Battle of Khorramshahr

The Battle of Khorramshahr (Persian:نبرد خرمشهر) was a major engagement between Iraq and Iran in the Iran–Iraq War. The battle took place from September 22 to November 10, 1980. Known for its brutality and violent conditions, the city came to be known by the Iranians as Khuninshahr, meaning City of Blood in Persian language. Mohammad Jahanara, the commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, was the main general who defended the city against Iraqi invasion for about a month with his forces and Iranian Navy Commandos (Takavaran).

Prelude

Prior to the war, the city of Khorramshahr had a population of about 220,000 and had grown extensively and was home to some of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Iran. The population was predominantly wealthy and upper class.

Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, elements of Arab anti-government groups began plotting in the Khuzestan province in an effort to join Iraq. Between October and September 1980, the city saw several incidents of bombings and terrorism amongst the population. This period also saw frequent border violations between Iran and Iraq. In fact, these violations and episodes of violence became so frequent, some locals believed the first days of the war were the result of worsening clashes.

Khorramshahr

Khorramshahr (Persian: خرمشهر‎‎ [xoræmˈʃæhɾ], Arabic: المحمرة, also Romanized as Khorramchahre and Khurramshahr; formerly known as Mohammerah and also known as Khorram Shahr Ābādān and Khūnīn Shahr; formerly, Al-khoramshahr, khunin shahr, and khoramshahr) is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.

Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Abadan. The city extends to the right bank of the Arvand Rud waterway near its confluence with the Haffar arm of the Karun river. The city was a ghost town in the 1986 census, because of the Iran-Iraq War but now it is a fairly big city again, as it was before the war.

History

In ancient times, the area where the city exists today was under the waters of the Persian Gulf, before becoming a part of the vast marshlands and the tidal flats at the mouth of the Karun River. The small town known as Piyan, and later Bayan appeared in the area no sooner than the late Parthian time in the 1st. Century AD. Whether or not this was located at the where Khurramshahr is today, is highly debatable.