'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎388v] (781/1278)

382
GUR—GUR
GGR— Lat. 28° 51' N. ; Long 52° 33' E. ; Elev.
The ancient name of Firuzabad (q.v.) also Ardashir Khuirih. It was one
of the principal town of the Sassanians. Istakhri speaks of it as follows :
“ Gur is one of the foundations of Ardashir—hence the name Gur, or
4 foundations. ’ It is reported that the place where it stands was filled with
stagnant water and resembled a lake, and that Ardashir made a vow to
build a town on the spot where he should conquer his enemies, and to con
struct on it a fire temple, and he was victorious at Gur. He contrived
to remove the water of the place by making an opening for the water to
flow away ; and he built on that spot ‘ Gur.’ ” (For further descriptions
see Durand.)
In short the town would seem to have been built by Ardashir Babakan,
the founder of the Sassanian dynasty, on the site of an older town, Gur,
and he then changed the name to Ardashir Khuvrih, or “ the glory of
Ardashir. ” In the 10th century it was taken Iby Azad-ud-Daulat, who
was of the Dilamite dynasty, which held the mastery in Fars in the 10th
and part of the 11th centuries. The name then became Firuzabad at the
dictates of its new master.— {Durand.)
GURAB— Lat. Long. Elev. ( Pass, 8,650'.
1 Valley, 6,000'.
A pass and elevated valley in the Bakhtiari country almost due west of
Ardal and on the direct road between that place and Shushtar. The pass
(8,650 feet) is one south of the Chari pass, and connects the valley of the
Bazuft on the west with the valley of its own name on the east. The latter
is perfectly flat, about 4 miles wide by 10 miles long, flanked by the Kuh-
i-Isbanieh on the north, and has an elevation of 6,800 feet. A small
stream, the Dinar Rud, flows through it with a south-easterly course, and
later falls into the Karun river at 5,300 feet, just before that river enters
the Tang-i-Ardal.— {Sawyer, 1890 — Arbuihnot, 1905.)
GURAB, TANG-I—
A pass in Pusht-i-Kuh on the road between Deh Bala and Cham Abadi.
At the south-west end of the tang is the Gardan-i-Malik-Tetan. The hills
here are coevred with small ballut. — {Ranking, 1909.)
GURAFSHAT or GUDAR-I-KHUT— Lat. Long. Elev.
A village in the Pish-Kuh sub-division of Yazd, lying in the mountains.—
{MacGregor.)
GURAK— Lat. 28° 56' N. ; Long. 51° 5' E. ; Elev. 139'.
A village in the Tangistan district of Fars, two miles south of ’Ali Changi
on the road between Bushire and Ahram, of which it is the inter
mediate stage. It contains 50 houses mostly of Shi’ah Saiyids. They are
supposed to be of the line of ’Abbas, but their pedigree is doubtful, conse
quently they are treated with little respect by their neighbours. Their
claim to wear black turbans has, however, recently been admitted by the
Sadr-ul-Islam of Bushire. They are renowned as cheats and swindlers. The
dwellings are partly mud and stcne and partly mat huts, and are clustered
round a masonry building witi an vpper storey. Wheat, barley and dates
are grown. The date-palm numlei about 3,000. Live-stock comprises