Bam and its Cultural Landscape*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, v
Reference	1208
Region†	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2004  (28th Session)
Endangered	2004—
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Bam is a city in Kerman Province of Iran. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, Australia and the Pacific ( Australia) A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex These are thirty sites which the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to include on a list of World Heritage Sites in danger; this list also shows the year Kermān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-east of the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The city is the center of Bam County. Bam County (شهرستان بم is a County in Kerman Province in Iran. The modern Iranian city of Bam surrounds the Bam citadel. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Arg-é Bam ( ارگ بم in Persian, " Bam citadel" was the largest Adobe building in the world located in Bam, a city Before the 2003 earthquake the official population count of the city was of around 90,000. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[1] There are various opinions about the date and reasons for the foundation of the citadel. Some people believe that Bam city was founded during the Parthian empire, a very powerful Persian empire, that ruled from 250 BCE to 226 CE. Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Economically and commercially, Bam occupied a very important place in the region and was famed for its textiles and clothes. Ibn Hawqal (943–977), the Arab traveller and geographer, wrote of Bam in his book Surat-ul-`ard (The Earth-figure):

Over there they weave excellent, beautiful and long-lasting cotton cloths which are sent to places all over the world There they also make excellent clothes, each of which costs around 30 dinars; these are sold in Khorasan, Iraq and Egypt. Mohammed Abul-Kassem ibn Hawqal (محمد أبو القاسم بن حوقل born in Nisibis; travelled 943-969 CE was a 10th century Arab writer geographer and Events By Place Europe King Constantin II of Scotland retires and becomes a monk succeeded by his cousin Malcolm I of Scotland Events By Place Europe Saint Æthelwold of Winchester, Bishop of Winchester, rebuilds the western end of the Old Minster The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding A geographer is a Scientist whose area of study is Geography, the study of Earth 's physical environment and Human habitat The Dinar is the name of the official currency in several countries For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

The ancient citadel of Arg-é Bam probably has a history dating back around 2000 years ago, to the Parthian dynasty (248 BC–224 AD), but most buildings were built during the Safavid dynasty. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran The Safavids ( صفوی) were an Iranian ref>Helen Chapin Metz The city was largely abandoned due to an Afghan invasion in 1722. The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed Year 1722 ( MDCCXXII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Subsequently, after the city had gradually been re-settled, it was abandoned a second time due to an attack by invaders from Shiraz. Shiraz ( شیراز Shīrāz) is the fifth most populated city in Iran and the capital of Fars Province. It was also used for a time as an army barracks.

The modern city of Bam was established later than the old citadel. It has gradually developed as an agricultural and industrial centre, and until the 2003 earthquake was experiencing rapid growth. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. In particular, the city is known for its dates and citrus fruit. The Date Palm ( Phoenix dactylifera) is a palm in the genus Phoenix, extensively cultivated for its edible Fruit. Citrus is a common term and Genus of Flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The city also benefited from tourism, with an increasing number of people visiting the ancient citadel in recent years. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel

Etymology of the word Bam

Bam in 2002.

About the origin of the word Bam, there are some links even to the mythical history of Iran, namely according to some sources “Bam” is metamorphosis of the word “Bahman”, which is the name of a king, about whom Ferdowsi (940?–1020?), narrated in his most famous work Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Kai Bahman or - Wahman (and other variants is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian legend and lore Hakīm Abū l-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī ( more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi, (935&ndash1020 was a highly revered Persian Poet. Shāhnāmé, or Shāhnāma ((alternative spellings are Shahnama Shahnameh Shahname Shah-Nama, etc In the poem, Bahman was the son of Esfandiyar who had fought against Rostam, one of the chief heroes in the Shahnameh. Esfandiar (also known as Esfandyar or Asfandyar and in اسفنديار) is a legendary Iranian hero For the historical general who fought at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah for the Sassanid Empire, also mentioned in the Shahnameh, see Rostam Farrokhzād As Ferdowsi epically narrates, Bahman fights against one of the sons of Rostam, who was called Faramarz. For the historical general who fought at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah for the Sassanid Empire, also mentioned in the Shahnameh, see Rostam Farrokhzād A sandstorm hindered Faramarz and Bahman defeated him; as a triumph he built a fortress on the rock hill there, where the Bam Citadel is now situated. It is customary to throw a coin into a "Butch" well whenever uttering the name of the city.

2003 earthquake

Main article: 2003 Bam earthquake

Arg e Bam Before the earthquake. The 2003 Bam earthquake occurred in the Kerman province of southeastern Iran on December 26, 2003.

On December 26, 2003 at 5:26 AM local time(1:56 AM UTC) Bam Citadel — "the biggest adobe structure of the world" — and most of the city of Bam proper were devastated by an earthquake. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Arg-é Bam ( ارگ بم in Persian, " Bam citadel" was the largest Adobe building in the world located in Bam, a city An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer The United States Geological Survey estimated its magnitude as 6. The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. 6 on the Richter scale. The Richter magnitude scale, or more correctly local magnitude M L scale assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released ^[2] The BBC reported that "70% of the modern city of Bam" was destroyed. ^[3] Death toll numbers as high as 80,000 were rumoured on the street and 70,000 reported in the media. However, the total death toll was given as 56,230 on January 17 and the latest estimate from Tehran has halved previous estimates to 26,271 deaths. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Tehran (or Teheran) ( Persian: تهران Tehrān) is the capital and largest City of Iran, and the administrative center of An additional 10,000 – 50,000 were reported injured, however this number is very uncertain; the most reported number is 30,000, which may have originated from an early Reuters account. This article is primarily about Reuters prior to its 2008 merger with Thomson According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, the old Bam Citadel was "levelled to the ground". The Islamic Republic News Agency (خبرگزاری جمهوری اسلامی ایران or IRNA, is the official News agency of the Islamic Republic of

A documentary about this earthquake has been produced titled Bam 6.6. Bam 66 is a documentary about the Bam earthquake of 2003 in Iran produced and directed by Jahangir Golestanparast.

Post 2003 Development

Immediately following the 2003 earthquake the Iranian government began to plan a new city based on modern city planning theories in order to eliminate problems that existed with the old city. The development of the plan took at least six months and resulted in significant complaints against the central government and local government by the Bam earthquake survivors. Nevertheless, government in Tehran continued its plans and currently the city is being rebuilt. Tehran (or Teheran) ( Persian: تهران Tehrān) is the capital and largest City of Iran, and the administrative center of The citadel is also being rebuilt with specialist care from the Ministry of Culture and from Japanese universities.

On 16 March 2007 a 130 km/h sandstorm hit the city of Bam without warning, suffocating 3 children, killing 2 in car accidents, and wounding 14 others. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[4]

References

External links

• Travel magazine story on Bam as a tourist destination
• Newspaper item: "The Lost Beauty that was Bam"
• BBC story: "Bam: Jewel of Iranian heritage"
• Population figures from World-Gazetteer.com
• Digital Silk Roads Project – Citadel of Bam. Photos and movies
• To Bam & back by Asghar Riahi

2003 earthquake

• BBC news report
• CNN news report
• CNN report on rescue efforts
• IRINNews.org "Special on Bam three months on"
• IRINNews.org "Tehran lowers Bam earthquake toll"

Earthquake Reconstruction

• Reconstruction efforts in quake-devastated Bam continue two years on
• Arg-e Bam – The BAM Citadel – Film Documentary:
• Arg e Bam Movie Documentary – The BAM Citadel