The earliest mention of the island of Abadan, if not the port itself, is found in the works of the Greek geographerMarcian, who renders the name "Apphadana".[6] Earlier, the classical geographerPtolemy notes "Apphana" as an island off the mouth of theTigris (which is where the modern Island of Abadan is located). Anetymology for this name is presented by B. Farahvashi to be derived from thePersian word "ab" (water) and the root "pā" (guard, watch) thus "coastguard station").[7]
In Islamic times, a pseudo-etymology was produced by the historianAhmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri (d. 892), quoting a folk story that the town was presumably founded by one "Abbad bin Hosayn" from the Arabian Tribe ofBanu Tamim, who established a garrison there during the governorship ofHajjaj in theUmmayad period.[7]
In the subsequent centuries, the Persian version of the name had begun to come into general use before it was adopted by official decree in 1935.[7]
Abadan is thought to have been further developed into a major port city under theAbbasids' rule. The city was then a commercial source of salt and wovenmats.[5] Thesiltation of the river delta forced the town further away from water; In the 14th century, however,Ibn Battutah described Abadan just as a small port in a flat salty plain.[8] Politically, Abadan was often the subject of dispute between the nearby states. In 1847, Persia acquired it from theOttoman Empire[9] in which state Abadan has remained since. From the 17th century onward, the island of Abadan was part of the lands of theArabKa'ab (Bani Kaab) tribe. One section of the tribe,Mohaysen, had its headquarters atMohammara (nowKhorramshahr), until the removal of ShaikhKhaz'al Khan in 1924.[10]
It was not until the 20th century that rich oil fields were discovered in the area. On 16 July 1909, after secret negotiation with theBritish consul,Percy Cox, assisted byArnold Wilson, andSheik Khaz'al agreed to a rental agreement for the island, including Abadan.[11][12][13][nb 1] The Sheik continued to administer the island until 1924.[14] TheAnglo-Persian Oil Company built their first pipeline terminusoil refinery in Abadan, starting in 1909 and completing it in 1912, with oil flowing by August 1912 (seeAbadan Refinery).[15][16] Refinery throughput numbers rose from 33,000 tons in 1912–1913 to 4,338,000 tons in 1931.[14] By 1938, it was the largest in the world.
DuringWorld War II, Abadan was the site of brief combat between Iranian forces and British and Indian troops during theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.Alanbrooke wrote in August 1942 that everything depends on the oil from Abadan, as "if we lost [Persian oil] it could not be made good from America because of the shortage of tankers ... we inevitably lost Egypt, command of the Indian Ocean, and endangered the whole India Burma situation".[17] Later, Abadan was a major logistics centre forLend-Lease aircraft being sent to theSoviet Union by theUnited States.[18][19]
In 1951, Iran nationalised all oil properties and refining ground to a stop on the island. Rioting broke out in Abadan, after the government had decided to nationalise the oil facilities, and three British workers were killed.[20] It was not until 1954, after the British-American led coup they overthrew the democratically elected government, that a settlement was reached, which allowed a consortium of international oil companies to manage the production and refining on the island.[21] That continued until 1973, when theNIOC took over all facilities.[15] After the total nationalisation, Iran focused on supplying oil domestically and built a pipeline from Abadan toTehran.[15]
Abadan was not a major cultural or religious centre, but it played an important role in theIslamic Revolution. On 19 August 1978, the anniversary of the US-backedcoup d'état that had overthrown the nationalist and popular Iranian prime minister,Mohammed Mossadegh, the Cinema Rex, a movie theatre in Abadan, was set ablaze. TheCinema Rex Fire caused 430 deaths,[22][nb 2] but more importantly, it was another event that kept the Islamic Revolution moving ahead. At the time, there was much confusion and misinformation about the perpetrators of the incident. The public largely put the blame on the local police chief and also the Shah andSAVAK.[23][24][25][26] The reformistSobh-e Emrooz newspaper in one of its editorials revealed that the Cinema Rex was burned down by radical Islamists. The newspaper was shut down immediately afterwards. Over time, the true culprits, radical Islamists, were apprehended, and the logic behind this act was revealed, as they were trying both to foment the general public to distrust the government even more, and perceived cinema as a link to the Americans.[24][27] The fire was one of four during a short period in August, with other fires inMashhad,Rizaiya, andShiraz.[22] In September 1980, Abadan was almost overrun during a surprise attack on Khuzestan by Iraq, marking the beginning of theIran–Iraq War. For 11 months, Abadan was besieged and faced Iraqi artillery and aerial bombardments, but was never captured, by Iraqi forces, and in September 1981, the Iranians broke thesiege of Abadan.[28] Much of the city, including the oil refinery, which was the world's largest refinery with a capacity of 628,000 barrels per day, was badly damaged or destroyed by the siege and by bombing.[29] Prior to the war, the city's civilian population was about 300,000, but at the war's end nearly the entire populace had sought refuge elsewhere in Iran.
