The Zohre (Persian language: رودخانه زهره; zohre translates as 'Venus' ) is a river in southwestern Iran. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Rudkhaneye-Fekhlian (Fahlian), and Rude-Tenge-Shu (Tang Shiv), which flow from the southern slopes of the Zagros mountains northwest of the city of Nurabad, Fars to the south-west of Yasuj, in the Fars province. The stream rises at an altitude of approximately 2,450 m, and flows in the east–west direction for .
It flows into the Persian Gulf of the Indian Ocean 25 km southwest of Hendijan, in the southeast of Khuzestan, where it forms the Hendijan Delta.
Tributaries
Tributaries of the Zohreh are Fahlian, and Kheyrabad. The catchment area of the Zohreh is about of these is mountainous. The rest of the catchment consists of plains and mountainous foothills.
Antiquity
In antiquity it was called Arosis (
ancient Greek Ἄροσις,
Latin Arosis, also
Zarotis, Oratis, Oroatis). The river represented the border of the ancient territories of Parsa (Persides), and
Susiana.
[Cole, S. W., & Gasche, H. Documentary and Other Archaeological and Environmental Evidence Bearing on the Identification and Location of the Rivers of Lower Khuzestan and the Position of the Head of the Persian Gulf ca. 1200 BC–200 AD. Akkadica. – 2007. – vol. 128. – p. 36.]
At the mouth of the river, the fleet of Nearchus (360–300 BC), an associate of Alexander the Great, stopped to rest and to take on water for five days to sail along the shores of Susiana.
The town of Alexandria Carmania was founded by Alexander in January 324 BC after his army had reunited with Nearchus and his men who had beached their boats near the mouth of the Minab River, further down along the south coast of Iran in Hormozgan province.
Archaeology
The Zohreh Prehistoric Project is a long-term archaeological study program launched in 2015, and focusing on the Zohreh River plain. The research continues in the area south of the modern city of
Behbahan in Khuzestan province. This area was inhabited at the end of the fifth and beginning of the fourth millennia BC. The principal ancient site being excavated is Tol-e Chega Sofla, also known as Chogha Sofla.
[Moghaddam, A. (2016). A fifth-millennium BC cemetery in the north Persian Gulf: The Zohreh Prehistoric Project. Antiquity, 90(353), E3. ] Chega Sofla represents the late Middle Susiana to Late Susiana periods of Iran. The C14 dates for Chega Sofla are currently 4,700-3,700 BC.
[ Chega Sofla (Ritual Landscape of Chega Sofla) -- unesco.org]
- "Important achievements have been obtained as a result of excavations from 2015 to 2020 by "Zohreh Prehistoric Project (ZPP)" directed by Abbas Moghaddam, which can be identified as a six-thousand-year-old burial tradition with unique tomb architecture, which is the oldest example of using bricks in tombs construction."
[ Chega Sofla (Ritual Landscape of Chega Sofla) -- unesco.org]
To the north, the Behbahan plain, intersected by Marun River, is also a closely associated area.
See also
Literature
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Falcon, N.L. (1947). Raised beaches and terraces of the Iranian Makran coast. Geographical Journal, 109, 149–151.
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Gharibreza, M., Habibi, A., Imamjomeh, S.R., & Ashraf, M.A. (2014). Coastal processes and sedimentary facies in the Zohreh River Delta (Northern Persian Gulf). CATENA, 122, 150–158.
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Jamab, E.C. (1999). Iran integrated water plan, Zohreh River watershed. In W. Research (Ed.) Tehran: Ministry of Energy.
External links
