Fars province explained

Fars
Native Name:استان فارس
Native Name Lang:fa
Settlement Type:Province
Mapsize:250px
Coordinates:29.4167°N 67°W
Coordinates Footnotes:[1]
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Iran
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Region 2
Established Title:Parsa
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Shiraz
Parts Type:Counties
Parts Style:para
P1:37
Leader Title:Governor-general
Leader Name:Mohammad-Hadi Imanieh
Leader Title1:MPs of Assembly of Experts
Leader Name1: Ahmad Beheshti
Ali Akbar Kalantari
Assad-Allah Imani
Lotfollah Dezhkam
Seyed Ali Asghar Dastgheib
Mohammad Faghie
Leader Title2:Representative of the Supreme Leader
Leader Name2:Lotfollah Dezhkam
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:122608
Population Total:4851274
Population As Of:2016
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:IRST
Utc Offset1:+03:30
Area Code:071
Iso Code:IR-07
Blank Name Sec1:Main language(s)
Population Est:5051000[2]
Pop Est As Of:2020

Fars province (Persian: استان فارس;) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz.[3]

The province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, in Region 2. [4] Fars neighbours the provinces of Bushehr to the west; Hormozgan to the south; Kerman and Yazd to the east; Isfahan to the north; and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad to the northwest.

Etymology

The Persian word Fârs (Persian: فارس), derived from the earlier form Pârs (Persian: پارس), which is in turn derived from (Persian, Old (ca.600-400 B.C.);: ), the Old Persian name for the Persis region. The names Parsa and Persia originate from this region.[5]

Fars is the historical homeland of the Persian people.[6] [7] It was the homeland of the Achaemenid and Sasanian Persian dynasties of Iran, who reigned on the throne by the time of the ancient Persian Empires. The ruins of the Achaemenid capitals Pasargadae and Persepolis, among others, demonstrate the ancient history of the region. Due to the historical importance of this region, the entire country has historically been also referred to as Persia in the West.[7] [8] Prior to caliphate rule, this region was known as Pars.[9]

History

Persis

See main article: Persis and Pars (Sasanian province).

The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 10th century BC, and became the rulers of the largest empire the world had yet seen under the Achaemenid dynasty which was established in the mid 6th century BC, at its peak stretching from Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in its far east.[10] The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in Fars.

The Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, incorporating most of their vast empire. Shortly after this the Seleucid Empire was established. However, it never extended its power in Fars beyond the main trade routes, and by the reign of Antiochus I or possibly later Persis emerged as an independent state that minted its own coins.[11]

The Seleucid Empire was subsequently defeated by the Parthians in 238 BC, but by 205 BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus III had extended his authority into Persis and it ceased to be an independent state.[12]

Babak was the ruler of a small town called Kheir. Babak's efforts in gaining local power at the time escaped the attention of Artabanus IV, the Parthian Arsacid Emperor of the time. Babak and his eldest son Shapur I managed to expand their power over all of Persis.

The subsequent events are unclear. Following the death of Babak around 220, Ardashir who at the time was the governor of Darabgird, got involved in a power struggle of his own with his elder brother Shapur. The sources tell us that in 222, Shapur was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him.

At this point, Ardashir moved his capital further to the south of Persis and founded a capital at Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur, modern day Firouzabad).[13] After establishing his rule over Persis, Ardashir I rapidly extended the territory of his Sassanid Persian Empire, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighboring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Susiana, and Mesene.

Artabanus marched a second time against Ardashir I in 224. Their armies clashed at Hormizdegan, where Artabanus IV was killed. Ardashir was crowned in 226 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, bringing the 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and starting the virtually equally long rule of the Sassanian Empire, over an even larger territory, once again making Persia a leading power in the known world, only this time along with its arch-rival and successor to Persia's earlier opponents (the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire); the Byzantine Empire.

The Sassanids ruled for 425 years, until the Muslim armies conquered the empire. Afterwards, the Persians started to convert to Islam, this making it much easier for the new Muslim empire to continue the expansion of Islam.

Persis then passed hand to hand through numerous dynasties, leaving behind numerous historical and ancient monuments; each of which has its own values as a world heritage, reflecting the history of the province, Iran, and West Asia. The ruins of Bishapur, Persepolis, and Firouzabad are all reminders of this. The Arab invaders brought about an end to centuries Zoroastrian political and cultural dominance over the region; supplanted as the faith of the ruling class in the 7th century by Islam, which and over the next 200 years gradually expanded to include a majority of the population.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The main ethnic group in the province consists of Persians (including Larestani people and the Basseri), while Qashqai, Lurs, Arabs, Kurds, Georgians, and Circassians constitute minorities.

