Introduction

Ilam is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Iraq. Its center is the city of Ilam.

Covering an area of 19,086 square kilometers, the cities of the province are Ilam, Mehran , Dehloran , Dareh Shahr , Shirvan Va Chardavol , Aivan and Abdanan . It neighbors Khuzestan province in the south, Lurestan province in the east, Kermanshah province in the north and Iraq in the west with 425 kilometers of common border. In 1996 the population of the province was 488,000 of which 53.2% were urban dwellers and 44.6% resided in rural areas and the rest were non-residents.

Ilam province is among the warmer regions of Iran. The mountainous areas of north and north eastern Ilam are relatively cold however. Average annual rainfall in the province is 578 mm. In 1996, absolute maximum temperature was 38°C in August and the minimum temperature recorded was 0.4° C in February. The number of freezing days in winter was 27 days.

History

Limited archaeological studies and discoveries indicate 6,000 years of tribal residence in Ilam. The Kassite tribe immigrated to this region from Caucasia after the Gootis. The Kassis worshipped Souriash or the Goddess of Sun who had Aryan origin. Historical evidence further indicates that Ilam province was part of the ancient Elamite Empire.

In Elamite and Babylonian inscriptions, Ilam is called Alamto or Alam which means "mountains" or "the country of sunrise". It was also part of the Achaemenid Empire. Existence of numerous historical vestiges in Lurestan and Ilam provinces belonging to the Sassanid period indicates the specific importance of the region in that time.

In the late 11th century, Kurdish tribes governed the region till the early 13th century.

In 1930, in the division of the country, Ilam became a part of Kermanshah province, only later to become a province by itself. Ilam is still a tribal province in many ways, but in recent years the tribal relations have changed drastically.

Ilam today

During the Iran-Iraq war, Ilam province took a heavy pounding, and Iraq's intense bombings left no economic infrastructure for the province. Ilam has thus been one of Iran's more undeveloped provinces. Ilam's unemployment rate was 19.9% in 2003.

Only in recent years has the central government began investing in advanced industries like Petrochemical facilities with Japanese help, in Ilam. Ilam also has a bright future in the tourist sector, with 174 historical sites listed under Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, though it also remains undeveloped.

Ilam province contains the following universities:

• 1. Ilam University of Medical Sciences
  2. University of Ilam
  3. Islamic Azad University of Ilam