DEYLAM, BANDAR-E

 

DEYLAM, BANDAR-E, a port on the Persian Gulf (30° 3’ N, 50° 9’ E) in the province of Būšehr at an elevation a little above 1 m. The town is situated in a coastal plain, 10 km north of the cape of Tonūb, 72 km south of Behbahān and 217 km northwest of Būšehr. The climate is warm and humid. The shallow harbor is now unsafe, and larger ships cannot dock there at all.

There are few historical references to Bandar-e Deylam, which is located near the ruined medieval towns of Sīnīz and Mahrūbān (sometimes called Mahrūyān; Hodūd al-ʿālam tr. Minorsky, pp. 127, 377-78); a Persian traveler during the reign of Moḥammad Shah Qajar (r. 1250-64/1834-48) provided the following description: “The population of Bandar-e Deylam is one hundred households. All the houses are made of stone and brick. The fort is built in the shape of a square, each side being a hundred ḏarʿs long [1 ḏarʿ=1.04 m]. Bandar-e Deylam is where the borders of Fārs, Ḵūzestān, and Baḵtīārī used to meet [1994 borders]. It is a thoroughfare for Arabs and Lors” (Āl-e Dāwūd, pp. 85-86).

The ancient ruins of Mahrūbān are located 10 km from the port. They occupy an area 4.3 by 1 km and include remains of the corners and foundations of the fortifications, of three large caravansaries, and of the congregational mosque (Eqtedārī, 1348 Š./1969, pp. 3-4). Traces of the old Dutch fortress at Tonūb, with workshops and other installations, are also still visible (Eqtedārī, 1359 Š./1980, p. 751).

In 1365 Š./1986 the population of Bandar-e Deylam was 12,947 (2,247 households); the literacy rate among the 10,117 people six years old and older was 66 percent (Markaz-e āmār, p. 18). They speak Persian, and most are Twelver Shiʿites. Most of the inhabitants are engaged in dry farming, animal husbandry, hunting, forestry, and fishing. A few are employed in industry and construction or on a seasonal basis in the countries of the Persian Gulf littoral. The chief products of the region are grain and dates (see DATE PALM). Bandar-e Deylam has electricity, piped water, a telephone network, and most government services.

 

Bibliography:

(For cited works not found in this bibliography and abbreviations found here, see “Short References.”) S. ʿA. Āl-e Dāwūd, ed., Do safar-nāma az jonūb-e Īrān, Tehran, 1368 Š./1989.

A. Eqtedārī, Āṯār-e šahrhā-ye bāstānī-e sawāḥel o jazāyer-e ḵalīj-e Fārs o daryā-ye ʿOmān, Tehran, 1348 Š./1969, pp. 3-5.

Idem, Ḵūzestān o Kohgīlūya o Mamasanī III, Tehran, 1359 Š./1980, pp. 750-51.

ʿA. Farajī et al., Joḡrāfīā-ye kāmel-e Īrān I, Tehran, 1366 Š./1987, p. 439.

Jehād-e sāzandagī, Farhang-e ejtemāʿī-e dehāt o mazāreʿ-e ostān-e Būšehr, Tehran, 1363 Š./1984, p. 34.

Markaz-e āmār-e Īrān, Sar-šomārī-e ʿomūmī-e nofūs o maskan, 1365. Šahrestān-e Ganāva, Tehran, 1365 Š./1986.

Idem, Farhang-e ābādīhā-ye kešvar, Tehran, ***, p. 16.

M.-Ḥ. Pāpolī Yazdī, Farhang-e ābādīhā wa makānhā-ye maḍhabī-e kešvar, Mašhad, 1367 Š./1989, p. 106.

(Sayyed ʿAlī Āl-e Dāwūd)

Originally Published: December 15, 1994

Last Updated: November 22, 2011

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Vol. VII, Fasc. 3, pp. 335-336