظر از تاثیرپذیری از موسیقی لرستان (لرهای کوچک)مجموعه مجزایی از موسیقی بختیاری را شامل میشوند.
