BabylonBabylon is an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-speaking region of Babylonia, with its rulers establishing two important empires in antiquity, namely the 18th century BC Old Babylonian Empire and the 7th–6th century BC Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the city would also be used as a regional capital of other empires, such as the Achaemenid Empire.
Bakhtiari peopleThe Bakhtiari (also spelled Bakhtiyari; بختیاری) are a Lur tribe from Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect of the Luri language. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces. Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord, and Andika, and the surrounding villages. A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq) and winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq).
Achaemenid EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (əˈkiːmənᵻd; 𐎧𐏁𐏂, Xšāça, ) was the ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC, also known as the First Persian Empire. Based in Western Asia, it was the largest empire the world had ever seen at its time, spanning a total of from the Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Around the 7th century BC, the region of Persis in the southwestern portion of the Iranian plateau was settled by the Persians.
AhvazAhvaz (Ahvâz ʔæhˈvɒːz) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, and serves as capital of the county, the district, and the province. It is home to Persians, Arabs, Bakhtiaris, Dezfulis, Shushtaris, and others. Languages spoken in the area include Persian and Arabic, as well as of Luri (Bakhtiari), Dezfuli, Shushtari, and others. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants.
ShushtarShushtar (شوشتر; also Romanized as Shūshtar and Shūstar and Shooshtar) is a city in the Central District of Shushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran, and serves as both capital of the county and of the district. At the 2006 National Census, its population was 94,124 in 21,511 households. The following census in 2011 counted 106,815 people in 26,639 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 101,878 people in 28,373 households. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province.
Abadan, IranAbadan (آبادان Ābādān, ʔɒːbɒːˈdɒːn) is a city in the Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Iran, and serves as both capital of the county and of the district. The city is in the southwest of the county. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded in the west by the Arvand waterway and to the east by the Bahmanshir outlet of the Karun River (the Arvand Rood), from the Persian Gulf, near the Iran–Iraq border. Abadan is 140 km from the provincial capital city of Ahvaz.
Khuzestan provinceKhuzestan province (also spelled Xuzestan; استان خوزستان Ostān-e Xūzestān) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers an area of . Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's Region 4. At the 2006 National Census, Khuzestan province had a population of 4,192,598 in 862,491 households. The following census in 2011 counted 4,531,720 people in 1,112,664 households.
MandaeismMandaeism (Classical Mandaic: mandaiia; Arabic: المندائيّة al-Mandāʾiyya), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem and John the Baptist prophets, with Adam being the founder of the religion and John being the greatest and final prophet. The Mandaeans speak an Eastern Aramaic language known as Mandaic.
Lorestan provinceLorestan province (also written Luristan, Lurestan, or Loristan, استان لرستان) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. At the time of the National Census in 2006, the province had a population of 1,689,650 in 382,805 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1,754,243 in 462,260 households. In 2014 it was placed in Region 4.
Zagros MountainsThe Zagros Mountains (Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; جبال زاغروس; چیاکانی زاگرۆس; Zagros Dağları; Luri: Kuh hā-ye Zāgros کویا زاگرس or کوه یل زاگرس) are a long mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. This mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros mountain range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region, the range continues to the southeast under also the waters of the Persian Gulf.
