Arabic
'ABBADAN, city, extreme southwestern of Iran. The city is situated in
Khuzestan, part of the oil-producing region of Iran. Abadan lies on an
island of the same name along the eastern bank of the Shatt Al-'Arab
(river), 33 miles (53 km) from the Persian Gulf. The city thus lies along
Iran's border with Iraq. Abadan Island is bounded on the west by the
Shatt Al-'Arab and on the east by the Bahmanshir, which is an outlet of
the Karun River. The island is 42 miles (68 km) long and from 2 to 12
miles (3 to 19 km) wide.
Reputedly
founded by a holy man, 'Abbad, in the 8th century, Abadan was a
prosperous coastal town in the 'Abbasid period and was known for its salt
and woven mats. But the extension of the delta of the Shatt Al-'Arab by
silt deposition caused the coast of the Persian Gulf to gradually recede
from Abadan. By the time the town was visited by the Arab geographer Ibn
Battutah in the 14th century, it was described as little more
than a large village in a flat, salty plain.
Persia
and the Ottomans long disputed Abadan's possession, but Persia acquired
it in 1847. Its village status remained unchanged until the early 20th
century, when rich oilfields were discovered in Khuzestan. In 1909
the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (its Iranian properties were nationalized
in 1951 as the National Iranian Oil Company) established its pipeline
terminus refinery at Abadan. The refinery began operating in 1913, and by
1956 Abadan had become a city of more than 220,000 inhabitants, with an
economy almost entirely
based on petroleum refining and shipping. The refinery complex was served
by pipelines running from oil fields to the north, and pipelines were
subsequently constructed from Abadan to Tehran and to Shiraz. By the late
1970's the city's oil refinery was perhaps the largest in the world.
In
September 1980, however, Abadan was almost overrun in the course of
Iraq's surprise invasion of Khuzestan. The Iraqis failed to take Abadan,
but their artillery and aerial bombardments destroyed its refineries and
reduced most of the city to rubble. After the Iran-Iraq War ended in
1988, Iran restarted petroleum refining and petrochemical production in
Abadan on a smaller scale using reconstructed plants. The city's port
reopened in 1993. Pop. (1976) 296,081.
Arabic
'ABBADAN, city, extreme southwestern of Iran. The city is situated in
Khuzestan, part of the oil-producing region of Iran. Abadan lies on an
island of the same name along the eastern bank of the Shatt Al-'Arab
(river), 33 miles (53 km) from the Persian Gulf. The city thus lies along
Iran's border with Iraq. Abadan Island is bounded on the west by the
Shatt Al-'Arab and on the east by the Bahmanshir, which is an outlet of
the Karun River. The island is 42 miles (68 km) long and from 2 to 12
miles (3 to 19 km) wide.
Reputedly
founded by a holy man, 'Abbad, in the 8th century, Abadan was a
prosperous coastal town in the 'Abbasid period and was known for its salt
and woven mats. But the extension of the delta of the Shatt Al-'Arab by
silt deposition caused the coast of the Persian Gulf to gradually recede
from Abadan. By the time the town was visited by the Arab geographer Ibn
Battutah in the 14th century, it was described as little more
than a large village in a flat, salty plain.
Persia
and the Ottomans long disputed Abadan's possession, but Persia acquired
it in 1847. Its village status remained unchanged until the early 20th
century, when rich oilfields were discovered in Khuzestan. In 1909
the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (its Iranian properties were nationalized
in 1951 as the National Iranian Oil Company) established its pipeline
terminus refinery at Abadan. The refinery began operating in 1913, and by
1956 Abadan had become a city of more than 220,000 inhabitants, with an
economy almost entirely
based on petroleum refining and shipping. The refinery complex was served
by pipelines running from oil fields to the north, and pipelines were
subsequently constructed from Abadan to Tehran and to Shiraz. By the late
1970's the city's oil refinery was perhaps the largest in the world.
In
September 1980, however, Abadan was almost overrun in the course of
Iraq's surprise invasion of Khuzestan. The Iraqis failed to take Abadan,
but their artillery and aerial bombardments destroyed its refineries and
reduced most of the city to rubble. After the Iran-Iraq War ended in
1988, Iran restarted petroleum refining and petrochemical production in
Abadan on a smaller scale using reconstructed plants. The city's port
reopened in 1993. Pop. (1976) 296,081.