Fars Province

Fars Province (/fɑːrs/; Persian: استان فارس‎, Ostān-e Fārs, pronounced [ˈfɒː(ɾ)s]), also known as Pars (پارس, Pārs) as well as Persis and Persia,[5] is one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran. With an area of 122,400 km², it is located in Iran's southwest, in Region 2,[6] and its administrative center is Shiraz. As of 2011, Fars had a population of 4.6 million people, of which 67.6% were registered as urban dwellers (urban/suburbs), 32.1% villagers (small town/rural), and 0.3% nomad tribes.[7]

Fars Province

استان فارس
Province
Clockwise from top: The Tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae, Arg of Karim Khan in Shiraz, a canola field in Alamarvdasht, Bishapur valley, Naqsh-e Rostam, and ruins of the Tachara in Persepolis.
Location of Fars within Iran
Coordinates: 29°37′N 52°32′E
Country Iran
RegionRegion 2
CapitalShiraz
Counties36
Area
 • Total122,608 km2 (47,339 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total4,851,274
 • Estimate 
(2020)
5,051,000[2]
 • Density40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+03:30 (IRST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+04:30 (IRST)
Area code(s)071
Main language(s)Persian
Qashqai
Luri[3][4]
Dialects of Fars
Fars Province Historical population
YearPop.±%
20064,336,878—    
20114,596,658+6.0%
20164,851,274+5.5%
amar.org.ir

Fars is the historical homeland of the Persian people.[8][9] 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.[9][10]

Etymology

The Persian word Fârs (فارس) is the Arabized form of the earlier form Pârs (پارس), which is in turn derived from Pârsâ (𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿), the Old Persian name for the Persis region. The names Parsa and Persia originate from this region.[11]

History

Persis
Main articles: Persis and Pars (Sasanian province)
The ruins of Persepolis
A Sassanid relief showing the investiture of Ardashir I
Sarvestan Palace in Sarvestan

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

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, due to the sketchy nature of the sources. It is however certain that 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).[15] 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. Arab invaders brought about a decline of Zoroastrian rule and made Islam ascendant from the 7th century.

Administrative divisions

Fars province is located in the south of Iran. It neighbours Bushehr Province to the west, Hormozgān Province to the south, Kerman and Yazd provinces to the east, Isfahan province to the north and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province to the northwest. According to the latest divisions, the province contains the following counties: Abadeh, Sarvestan, Jahrom, Eqlid, Rostam, Estahban, Darab, Nayriz, Bavanat, Larestan, Qir and Karzin, Khorrambid, Lamerd, Kazerun, Fasa, Firuzabad, Zarrin Dasht, Mamasani, Shiraz, Marvdasht, Sepidan, Arsanjan, Pasargad, Kavar, Khonj, Farashband, Gerash, Kharameh, Mohr.

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.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18][19]

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

  • Toot Siah (Black Berry) Hunt Forbidden Zone, which is located at the end of Boanat region.
  • Basiran Hunt Forbidden Zone, which is located 4 kilometers south to Abadeh;
  • Bamu National Park, which is located north-east of Shiraz;
  • Estahban Forest Park (Parke Jangaly), which is located on the outskirts of Touraj mountain;
  • Hermoodlar Protected Zone, which is located east to Larestan.[17]
Crown imperial plain, Sepidan

Arjan Meadow 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi) and Lake Parishan 40 km2 (15 sq mi) are designated Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar convention.

Eram Garden

Economy

Agriculture is of great importance in Fars.[20] 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.

Demographics

The main ethnic group in the province constitutes of Persians (including Larestani people and the Basseri), while Qashqai, Lurs, Kurds, Arabs, Georgians, and Circassians constitute minorities.[21]

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.

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.[21]

The province has a population of 4.6 million approximately.

Most Populous Cities

The following sorted table, lists the most populous cities in Fars with a population of more than 50,000 according to 2016 Census results announced by Statistical Center of Iran.[22] Aftar Shiraz, Marvdasht, Jahrom, and Fasa are the most populous cities of the province.

Rank City County Date of Official
Foundation of
Municipality		 Population
1 Shiraz Shiraz 1907 1,565,572
2 Marvdasht Marvdasht 1950 148,858
3 Jahrom Jahrom 1925 141,634
4 Fasa Fasa 1926 110,825
5 Kazerun Kazerun 1931 96,683
6 Sadra Shiraz 2009 91,863
7 Darab Darab 1930 70,232
8 Firuzabad Firuzabad 1944 65,417
9 Lar Larestan 1938 62,045
10 Abadeh Abadeh 1925 59,116
11 Nurabad Mamasani 1962 57,058

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 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
Tomb of Hafez
Tomb of Saadi
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References
  1. "National census 2016". amar.org.ir. Retrieved 2017-03-14.[]
  2. https://amar.org.ir/%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C/%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%88-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%DB%8C%D8%AA#55811019--
  3. "پرتال سازمان ميراث فرهنگي، صنایع دستی و گردشگري > استانها > فارس > آداب و رسوم". 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012.
  4. http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=luz
  5. Sykes, Percy (1921). A History of Persia. London: Macmillan and Company. p. 43.
  6. "استان‌های کشور به ۵ منطقه تقسیم شدند" [The Provinces of the Country Were Divided Into 5 Regions]. Hamshahri Online (in Persian). 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014.
  7. "National Population and Housing Census, 2011".
  8. Austin, Peter (1 January 2008). One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520255609 – via Google Books.
  9. Xavier de Planhol (24 January 2012). "FĀRS i. Geography". Encyclopædia Iranica. IX. pp. ?–336. 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.
  10. M. A. Dandamaev (1989). A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire. BRILL. pp. 4–6. ISBN 9004091726.
  11. Zangiabadi, A., and M. Akbari. "Assessment and Analysis of Development Indicator in Township of Fars Province." (2011): 113-122.
  12. David Sacks, Oswyn Murray, Lisa R. Brody; Oswyn Murray; Lisa R. Brody (2005). Encyclopedia of the ancient Greek world. Infobase Publishing. pp. 256 (at the right portion of the page). ISBN 978-0-8160-5722-1.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1), p. 299
  14. The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1), p. 302
  15. Kaveh Farrokh (2007). Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. pp. 176–9. ISBN 9781846031083.
  16. کشور, پورتال سازمان هواشناسی. "اقلیم استان فارس". www.irimo.ir.
  17. "Iran fars-shiraz". www.irantour.org.
  18. Humphreys, P., Kahrom, E. (1999). Lion and Gazelle: The Mammals and Birds of Iran. Images Publishing, Avon.
  19. Firouz, E. (2005). The complete fauna of Iran. I. B. Tauris. pp. 5–67. ISBN 978-1-85043-946-2.
  20. "Farmers' participation in agricultural development: The case of Fars province, Iran". www.indjst.org.
  21. P. Oberling, "FĀRS vii. Ethnography", Encyclopaedia Iranica>"FĀRS vii. Ethnography". 31 May 2014.
  22. https://www.amar.org.ir/english
  23. Various scholars/contributors (2013). Issues in Discovery, Experimental, and Laboratory Medicine: 2013 Edition. Scholarly Editions. pp. 139–40. ISBN 9781490109169.

Bibliography
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