The Zohre (
Persian: رودخانه زهره; zohre translates as '
Venus' ) is a river in southwestern
Iran. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Rudkhaneye-Fekhlian, and Rude-Tenge-Shu, which flow from the southern slopes of the
Zagros mountains northwest of the city of
Nurabad, Fars to the south-west of
Yasuj, in the
Fars province. The stream rises at an altitude of approximately 2,450 m, and flows in the east-west direction for 490 km.
Tributaries of the Zohreh River are
Fahlian River, and
Kheyrabad River. The catchment area of the Zohreh is about 17 150 km2; of these 14 100 km2 is mountainous. The rest of the catchment consists of plains and mountainous foothills.[2]
Antiquity
In antiquity it was called Arosis (
ancient Greek Ἄροσις,
LatinArosis, also Zarotis, Oratis, Oroatis). The river represented the border of the ancient territories of
Parsa (Persides), and
Susiana.[3]
At the mouth of the river, the fleet of
Nearchus (360–300 BC), an associate of
Alexander the Great, stopped to rest and to take on water for five days to sail along the shores of Susiana.
The town of
Alexandria Carmania was founded by Alexander in January 324 BC after his army had reunited with Nearchus and his men who had beached their boats near the mouth of the
Minab River, further down along the south coast of Iran in
Hormozgan province.
Archaeology
The Zohreh Prehistoric Project is a long-term archaeological study program launched in 2015, and focusing on the Zohreh River plain. The research continues in the area south of the modern city of
Behbahan in
Khuzestan Province. This area was inhabited at the end of the fifth and beginning of the fourth millennia BC. The principal ancient site being excavated is
Tol-e Chega Sofla, also known as Chogha Sofla.[4]
To the north, the Behbahan plain, intersected by
Marun River, is also a closely associated area.
^Moghaddam, A. (2016). A fifth-millennium BC cemetery in the north Persian Gulf: The Zohreh Prehistoric Project. Antiquity, 90(353), E3.
doi:
10.15184/aqy.2016.166
Falcon, N.L. (1947). Raised beaches and terraces of the Iranian Makran coast. Geographical Journal, 109, 149–151.
Gharibreza, M., Habibi, A., Imamjomeh, S.R., & Ashraf, M.A. (2014). Coastal processes and sedimentary facies in the Zohreh River Delta (Northern Persian Gulf). CATENA, 122, 150–158.
Jamab, E.C. (1999). Iran integrated water plan, Zohreh River watershed. In W. Research (Ed.) Tehran: Ministry of Energy.