'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III.' [‎83r] (170/982)

BEHA HASANI— Lat. Long. Elev.
A village in the Liravi district of Ears, containing 25 houses of Lurs..
There is a tower here. The crops are wheat and barley, and animals are 50
donkeys, 30 cattle, 700 sheep and goats, and 10 horses .—{ Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Gazetteer, •
BEHBEHAN Province—
A province geographically belonging to Ears, but having an administration
and a governor of its own. It is bounded on the north by the mountains
which separate ’Iraq-i-’AjamI fromthe southern provinces of Persia ; east
by Shulistan ; south by the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; west by ’Arabistan. The soil, par
ticularly in the plain, is a rich alluvial deposit, yielding in the neighbour
hood of the town a return of twenty-four fold of corn. Near the Gulf,
cotton and rice are the staple productions. Among the fruit-trees are the
lemon, orange, pomegranate, and plum ; of these the last takes precedence.
The whole district is watered by numerous streams, the principal being the
ShamsI, ’Arab, Khanabad, and Marun. The climate is so mild, that in
January the meadows in the vicinity of the town are covered with narcissus,
appearing spread out like a white sheet several miles in circumference, and
diffusing the most delicious fragrance. Mules are bred in the districts
In it is included the plain of Behbehan, situated about 7 miles from the
northern mountains and 18 miles from the Zaidan hills. It is from 21 to
25 miles in length. The plain is very fertile with a rich alluvial deposit,,
well suited for general cultivation and watered at its western extremity by
the Marun river. Wild cabbage is the ordinary weed of the plain, which
also contains the capital of the province, Behbehan town, {q-v). All the
communications of the district centre at Behbehan town, which is also the
seat of the administration of the province—wefethis Gazetteer, Behbehan
town. The inhabitants of the province are mostly of the Kuhgalu and
Mamassani tribes, both of which are described separately in this Gazetteer.
There is also an admixture of other tribes, immigrants from other districts
and unclassified people, a mixture of Persian and Arab blood, who are
generally known collectively as Behbehanls. The Liravi and Zaidan dis
tricts belonging to Behbehan .—{Jones ; Layard ; Monteith ; Stocqueler ;
Ross ; Hopkins, 1903 ; Gabriel , 1905.)
BEHBEHAN Town— Lat. 39 q 33'N. Long. 50°28 / E. Elev. 1,300'.
A town in Ears and the capital of the administrative division of the same
name. It is situated 128 miles west-north-west of Shiraz and 43 miles
north-north-east of Bandar Dilam, in an extensive plain watered by the
Kurdistan or Marun river, from the banks of which it lies 3 milesj
south.
The town is some 3| miles in circumference, and is surrounded by a mud
wall flanked with circular towers and
Town - ' bastions. The south-east corner is
occupied by a castle called Kaleh Naranj. It is a place of no great strength,
but has thick and lofty mud walls surrounded by a ditch. Its interior is
small and confined and not capable of containing any number of troops.
It is defended by 5 or 6 rusty cannons and might succesfully resist the
attack of undisciplined troops. None of these defences are mentioned by
U 2.