Bushire

History

To the south of the present city, at Reeshire, are the remains of an earlier Elamite (c 3000 BCE) settlement. During the Greek Macedonian Seleucid dynasty the city was refounded as Antiochia in Persis (Αντιόχεια της Περσίδος) by Seleucus Nicator. A few decades later the city was rebuilt by Seleucus's son Antiochus who transferred there colonists from Magnesia. Also the Seleucid king Antiochus stayed there for a while in 205 B.C. after his campaign to the eastern provinces (212 -205 B.C.). Antiochia remained under Greek Seleucid rule until circa 170 B.C. It was one of the most important ports of the Sasanian navy and was named after the first king of this dynasty, Ardashir I.

In the 5th century AD, Bushehr was the seat of the Nestorian Christian expansion into southern Iran.

In 1737 the Dutch East India Company opened a trading post in Bushehr, which lasted until 1753.

In 1763 the Arab ruler of Bushehr Sheikh Nasr Al-Madhkur granted the British East India Company the right to build a base and trading post there. It was used as a base by the British Royal Navy in the late 18th century. In the 19th century, Bushehr became an important commercial port. It was occupied by British forces in 1856, during the Anglo-Persian War 1856-1857. Bushehr surrendered to the British on 9 December 1856.

It was occupied by the British again in 1915, the second time due to German intrigue, most notably by Wilhelm Wassmuss.

Industries include fishing and a thermoelectric power plant, while the inland area (also called Bushehr) produces Shiraz wine, metalwork, rugs and other textiles, cement, and fertilizer. The Iranian navy maintains a base here.

Situation and significance

The strategic location of the city of Bushehr has been the main reason for the establishment of the port of Bushehr. During the 1st and 2nd Millennium BCE, the Peninsula of Bushehr was a thriving and flourishing seat of civilization called "Rey Shahr". Many relics have been found in this regard related to the Elamite era and the civilization of Shoush (Susa). These structures of "Rey Shahr" are said to be related to Ardeshir of Sassanid dynasty and "Rey Shahr" was formerly known by the name of Ram Ardeshir. Thereby through the passage of time came to be called Rey Shahr and thence Bushehr.

The Persian Gulf and consequently the province of Bushehr enjoys a remarkable situation with trade in addition to its remarkable situation regarding military affairs. For these reasons the Europeans were interested to take control of the region and the city of Bushehr. The Portuguese, invaded the city of Bushehr in 1506 CE and attempted to take the place of the Egyptian and the Venetian traders who were dominant in the region.

In 1734 Nader Shah of Afsharid dynasty chose it as the site for an Iranian naval base. During the Zand era, the region was a place for political challenges between different political groups. When the Qajar dynasty replaced the Zand dynasty, they gain less control on the region of the Persian Gulf, so the British influence in the region increased gradually.

At the end of the 18th century, the British and Dutch transferred their regional commercial offices to Bushehr, and during the 19th century the town was prominent as the home of the British political agent for the Persian Gulf. The Consulate General of British governed Bushehr for 20 years. This situation had lasted till 1913, and during the long battle between the Iranian and the British troops, the Iranians lost in 1857 and the British influence expanded to include all the Persian Gulf coast. But in 1913 the Iranians won the long battle. Britain moved its diplomatic and commercial center across the Persian Gulf to Bahrein in 1946. The city was economically depressed until the 1960s when the government initiated a major development program. In 1975 the government began building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr. This facility was only partially completed when it was bombed by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). When Germany, the initial backer of the plant, declined to complete it after the war, Iran tried to secure aid from other countries. In 1995, however, Russia signed an agreement to finish the plant.

Bushehr is one of the important ports in Persian Gulf which has an international airport, and highways connect the city to Ahvaz to the northwest and Shiraz to the northeast. A secondary coastal road links Bushehr to Bandar-e Abbas to the southeast. The old section of central Bushehr has many examples of traditional Persian Gulf architecture from the period 1870 to 1920.

Bushehr is an export market for the farm produce of the neighboring and fertile Fars Province. Bushehr's industries include seafood canneries, food-processing plants, and engineering firms. It has a population of 205,320 (2001 estimate).

Sports

Bushehr's two major Football teams are Shahin, and Iranjavan. Both teams play in the Azadegan League. Shahin was relegated to the Azadegan League in 2013 after a disappointing season.

Bushehr has a few Dragonboat teams. Their junior team Sokkan I.R. Iran participated in the 2014 Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy. They performed exceedingly well, placing third in both 200 meter and 500 meter in Junior A Open. While they were one on the smallest teams at the championships, they were victorious because of their great focus, teamwork, and dedication to the sport. This team also has a very optimistic and confident mindset going into every race, and has excellent sportsmanship towards all teams both faster, and slower than themselves.

Climate

Bushehr, being located on the hot Persian Gulf, has a desert climate (Köppen BWh) though it does receive far more rainfall than most cities on the Gulf. This rain, however, is confined to the period from November to February, when temperatures are pleasantly mild, and is extremely erratic, with some years having as little as 65 millimetres (2.6 in) and others such as 1957/1958 and 1997/1998 as much as 700 millimetres (28 in).

Nuclear development

Bushehr is twelve kilometres from the site of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant being built in cooperation with Russia. The work was begun by the Bonn firm Kraftwerk-Union A.G., a unit of Siemens AG, which contracted to build two nuclear reactors based on a contract worth $4 to $6 billion, signed in 1975.

Work stopped in January 1979, and Kraftwerk-Union fully withdrew from the project in July 1979, with one reactor 50% complete, and the other reactor 85% complete. They said they based their action on Iran's non-payment of $450 million in overdue payments. The company had received $2.5 billion of the total contract. Their cancellation came following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Iran subsequently requested that Siemens finish construction, but Siemens declined. Shortly afterwards Iraq invaded Iran and the nuclear programme was stopped until the end of the war. The reactors were damaged by multiple Iraqi air strikes between March 1984 and 1988.

In 1995, Russia signed a contract to supply a light water reactor for the plant (the contract is believed to be valued between $700 million and $1.2 billion USD). The agreement calls for the spent fuel rods to be sent back to Russia for reprocessing. It has been reported that Russia has ordered Iran's first nuclear power station to be started up in March 2010 to coincide with the Iranian New Year. One of the unidentified sources said that testing at the plant was going well.

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