Sistan and Baluchestan province explained

Sistan and Baluchestan Province
Native Name:Persian: استان سیستان و بلوچستان
Native Name Lang:fa
Settlement Type:Province
Image Map1:IranSistanBaluchistan-SVG.svg
Map Alt:Location of Sistan and Baluchestan province within Iran
Map Caption1:Map of Iran with Sistan and Baluchestan Province highlighted
Coordinates:28.2833°N 68°W
Coordinates Footnotes:[1]
Subdivision Type:Country
Parts Type:Counties
Parts Style:para
P1:26
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Zahedan
Leader Title:Governor-general
Leader Name:Mohammad Karami
Leader Title1:MPs of Assembly of Experts
Leader Name1:Abbas-Ali Soleimani and
Ali Ahmad Salami
Leader Title2:Representative of the Supreme Leader
Leader Name2:Mostafa Mahami
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:180726
Population Total:2775014
Population As Of:2016
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Baloch & Sistani
Timezone1:IRST
Utc Offset1:+03:30
Iso Code:IR-11
Blank Name Sec1:Main language(s)
Blank Info Sec1:Baluchi
Persian
Blank1 Name Sec1:HDI (2017)
Blank1 Info Sec1:0.688[2]
· 31st

Sistan and Baluchestan province (Persian: استان سيستان و بلوچستان) is the second largest of the 31 Provinces of Iran, after Kerman Province, with an area of 180,726 km2. Its capital is the city of Zahedan.[3] The province is in the southeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.[4] [5]

History

See main article: article and History of Balochistan. In the inscriptions at Behistun and Persepolis, 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), a Central Asian tribe that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BC. During the Arsacid dynasty (248 BC to 224 AD), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period until 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 644 AD, the Arab Muslims gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.

During the reign of the second Sunni caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab, 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 AD, Baluchestan was ruled by the Daylamids and thereafter the Seljuqids, when it became a part of Kerman. Dynasties such as the Saffarids, Samanids, Qaznavids, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.

In 1508 AD, Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan. After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747, Sistan and Balochistan became part of the Brahui Khanate of Kalat, which ruled it till 1896. Afterwards, it became part of Qajar Iran.[6]

Demographics

Ethnicity

The Baloch form a majority 90% of the population and the Persian Sistani a minority. Smaller communities of Kurds (in the eastern highlands and near Iranshahr); the expatriate Brahui (along the border with Pakistan); and other resident and itinerant ethnic groups, such as the Romani, are also found within the province.

Most of the population are Balōch and speak the Baluchi language, although there also exists among them a small community of speakers of the Indo-Aryan language Jadgali.[7] Baluchestan means "Land of the Balōch"; Sistani are the second largest ethnic group in this province who speak the Sistani dialect of Persian.

Religion

The minority Sistani people of Sistan and Baluchestan province are Shia Muslims, and the majority Baloch people of the Baluchestan area in the province are Sunni Muslims, specially Deobandis.[8] [9] [10]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 2,349,049 in 468,025 households.[11] The following census in 2011 counted 2,534,327 inhabitants living in 587,921 households.[12] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,775,014 in 704,888 households.[13]

Administrative divisions

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

Sistan and Baluchestan Province
Counties 2006 2011 2016
214,017 264,051 283,204
62,813 67,857
49,161
41,017
65,471 63,979
264,226 219,796 254,314
161,918 155,652 173,821
68,605 82,001 98,212
62,756 70,579
45,357
185,355 212,963 141,894
48,471
61,076
239,950 175,728 191,661
162,960 164,557 186,165
73,189 85,095
317,357 259,356 165,666
663,822 660,575 672,589
70,839 75,419 74,896
Total 2,349,049 2,534,327 2,775,014

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 1,345,642 people (over 48% of the population of Sistan and Baluchestan Province) live in the following cities:[13]

City Population
3,613
4,779
12,217
5,192
5,822
3,760
106,739
6,621
4,719
13,070
10,292
4,992
1,674
113,750
18,098
56,584
43,258
12,245
9,359
3,468
10,302
5,606
5,670
17,732
5,238
5,261
16,011
11,605
10,115
60,014
2,020
2,196
13,580
134,950
Zahedan 587,730
4,003
13,357

The following table shows the ten largest cities of Sistan and Baluchestan province:[13]

RankNamePopulation (2016)
1Zahedan587,730
2Zabol134,950
3Iranshahr113,750
4Chabahar106,739
5Saravan60,014
6Khash56,584
7Konarak43,258
8Jaleq18,098
9Nik Shahr17,732
10Pishin16,011

Geography

The whole of the province had been previously called Baluchestan, but the government added Sistan to the end of Baluchestan. After the 1979 revolution, the name of the province was changed to Sistan and Baluchestan.

Today, Sistan refers to the area comrising Zabol, Hamun, Hirmand, Zehak and Nimruz counties. The province borders South Khorasan Province in the north, Kerman Province and Hormozgan Province in the west, the Gulf of Oman in the south, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east.

Sistan and Baluchestan Province is one of the driest regions of Iran, with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and a 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 in Baluchi as Levar; the seventh wind (Gav-kosh); the south wind (Nambi); the Hooshak wind; the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean; the north wind (Gurich); and the western wind (Gard).

