The original name of the city was Duzzap (Persian: Duzdab, meaning "Water Stolen"), which it had received due to the abrupt floods into the valley. The name was later changed to Zahedan (Persian for "hermits") during Reza Shah's visit in 1929.[7]
Mention of Zahedan first appears in sources in August 1849. However, the city first truly started to grow during the early 20th-century.[8] During World War I it became the westernmost terminal of the Zahedan railway station, which reached as far as Quetta in the northern part of what was then British Baluchistan.[9]
The city was the site of a deadly crackdown in October 2022, with dozens citizens killed by pro-governmental forces.[10] Over 90 people were killed.[11] Two senior police officials were fired in the aftermath of the crackdown.[11] On 28 October, there were protests in Zahedan and security forces fired on protestors, killing 98 and injuring 14.[11]
On 3 November 2022, the Shi'i cleric and Khamenei loyalist Sajjad Shahraki was assassinated in Zahedan.[12][13] The next day, there were widespread protests in the city; Revolutionary Guards and other armed forces fired on protestors.[12]
Demographics
Population
While the surrounding area boasts numerous ancient sites, Zahedan itself primarily developed in the 20th century. It transitioned from a small village to the provincial administrative center in the 1930s. Its population reached 17,500 by 1956 and increased more than fivefold to 93,000 by 1976. After 1980, large numbers of refugees fleeing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan helped triple the population of Zahedan to more than 281,000 by 1986, a number which has since doubled again.[citation needed]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 552,706 in 109,488 households.[14] The following census in 2011 counted 560,725 people in 134,088 households.[15] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 587,730 people in 146,717 households.[3]
Zahedan is connected by rail to nearby Pakistan and is near to Afghanistan. It is about 41 km (25 mi) south of the tripoint of the three countries and at an altitude of 1,352 m (4,436 ft) above sea level and 1,605 km (997 mi) from the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Zahedan experiences very hot summers, there are 84.7 days per year with maximum temperature above 35 °C (95 °F), of which 7 days have a daily maximum above 40 °C (104 °F).. Winters are quite cold with minimum temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) for 43.7 days annually. Zahedan also experiences 81.3 days a year with haze.[16]
Climate data for Zahedan (1991–2020, extremes 1961-present)
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Zahedan is the main economic center of the region and home to many small- and medium-scale industries. Its main products include cotton textiles, woven and hand-knotted rugs, ceramics, processed foods, livestock feed, processed hides, milled rice, brick, reed mats and baskets.
In July 2016, India began shipping US$150 million of tracks to Chabahar[22] to build the US$1.6 billion line, for which India pledged additional US$400 million and Iran has also allocated US$125 million in December 2016, thus taking the total allocation to US$575 million (out of US$1.6 billion needed) by the end of 2016.[23]
In April 2008 the 70 billion IRR (about 2.5 million USD) Zahedan Stadium was built with a seating capacity of 15,000 people. It was inaugurated on 18 April 2008 with a friendly football game between Honarmandan (Artists) and a local team.
^Also romanized as Zâhedân and Zaahedaan; also known as Zâhedâne Yek and Zāhidān; formerly known as Dowzdâb (دوزداب), Dozdâb (دزداب), or Dozdâp (دزداپ),[4] and renamed Zâhedân by Reza Shah Pahlavi during the late 1920s[5]
^Zahedan can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3088799" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^Skrine, Clarmont (1962). World War in Iran. Constable & Company, Ltd. p. 68.
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