Introduction

Ilam province is on the western edges of the Zagros range, bordering Iraq.

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Ilam is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Iraq. Its provincial center is the city of Ilam. Ilam, one of the provinces inside Irans Zagros mountain range. ... Ilam, one of the provinces inside Irans Zagros mountain range. ... The Zagros Mountains (In Persian:رشته‌کوه‌های زاگرس) make up Irans second largest mountain range. ... Iran consists of 30 provinces: Provinces are governed from a local center, mostly the largest local city. ... Location of Ilam in Irans map Ilam is the capital of Ilam Province in Iran. ...

Covering an area of 19,086 square kilometers, the cities of the province are Ilam, Mehran, Dehloran, Dareh Shahr, Shirvan Va Chardavol, Aivan and Abdanan. It neighbors Khuzestan province in the south, Lurestan province in the east, Kermanshah province in the north and Iraq in the west with 425 kilometers of common border. In 1996 the population of the province was 488,000 people. Location of Ilam in Irans map Ilam is the capital of Ilam Province in Iran. ... Mehran is a city in Iran, near that countrys western border. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Kermanshah is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ...

Geography

Ilam province is among the warmer regions of Iran. The mountainous areas of north and north eastern Ilam are relatively cold however. Average annual rainfall in the province is 578 mm.

In 1996, absolute maximum temperature was 38°C in August and the minimum temperature recorded was 0.4° C in February. The number of freezing days in winter was 27 days.

Ilam's highest point is the peak Kabir Kuh at 2790m, part of the Zagros mountains. Kabir Kuh (In Persian: کبیرکوه) is a very long mountain stretching about 120 km in length on the borders of Lurestan and Ilam in Iran. ... The Zagros Mountains (In Persian:رشته‌کوه‌های زاگرس) make up Irans second largest mountain range. ...

Like many other provinces in Iran, Ilam's ethnic composition is made up of numerous groups such as kurds, arabs, and lors, the latter living mostly in the southern regions of the province.

History

A Sassanid era bridge in Ilam province. Tourism is one of Ilam's potentially lucrative, yet undeveloped sectors.

Limited archaeological studies and discoveries indicate 6,000 years of tribal residence in Ilam. Historical evidence indicates that Ilam province was part of the ancient Elamite Empire. Image File history File links A Sassanid era bridge, Ilam province, Iran. ... Image File history File links A Sassanid era bridge, Ilam province, Iran. ... An Elamite Man in Persepolis The ancient Elamite Empire (تمدن عیلام in Persian) lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad, in what is now southwestern Iran. ...

In Elamite and Babylonian inscriptions, Ilam is called Alamto or Alam which means "mountains" or "the country of sunrise". It was also part of the Achaemenid Empire. Existence of numerous historical vestiges in Lurestan and Ilam provinces belonging to the Sassanid period indicates the specific importance of the region in that time. Achaemenid empire in its greatest extent The Achaemenid Dynasty (Hakamanishiya in the Avestan language, هخامنشی - transliterated Hakamanshee in Modern Persian) was an Iranian dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Darius the Great and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate...

In the late 11th century, Kurdish tribes governed the region till the early 13th century.

In 1930, in the division of the country, Ilam became a part of Kermanshah province, only later to become a province by itself. Ilam is still a tribal province in many ways, but in recent years the tribal relations have changed drastically. Kermanshah is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ...

Ilam today

During the Iran-Iraq war, Ilam province took a heavy pounding, and Iraq's intense bombings left no economic infrastructure for the province. Ilam has thus been one of Iran's more undeveloped provinces. Ilam's unemployment rate was 19.9% in 2003. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Iran-Iraq War The Iran-Iraq War, also called the First Persian Gulf War, or the Imposed War (جنگ تحمیلی) in Iran, was a war between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran lasting from September 1980 to August 1988. ...

Only in recent years has the central government began investing in advanced industries like Petrochemical facilities with Japanese help, in Ilam. Ilam also has a bright future in the tourist sector, with 174 historical sites listed under Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, though it also remains undeveloped.

Colleges and universities

Ilam province contains the following universities:

• 1. Ilam University of Medical Sciences
  2. University of Ilam
  3. Islamic Azad University of Ilam

Attractions

• Imamzadehs: These are shrines mostly from the middle ages: Imamzadeh Ali Saleh, Imamzadeh Seyd mammad Abed, Imamzadeh Seyd Akbar, Imamzadeh Seyd Fakhreddin, Imamzadeh Seyd Nasereddin, Imamzadeh Ibrahim, Imamzadeh Abbas, Imamzadeh Abdullah, Imamzadeh Pir Muhammad, Imamzadeh Baba Seifuddin, Imamzadeh Mehdi Saleh, Imamzadeh Ibrahim Qetal, Imamzadeh Seyd Hasan, Imamzadeh Seyd Salaheddin Muhammad, Imamzadeh Haji Bakhtiar, Imamzadeh Haji Hazer, Imamzadeh Jabir.
• Fire Temples (10 in total): These are Zoroastrian shrines from the Sassanid era, now in ruins: Siyahgol Iwan, Chahar Taghi in Darreh Shahr.
• Mansions, forts, and castles (90 in total): Ghal'eh Vali (Qajar era), Posht Ghal'eh Chowar, Ghal'eh Paghela Chekarbuli, Ghal'eh Falahati (Qajar era), Shiagh castle in Dehloran (Sassanid era), Ismail Khan fort, Sam castle (late Parthian era), Pur Ashraf castle, Mir Gholam Hashemi ghal'eh, Posht Ghal'eh Abdanan (Sassanid), Konjancham fort, Shirin and Farhad Iwan in Mehran (Parthian era), Hezar Dar Castle (Sassanid), Sheikh Makan Fort (Sassanid), Zeinal Fort.
• Bridges from Sassanid era (5 in total).
• Numerous archeological sites (Teppes) and ruins from Sassanid era and earlier (224 in total).
• Ancient reliefs scattered across the province (8 in total).
• Ancient urban settlement ruins (22 in total).
• Springs, caves, 3 protected natural habitats, and provincial parks.

Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... The Qajar dynasty was the ruling family of Persia from 1796 to 1925. ... An Iwan is a large, vaulted chamber with a monumental arched opening on one side. ... Mehran is a city in Iran, near that countrys western border. ...

External links

• Ilam Province Department of Education (in Persian)

Provinces of Iran
Ardabil | Bushehr | Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari | East Azarbaijan | Isfahan | Fars | Guilan | Golestan | Hamadan | Hormozgan | Ilam | Kerman | Kermanshah | Khuzestan | Kohkiluyeh and Buyer Ahmad | Kurdistan | Lorestan | Markazi | Mazandaran | North Khorasan | Qazvin | Qom | Razavi Khorasan | Semnan | Sistan and Baluchistan | South Khorasan | Tehran | West Azarbaijan | Yazd | Zanjan