Ahvaz

Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province, its county, and its central district, lies in southwestern Iran near the Iraqi border, on the banks of the Karun River. The city is a major industrial and transport hub, with a mixed population and a past closely tied to its location near Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

The metropolitan area holds over 1.3 million people, and census figures show steady growth. Its residents include Persians, Arabs, Qashqai, and Kurds. Languages spoken locally include Persian, Khuzestāni Arabic, Southern Kurdish, Neo-Mandaic, and dialects such as Bakhtiari, Dezfuli, and Shushtari.

The Karun, Iran’s largest river by volume, runs through the city center. It is one of only two navigable rivers in the country, the other being the Arvand Rud. Ahvaz is known as the City of Bridges because of the many large spans built across the Karun to connect the eastern and western halves. Since the early 20th century, it has also been called the Oil Capital of Iran, along with other cities in Khuzestan.

The city’s history stretches back to the Achaemenid period, when it was one of the main centers of the Academy of Gondishapur.

**Etymology**

The settlement first appeared in ancient times as Taryana, a name reflecting “Dāryāna,” linked to the legendary name of Darius and the dynasty of Persian kings who ruled after the Achaemenids. Taryana sat along a section of the Royal Road from Persepolis to Sardis, where the route crossed the Karun. Under Ardashir I, the town expanded and was renamed Hormazd-Ardeshir, honoring both God and the king. It was rebuilt on both sides of the river. The name later shortened to Darawashir. Ardashir built a dam over the Karun there, boosting the city’s importance, and Darawashir soon became the capital of Susiana (modern Khuzestan).

The commercial center of Susiana, on the river’s east side, was called Hūǰestān-vāčār (“the market of the Huzestan”). The administrative and aristocratic quarter on the west side was known as Horamshir.

The names Ahvaz and Khuzestan share a common root in the ancient people called the Uzi (Uxii in Greek). This warrior tribe of Susiana appears in Old Persian as ‘Uvaja,’ in Assyrian inscriptions as ‘Huzi,’ in Greek as ‘Ouxioi,’ and later in Arabic as ‘Khūzī.’ The province name Khuzestan comes from their ethnonym, meaning “land of the Huzi.” In Syriac Christian writings, the city is called Beth Huzaye.

After the Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire in the 7th century CE, Horamshir was destroyed. The remaining part, Hūǰestān-vāčār, was translated into Arabic as Sūq al-Ahvāz. The name “Ahvaz” is the Arabicized plural of “Huzi,” following the af‘āl pattern. The Huzis, likely descendants of the Elamites, spoke the Huzi language, which remained in use in Khuzestan through the Sasanian period and for centuries after the Muslim conquest. Over time, the province name shifted from Hūzistān to Khuzestān.

During the Qajar era, under Naser al-Din Shah, Ahvaz was renamed Nāseri or Nāseriyeh. In September 1935, the Council of Ministers officially restored the name Ahvaz.

**20th Century History**

In the 19th century, Ahvaz was a small settlement inhabited mostly by Sabeans—about 1,500 to 2,000 people in 1835, and only 700 by 1890. In the 1880s, the Karun was dredged and reopened to commerce. A new railway crossed the river at Ahvaz, and the city became a commercial crossroads linking river and rail traffic. The Suez Canal’s construction further boosted trade. A port city, Bandar-e-Naseri, was built near the old village in honor of Naser al-Din Shah.

Oil was discovered near Ahvaz in the early 20th century, bringing renewed growth and prosperity. From 1897 to 1925, the city was governed by a Qajar prince and Reza-Gholi Khan Sarhang, commander of the Khuzestan army. During this period, Khaz‘al al-Ka‘bi was recognized by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah as the hereditary ruler of the Emirate of Muhammara.