Bushehr (būshĕr') or Bushire (-shĭr'), city (1991 pop. 132,824), SW Iran, on the Persian Gulf. It is one of the chief ports of Iran, handling about 75% of Iran's foreign trade, and is the terminus of a trade route from Shiraz, Esfahan, and Tehran. An oil center for the region, Bushehr has a thermoelectric power plant and a fishing industry. Carpets, agricultural products, cotton, and wool are exported. Bushehr was founded in 1736 by Nadir Shah. It was used by the British as a base for their Persian Gulf fleet in the 18th cent. and became a major commercial port in the 19th cent. It suffered heavy damage during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Bushehr
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| Bushehr بوشهر |
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  Bushehr
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| Coordinates: 28°59′N 50°49′E / 28.983°N 50.817°E | |||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 165,377 | ||
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) | ||
| Website | www.bushehrcity.ir | ||
Bushehr (Persian:بوشهر /Būšehr/), pop. 165,377 (in 2005 [1]), is a city on the southwestern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of Bushehr province. Its location is 28° 59' N, 50° 49' E, about 1,281 kilometres (796 mi) south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.
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History
To the south of the present city, at Reesheer/Reeshehr, are the remains of an earlier Elamite (c 3000 BCE) settlement.
In the 5th century CE, Bushehr was the seat of the Nestorian Christian expansion into southern Iran.
Modern Bushehr was founded in 1736 by Nadir Shah.
In 1737 the Dutch East India Company opened a trading post in Bushehr, which lasted until 1753.
In 1763 the Persian ruler Karim Khan 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 December 9, 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.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bushire. |
Nuclear development
Main article: Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
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 February 1985 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.
Colleges and Universities
- Persian Gulf University
- Bushehr University of Medical Sciences
- Islamic Azad University of Bushehr
- Iran Nuclear Energy College
Postage stamps
See : Postage stamps of Bushire under British occupation
References
- ^ "Cities in Iran: 2005 Population Estimates". Mongabay.com. http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/Iran.html. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
External links
Coordinates: 28°59′N 50°49′E / 28.983°N 50.817°E
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