In 2023, Sistan region was affected by several dust events, occurring in April, June, and August. The latter sent 1120 people to hospitals from 10 to 14 August. Winds reached a speed of 108kph in Zabol station and reduced visibility to 600m (2,000feet).[14]

Sistan and Baluchestan today

Sistan and Baluchestan is the poorest of Iran's 31 provinces, with a HDI score of 0.688.

The government of Iran has been implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone.

Economy

Industry is new to the province. Efforts have been done and tax, customs and financial motivations have caused more industrial investment, new projects, new producing jobs and improvement of industry. The most important factories are the Khash cement factory with production of 2600 tons cement daily and three other cement.

Factories under construction:

The province has important geological and metal mineral potentials such as chrome, copper, granite, antimony, talc, manganese, iron, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, platinum, gold and silver.

One of the main mines in this province is Chel Kooreh copper mine in 120 km north of Zahedan.

Sistan embroidery has been an ancient handicraft of the region that has been traced as far back as 5th-century BC, originating from the Scythians.[15]

Transportation

National rail network

The city of Zahedan has been connected to Quetta in Pakistan for a century with a broad gauge railway. It has weekly trains for Kovaitah. Recently a railway from Bam, Iran to Zahedan has been inaugurated. There may be plans to build railway lines from Zahedan to Chabahar.[16]

Airports

Sistan and Baluchistan province has two main passenger airports:

Ports

The Port of Chabahar in the south of the province is the main port. It is to be connected by a new railway to Zahedan. India is investing on this port. The port stands on the Coast of Makran and is 70 km west of Gwadar, Pakistan.[17]

Higher education

  1. University of Sistan and Baluchestan
  2. Chabahar Maritime University
  3. Zabol University
  4. Islamic Azad University of Iranshahr
  5. Islamic Azad University of Zahedan[18]
  6. Zahedan University of Medical Sciences[19]
  7. Zabol University of Medical Sciences
  8. International University of Chabahar
  9. Velayat University of Iranshar
  10. Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan

Gallery

Landmarks such as the Firuzabad Castle, Rostam Castle and the Naseri Castle are located in the province.

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)) . Sistan and Baluchestan Province . . 24 May 2024 . 24 May 2024 . fa.
  2. Web site: Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 2018-09-13.
  3. Web site: Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Sistan and Baluchestan province, centered in the city of Zahedan . fa . Research Center of the System of Laws of the Islamic Council of the Farabi Library of Mobile Users . https://web.archive.org/web/20130724212413/https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/113038 . 24 July 2013 . Ministry of Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Board . Habibi . Hassan . 21 June 1369 . 29 December 2023.
  4. Web site: معرفی استان سیستان و بلوچستان. 13 March 2021. hprc.zaums.ac.ir.
  5. Web site: آشنایی با استان سیستان و بلوچستان. 13 March 2021. hamshahrionline.ir. 25 May 2007 .
  6. Web site: Brahui . Encyclopedia Irannica.
  7. Book: Delforooz. Behrooz Barjasteh. A sociolinguistic survey of among the Jagdal in Iranian Balochistan. Jahani. Carina. Korn. Agnes. Titus. Paul Brian. The Baloch and others: linguistic, historical and socio-political perspectives on pluralism in Balochistan. Wiesbaden. 2008. Reichert Verlag. 978-3-89500-591-6. 23–44.
  8. https://www.tabnak.ir/fa/tags/5410/1/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%DA%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86 Sistan and Baluchestan Province
  9. Ahmady, Kameel. A Peace-Oriented Investigation of the Ethnic Identity Challenge in Iran (A Study of Five Iranian Ethnic Groups with the GT Method), 2022, 13th Eurasian Conferences on Language and Social Sciences pp.591-624 . 13th Eurasian Conferences on Language and Social Sciences. 2022. Pp.591-624.
  10. Web site: 2023-08-07 . Baluchistan History, People, Religion, & Map Britannica . 2023-09-07 . www.britannica.com . en.
  11. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006) . 11 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . AMAR . 25 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110920083538/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/11.xls . Excel . 20 September 2011.
  12. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011) . 11 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . Syracuse University . https://web.archive.org/web/20221125114706/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Sistan-and-Baluchestan.xls . 25 November 2022 . 19 December 2022 . Excel.
  13. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016) . 11 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . AMAR . 19 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211223104011/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_11.xlsx . Excel . 23 December 2021.
  14. Web site: 1120 people went to hospital in Sistan and Baluchistan . 14 August 2023 . 9 April 2024 . tabnak.ir . Tabnak . Persian . fa: ۱۱۲۰ نفر در سیستان و بلوچستان راهی بیمارستان شدند . ..
  15. Web site: 2017-03-15 . هفت‌هزار سال هنر در یک سرزمین . Seven thousand years of art in one land . 2022-10-07 . ایسنا . fa.
  16. http://www.investiniran.ir/OIETA_content///fa/pprojects/chabahar.pdf Projects
  17. Web site: From Gwadar to Chabahar, the Makran Coast Is Becoming an Arena for Rivalry Between Powers. The Wire.
  18. Web site: دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد زاهدان. 2021-11-25. iauzah.ac.ir.
  19. Web site: 2007-07-17. Zahedan University of Medical Sciences(zdmu). 2021-11-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20070717195539/http://www.zdmu.ac.ir/index.htm. 17 July 2007.