Behbahān

Behbahan lies on a plain between the Zagros foothills and the lowlands of Khuzestan. Nearby are the remains of Arrajan, a medieval city on the frontier of Fars and Khuzestan. A bridge and barrage crossed the river beside it, while qanats carried stored water to the surrounding plain. The city stood on routes between Shiraz, Iraq and the ports of the Persian Gulf.

Arrajan was the centre of a province whose merchants traded through the ports of Jannaba, Siniz and Mahruban. Goods moved between the Iranian interior, Iraq and the Indian Ocean. The city declined after the medieval period, while Behbahan grew nearby. Its setting preserved the advantage of the old district: access to both the mountain roads and the warmer lowlands beyond them.