Djiroft

Jiroft (Jīroft dʒiːˈɾoft; formerly, Sabzāwārān, Sabzevārān, Sabzevārān-e Jiroft, and Sabzvārān) is a city in the Central District of Jiroft County, Kerman province, Iran, and serves as both capital of the county and of the district. It is south of the city of Kerman, and south of Tehran along Road 91. In the past it was also called Sabzevaran, and on account of its being very fertile land it is famous as Hend-e-Koochak (the little India). The civilization found in Jiroft is one of the oldest human civilizations (according to some, the oldest) and the manuscripts obtained from this civilization are before the cuneiform discovered in Mesopotamia. At the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 95,031 in 19,926 households. The following census in 2011 counted 111,034 people in 25,589 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 130,429 people in 39,855 households. Jiroft is in a vast plain, Halil River, on the southern outskirts of the Jebal Barez mountain chain, surrounded by two rivers. The mean elevation of the city is about above sea level. The weather of the city is sweltering in summer – it is one of the hottest places in Iran – but temperatures are moderate in winter. There is a large dam (Jiroft Dam) upstream the city (40 km North-East of Jiroft) on the Halil River (Halilrood). It is under operation since 1992. Having a reservoir of more than 410 million cubic meters of water, irrigates 14200 hectares of the downstream and generates electricity. The city is served by Jiroft Airport, located several kilometres to the northwest. A Jiroft culture has been postulated as an early Bronze Age (third millennium BC) archaeological culture, located in the territory of present-day Sistan and Kermān Provinces of Iran. The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that were confiscated in Iran and accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area in south central Iran, reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001. The proposed type site is Konar Sandal, near Jiroft in the Halil River area.