- Abadan
:"
Abadan (film) is also the name of a 2003 Iranian movie from directorMani Haghighi , as well as the name of a town in TurkmenistanInfobox Settlement
official_name = Abadan
image_caption =
pushpin_
latd=30|latm=21|lats=|latNS=N
longd=48|longm=17|longs=|longEW=E
population_as_of = 2005
population_total = 415139
timezone = IRST
utc_offset = +3:30Abadan (Audio|En-Abadan Pronunciation.ogg|listen PerB|آبادان) is a city in the
Khuzestan province in southwesternIran (Persia). It lies onAbadan Island (convert|68|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=s long, 3-19 km or 2-12 miles wide, the island is bounded in the west by theShatt al-Arab waterway and to the east by theBahmanshir outlet of theKarun River ), convert|53|km|mi| from thePersian Gulf , near the Iraqi-Iran border. It is the capital ofAbadan County . In 2005, the population was estimated to be at 415,139. The civilian population of the city dropped to near zero during the eight-yearsIran–Iraq War . In 1992, only 84,774 had returned to live in the city. By 2001, the population had jumped to 206,073, only to double in the past five years.Etymology
Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri (d.892) quotes the story that the town was founded by " 'Abbad bin Hosayn from the Arabian Tribe ofBanu Tamim ", who established a garrison there during the governorship of "Hajjaj" in theUmmayad period. An Iranian etymology of the name (from the Persian word "ab" (water) and the root "pā" (guard, watch) thus "coastguard station"), was suggested by "B. Farahvashi". Supporting evidence is the name "Apphana" whichPtolemy applies to an island off the mouth of the Tigris. The Persian version of the name had begun to come into general use before it was adopted by official decree in 1935. [http://www.iranica.com/articles/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v1_articles/abadan&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html Abadan] , inEncyclopaedia Iranica , pp.51-52] The geographer Marcian also renders the name "Apphadana" and "Estoban Mendez" in his writings. ["Geographia Marciani Heracleotae", ed. David Hoeschel, Augsburg 1600 p48]History
Abadan is thought to have originally developed as a port city under the
Abbasid s' rule. Legendarily, it was founded by a holy man, 'Abbad [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9003216 "Abadan."] "Encyclopædia Britannica ". 18 February 2007] . In this time period, it was a commercial source ofsalt and wovenmat s. Thesiltation of the river delta forced the town further away from water;Ibn Battutah described Abadan as a small city in a flat salty plain. Politically, Abadan was often the subject of dispute between the nearby states; in 1847, Persia acquired it, in which state Abadan has remained since. From the 17th century onward, the island of Abadan was part of the lands of theArab "Ka'ab" (Bani Kaab ) tribe. One section of this tribe, "Mohaysen", had its headquarters at "Mohammara"(present-dayKhorramshahr ), until the removal of ShaikhKhaz'al Khan in 1924.It was not until the 20th century that rich oil fields were discovered in the area. In 1910, the population had been around 400. The
Anglo-Persian Oil Company built their first pipeline terminusoil refinery in Abadan, starting in 1909 and completing it in 1913 (seeAbadan Refinery ). By 1938, it was the largest in the world. To this day it remains a vast facility for refiningpetroleum . The facilities necessitated an equally vast population: more than 220,000 people in 1956.Only a low 9% of managers (of the oil company) were from Khuzestan. The proportion of natives of
Tehran , theCaspian ,Azarbaijan and Kurdistan rose from 4% ofblue collar workers to 22% ofwhite collar workers to 45% of managers. Thus whileArabic speakers were concentrated on the lower rungs of the work force, managers tended to be brought in from some distance.On
August 19 1978 -the anniversary of the US backed pro-Shah coup d'état which overthrew the nationalists and popular Iranian prime minister, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh — the Cinema Rex, a movie theatre in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze by four Islamic Revolution sympathizers in an attempt to help the cause of Iran's Islamic Revolution. The local Abadan police had taken notice, and became suspicious of Hossein Takbali-zadeh and his accomplices, and had started following the arsonists as they were entering Cinema Rex. The police decided to continue their surveillance and track the group after they left the movie theater. This incident ended up causing theCinema Rex Fire , where over 350 people perished. At the trial, Hossein Takbali-zadeh stated that his three accomplices by the names of Faraj, Falah, and Yadollah had all burned in the fire.In September 1980, Abadan was almost overrun during a surprise attack on Khuzestan by Iraq, marking the beginning of the
Iran–Iraq War . For 18 months Abadan was besieged, but never captured, by Iraqi forces. Much of the city, including the oil refinery which was the world's largest refinery with capacity of 680,000 barrels per day, was badly damaged or destroyed by the siege and by bombing. Previous to the war, the city's civilianpopulation was about 300,000, but before it was over, most of the populace had sought refuge elsewhere in Iran.After the war, the biggest concern was the rebuilding of Abadan's oil refinery. In 1993, the refinery began limited operation & and the port reopened. By 1997, the refinery reached the same rate of production it was at before the war.
Recent events
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.