Due to the geographical characteristics of Fars and its proximity to the Persian Gulf, Fars has long been a residing area for various peoples and rulers of Iran. However, the tribes of Fars including, Mamasani Lurs, Khamseh and Kohkiluyeh have kept their native and unique cultures and lifestyles which constitute part of the cultural heritage of Iran attracting many tourists. Kurdish tribes include Uriad, Zangana, Chegini, Kordshuli and Kuruni.[14]

Among the hundreds of thousands of Georgians and Circassians that were transplanted to Persia under Shah Abbas I, his predecessors, and successors, a certain amount of them were to guard the main caravan routes; many were settled around Āspās and other villages along the old Isfahan-Shiraz road. By now the vast majority Caucasians that were settled in Fars have lost their cultural, linguistic, and religious identity, having mostly being assimilated into the population.[14]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 4,220,721 people in 1,014,690 households.[15] The following census in 2011 counted 4,596,658 people in 1,250,135 households, of whom 67.6% were registered as urban dwellers (urban/suburbs), 32.1% villagers (small town/rural), and 0.3% nomad tribes.[16] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 4,851,274 people in 1,443,027 households.[17]

Administrative divisions

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

Fars province
Counties 2006 2011 2016
87,203 98,188 100,831
40,916 41,476 42,725
44,069 48,416 50,418
172,938 189,345 201,489
99,003 93,975 93,763
66,391 66,172 68,850
38,679 42,760 45,459
188,189 203,129 205,187
111,973 119,721 121,417
47,055 53,907
197,331 209,312 228,532
77,836 83,883
258,097 254,704 266,217
61,580 54,864
37,978 41,133 41,359
44,669 50,252 50,522
76,971 83,916 91,782
223,235 226,879 213,920
162,694 116,386 117,527
294,621 307,492 323,434
54,094 59,727 64,827
105,241 113,750 113,291
29,825 31,504 30,118
61,432 65,045 71,203
46,851 44,386
40,531 38,114
87,801 89,398 91,049
1,676,927 1,700,687 1,869,001
60,444 69,438 73,199
Total 4,220,721 4,596,658 4,851,274

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 3,401,675 people (over 70% of the population of Fars province) live in the following cities:[17]

City Population
59,116
7,379
3,179
4,068
14,633
17,706
3,042
7,061
1,379
7,568
5,972
9,077
7,300
7,252
70,232
10,037
3,468
3,924
2,907
13,809
1,348
2,657
4,235
5,803
44,341
9,115
36,410
19,987
4,097
20,320
110,825
65,417
13,448
34,469
21,675
3,852
2,045
3,131
6,246
5,910
141,634
13,598
8,010
3,713
8,841
31,711
96,683
4,027
3,020
4,332
18,477
9,599
19,217
6,220
7,338
3,245
6,081
3,954
3,281
3,237
29,380
8,985
62,045
7,300
1,546
148,858
9,031
3,567
4,617
10,120
5,912
4,707
7,784
49,850
2,410
2,892
3,769
57,058
14,973
26,918
6,772
2,895
20,010
7,476
2,550
5,760
17,131
26,933
18,187
6,747
8,574
8,927
91,863
5,960
Shiraz 1,565,572
12,582
1,928
9,776
3,050
4,622
9,719
32,261

Most populous cities

The following sorted table lists the most populous cities in Fars according to the 2016 census results announced by the Statistical Center of Iran.

Most populous urban areas in Fars province


Shiraz

Marvdasht
RankCityCountyPopulation
Jahrom

Fasa
1ShirazShiraz1,565,572
2MarvdashtMarvdasht148,858
3JahromJahrom141,634
4FasaFasa110,825
5KazerunKazerun96,683
6SadraShiraz91,863
7DarabDarab70,232
8FiruzabadFiruzabad65,417
9LarLarestan62,045
10AbadehAbadeh59,116

Climate and wildlife

There are three distinct climatic regions in the Fars province. First, the mountainous area of the north and northwest with moderate cold winters and mild summers. Secondly, the central regions, with relatively rainy mild winters, and hot dry summers. The third region located in the south and southeast has cold winters with hot summers. The average temperature of Shiraz is 16.8 °C, ranging between 4.7 °C and 29.2 °C.[18]

The geographical and climatic variation of the province causes varieties of plants; consequently, variation of wildlife has been formed in the province. Additional to the native animals of the province, many kinds of birds migrate to the province every year.[19] Many kinds of ducks, storks and swallows migrate to this province in an annual parade. The main native animals of the province are gazelle, deer, mountain wild goat, ram, ewe and many kinds of birds. In the past, like in Khuzestan Plain, the Persian lion had occurred here.[20] [21]

The province of Fars includes many protected wildlife zones. The most important protected zones are:

Arjan Meadow 22km2 and Lake Parishan 40km2 are designated Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar convention.

Economy

Agriculture is of great importance in Fars.[22] The major products include cereal (wheat and barley), citrus fruits, dates, sugar beets and cotton. Fars has major petrochemical facilities, along with an oil refinery, a factory for producing tires, a large electronics industry, and a sugar mill. Tourism is also a large industry in the province. UNESCO has designated an area in the province, called Arzhan (known as Dasht e Arjan) as a biosphere reserve. Shiraz, provincial capital of Fars, is the namesake of Shirazi wine. A large number of wine factories existed in the city.

Transportation

Shiraz Airport is the main international airport of the province and the second in the country. The cities of Jahrom, Lar and Lamerd also have airports linking them with Shiraz and Tehran and nearby Persian Gulf countries such as the UAE and Bahrain. Shiraz is along the main route from Tehran to southern Iran.

