Ahvaz or Ahwaz
[key], city, SW Iran, on the Karun River. It is an oil center, a transportation hub, and an
industrial city that has petrochemical, textile, and food-processing industries. An ancient
city, Ahvaz was rebuilt (3d cent. a.d.) by Ardashir I, who named it Hormuzd-Ardashir.
In the 4th cent. Ahvaz became the seat of a bishopric, and a large church was built there. It
was an important Arab trading center in the 12th and 13th cent. but later declined. The
discovery of oil nearby in the early 20th cent. restored the city to its former importance.
The new part of Ahvaz, the administrative and industrial center, is on the right bank of the
Karun, but the population still is concentrated in the old section on the left bank. Ahvaz is
linked by road, rail, and oil pipeline to ports on the Persian Gulf.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Iranian Political Geography