After the war, the biggest concern was the rebuilding of Abadan's oil refinery, as it was operating at 10% of capacity due to damage.[30] In 1993, the refinery began limited operation and the port reopened. By 1997, the refinery reached the same rate of production as before the war. Recently, Abadan has been the site of major labour activity as workers at the oil refineries in the city have staged walkouts and strikes to protest non-payment of wages and the political situation in the country.[31]
To honor the 100th anniversary of the refining of oil in Abadan, city officials are planning an oil museum.[32] The Abadan oil refinery was featured on the reverse side of Iran's 100-rial banknotes printed in 1965 and from 1971 to 1973. Abadan today has been declared as a free zone city.[33]
The civilian population of the city almost disappeared during the eight years of theIran–Iraq War (1980–1988). The 1986 census recorded only 6 people. In 1991, 84,774 people had returned to live in the city.[9] By 2001, the population had jumped to 206,073; the 2006 census put it at 217,988 people in 48,061 households.[36] The following census in 2011 counted 212,744 people in 55,318 households.[37] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 231,476 people in 66,470 households.[3]Abadan Refinery is one of the largest in the world.
Only 9% of managers (of the oil company) were from Khuzestan. The proportion of natives ofTehran, theCaspian,Azerbaijan, andKurdistan rose from 4% ofblue collar workers to 22% ofwhite collar workers from Esfhan and shiraz to 45% of managers, thusArabic-speakers were concentrated on the lower rungs 4% of the work force. In general, Abadan is a city with a majority of the Persian population over 60% who have been influenced by Arabic culture, and the rest of the Azeri population is Kurds and... the native Arabic population is 4%-5% managers tended to be brought in from some distance.[38] There is also a single Armenian church in the centre of the city,Saint Garapet church.
The climate in Abadan isarid (Köppen climate classificationBWh) and similar toBaghdad's, but slightly hotter due to Abadan's lower latitude. Summers are dry and extremely hot, with temperatures above 45 °C (113 °F) almost daily and temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F) can be almost common. Abadan is notably one of the few hottest populated places on earth and experiences a few sand and dust storms per year. Winters are mildly wet and spring-like, though subject to cold spells with night frost. However, winters in Abadan have no snow (the only recorded snowfall in Abadan was in November of 1007). Winter temperatures are around 16–20 °C (61–68 °F). Theworld's highest unconfirmed temperature was a temperature flare up during aheat burst in June 1967, with a temperature of 86.7 °C (188.1 °F).[40] The lowest recorded temperature in the city range is −4 °C (25 °F). which was recorded on 20 January 1964 and 3 February 1967 while the highest is 53.0 °C (127.4 °F), recorded on 11 July 1951, 9 August 1981 and 5 August 2022.[41][42]
Climate data for Abadan (1991–2020, records 1951–present)
The Abadan Institute of Technology was established in Abadan in 1939.[14] The school specialized in engineering and petroleumchemistry, and was designed to train staff for the refinery in town. The school's name has since changed several times, but since 1989 has been considered a branch campus of thePetroleum University of Technology, centred inTehran.Abadan University of Medical Sciences, It was founded by Ministry of Health and Medical Education in September 1941 as a Nursing Faculty and in 2012 it became an independent faculty of medical school. Program study of this school is similar to curriculum that applies most Iranian medical faculties.
Abadan was chosen for constructing a refinery because of its strategic position and proximity to other resources. TheAbadan Refinery construction project started in 1909 and its operation began in 1962 by a production capacity of 2500 barrels per day.
There is an internationalairport in Abadan. It is represented by theIATA airport code ABD.[52]There is a large amount of external investment fromEast Asian countries that are building oil refineries and developing a lot of real estate.
Today, Abadan is known for its lively fish market where locals buy fresh catch of the day used in the many delicious seafood dishes of the city. Abadan is also part of theArvand Free Zone, a 155 square kilometer industrial and security zone.[53]
The nearest railway station is inKhorramshahr, about 10 km north of Abadan. Daytime trains fromAhvaz as well as overnight trains from Tehran and Mashhad are available.
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