Higher education

The Fars province is home to many higher education institutes and universities. The main universities of the province include Shiraz University, Shiraz University of Arts, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences,[23] Shiraz University of Technology, Jahrom University, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University of Shiraz, and Islamic Azad University of Jahrom.

Notable people

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)) . Fars Province . . 22 May 2024 . 22 May 2024 . fa.
  2. Web site: توجه: تفاوت در سرجمع به دليل گرد شدن ارقام به رقم هزار مي باشد. (in Persian). Amar. September 29, 2020.
  3. Web site: Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Fars province, centered in Shiraz . fa . Lamtakam . https://web.archive.org/web/20231207211349/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113032 . Ministry of Interior, Council of Ministers . Habibi . Hassan . 21 June 1369 . 7 December 2023 . 7 December 2023.
  4. News: 22 June 2014 . استان‌های کشور به ۵ منطقه تقسیم شدند . The Provinces of the Country Were Divided Into 5 Regions . fa . Hamshahri Online . https://web.archive.org/web/20140623191332/http://www.hamshahrionline.ir/details/263382/Iran/-provinces . 23 June 2014 . live.
  5. Zangiabadi, A., and M. Akbari. "Assessment and Analysis of Development Indicator in Township of Fars Province." (2011): 113-122.
  6. Book: Austin, Peter . One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost . 1 January 2008 . University of California Press . Google Books. 9780520255609 .
  7. Encyclopedia: Encyclopædia Iranica . FĀRS i. Geography . IX . ?–336 . 24 January 2012 . Xavier de Planhol . The name of Fārs is undoubtedly attested in Assyrian sources since the third millennium B.C.E. under the form Parahše. Originally, it was the "land of horses" of the Sumerians (Herzfeld, pp. 181-82, 184-86). The name was adopted by Iranian tribes which established themselves there in the 9th century B.C.E. in the west and southwest of Urmia lake. The Parsua (Pārsa) are mentioned there for the first time in 843 B.C.E., during the reign of Salmanassar III, and then, after they migrated to the southeast (Boehmer, pp. 193-97), the name was transferred, between 690 and 640, to a region previously called Anšan (q.v.) in Elamite sources (Herzfeld, pp. 169-71, 178-79, 186). From that moment the name acquired the connotation of an ethnic region, the land of the Persians, and the Persians soon thereafter founded the vast Achaemenid empire. A never-ending confusion thus set in between a narrow, limited, geographical usage of the term—Persia in the sense of the land where the aforesaid Persian tribes had shaped the core of their power—and a broader, more general usage of the term to designate the much larger area affected by the political and cultural radiance of the Achaemenids. The confusion between the two senses of the word was continuous, fueled by the Greeks who used the name Persai to designate the entire empire. It lasted through the centuries of Arab domination, as Fārs, the term used by Muslims, was merely the Arabicized version of the initial name..
  8. Book: A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire . M. A. Dandamaev . BRILL . 1989 . 4–6 . 9004091726 .
  9. Zargaran, Arman. "The City of Shiraz and Fars Province, the root of medical sciences in the history." (2012): 103-104.
  10. Book: David . Sacks . Oswyn . Murray . Lisa R. . Brody . Encyclopedia of the ancient Greek world. 2005. Infobase Publishing. 978-0-8160-5722-1. 256 (at the right portion of the page) .
  11. The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1), p. 299
  12. The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1), p. 302
  13. Book: Farrokh, Kaveh. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. 2007. 176–9. 9781846031083.
  14. P. Oberling, "FĀRS vii. Ethnography", Encyclopaedia Iranica>Web site: FĀRS vii. Ethnography. 31 May 2014.
  15. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006) . 07 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . AMAR . 25 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110920091830/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/07.xls . Excel . 20 September 2011.
  16. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011) . 07 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . Syracuse University . https://web.archive.org/web/20230116202002/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Fars.xls . 16 January 2023 . 19 December 2022 . Excel.
  17. Web site: Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016) . 07 . fa . The Statistical Center of Iran . AMAR . 19 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220406013432/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_07.xlsx . Excel . 6 April 2022.
  18. Web site: اقلیم استان فارس. پورتال سازمان هواشناسی. کشور. www.irimo.ir. 2017-03-19. 2020-01-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115160824/http://www.irimo.ir/far/services/climate/807. dead.
  19. Web site: Iran fars-shiraz. www.irantour.org. 2007-09-01. 2017-12-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20171219171924/http://www.irantour.org/Iran/city/FARS.html. dead.
  20. Humphreys, P., Kahrom, E. (1999). Lion and Gazelle: The Mammals and Birds of Iran. Images Publishing, Avon.
  21. Book: Firouz, E.. 2005. [{{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=t2EZCScFXloC|page=66}} The complete fauna of Iran ]. I. B. Tauris. 978-1-85043-946-2 . 5–67.
  22. Web site: Farmers' participation in agricultural development: The case of Fars province, Iran . www.indjst.org.
  23. Book: Issues in Discovery, Experimental, and Laboratory Medicine: 2013 Edition . Scholarly Editions. 2013. 139–40. 9781490109169.