| Sistan and Baluchestan Province استان سیستان و بلوچستان |
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|---|---|
| — Province — | |
| Ghal'eh Sab, Saravan. | |
| Location of Sistan and Baluchestan within Iran | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iran |
| Capital | Zahedan |
| Counties | 14 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 181,785 km2 (70,187.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2006-10-28)[1] | |
| • Total | 2,405,742 |
| • Density | 13.2/km2 (34.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+03:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | IRST (UTC+04:30) |
| Main language(s) | Baluchi Persian Brahui |
Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Persian: استان سيستان و بلوچستان, Ostān-e Sīstān-o Balūchestān ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan.
The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million. The counties of the province are Chabahar, Qasar-qand, Dalgan, Hirmand, Iranshahr, Khash, Konarak, Nikshahr, Saravan, Sarbaz, Soran, Zabol, Zaboli, Zahedan and Zehak.
The population comprises Sunni Muslim Baluchis and Shi'a Persian Sistanis.
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The province comprises two sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The combined Sistan and Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious 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 as Levar, the Qousse wind, the seventh (Gav-kosh) wind, the Nambi or south wind, the Hooshak wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or (Gurich) wind and the western (Gard) wind.
In the south, east and west of Sistān and Balūchestān, the people are mostly Balōch and speak the Baluchi language. The name Balūchestān means "Land of the Balōchi" in Persian language. Similarly, the Persian language name Sistān comes from the Old Persian Sakastāna, meaning "Land of the Sakas".
Many scholars, orators, and literary personalities have sprung up from this part of Iran, amongst which are the reputed Farrokhi sistani, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar and Rostam. Ayatollah Sistani is also from Sistān; though he currently resides in Najaf, Iraq.
In the epigraphs of Bistoon 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), one of the Aryan tribes that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BCE. During the Arsacid Dynasty (248 BC to 224 CE), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period till 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 644CE, the Arab Muslims gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.
During the reign of the second caliph of Islam, 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 CE, 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 CE, Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan, and during the reign of Nader Shah there was further turmoil.
Baluchestan has always gone by two ancient names, the Maga/Maka (which through the passage of time it changed to Mokran / Makran), and Godar (from the Bactrian language (Pashto) from which the Greeks derived Gedrosia and which, through the passage of time, changed to Gwadar). Both names still survive inside the Pakistan administered part of Baluchestan today.
The province today is the most underdeveloped, desolate, and poorest of Iran's provinces. The government of Iran has been trying to reverse this situation by implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone.
A number of Iranian scholars have published their works on the cultural and social issues of Balochistan of Iran such as Dr. Iraj Afshar Sistani, Dr. Azim Shahbukhsh, Ghasem Siasar, and Abdolvodod Sepahi. On political issues several major works have been done by Professor Selig Harrison and Dr. Taj Mohammad Berissiq. However, on the politics of Balochistan after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, two substantial studies have been carried out by Dr. Mohammad Hassan Hosseinbor and Dr. Ahmad Reza Taheri.
| South Khorasan Province | Farah Province, Afghanistan Nimruz Province, Afghanistan |
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| Kerman Province | Balochistan, Pakistan | |||
| Sistan and Baluchestan Province | ||||
| Hormozgan Province | Arabian Sea |
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