Sistan and Baluchestan (Persian: Sistān wa Baluĉestān) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan.
The province is the largest in Iran, with an area of 181,785 km² and a population of 2.4 million. The counties of the province are Chabahar, Dalgan, Hirmand, Iranshahr, Khash, Konarak, Nikshahr, Saravan, Sarbaz, Soran, Zabol, Zaboli, Zahedan and Zehak.
The population comprises Sunni Muslim Baluchis and Shi'a Persian Sistanis.
Geography and culture
The province comprises two sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The combined Sistan & Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are the 120-day wind of Sistan known as Levar, the Qousse wind, the seventh (Gav-kosh) wind, the Nambi or south wind, the Hooshak wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or (Gurich) wind and the western (Gard) wind.
In the south, east and west of Sistān and Balūchestān, the people are mostly Balōch and speak the Baluchi language. The name Balūchestān means "Land of the Balōchi" in Persian language. Similarly, the Persian language name Sistān comes from the Old Persian Sakastāna, meaning "Land of the Sakas".
Many scholars, orators, and literary personalities have sprung up from this part of Iran, amongst which are the reputed Farrokhi sistani, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar and Rostam. Ayatollah Sistani is also from Sistān; though he currently resides in Najaf, Iraq.
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