Masjed Soleyman

Iran / Khuzestan / Masjed-e Soleyman /

Masjed Soleyman (also Masjed Soleiman or M.I.S, Persian: مسجد سلیمان) is a city in the Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. The first modern oil wells of the Middle East were discovered and drilled in this area. It is mostly populated by the Bakhtiari people with estimated population of 127,634 in 2005.

The name of the city is assumed to have its origins from a belief of local inhabitants calling the ruins of an Achaemenid palace as the Masjed-e-Soleiman, which means "Mosque of Solomon."

Basically, the very primary settlement of the city formed about 100 years ago as a cause of petroleum industry development in Middle East when the first negotiations on the establishment of Anglo-Bakhtiari Oil Company was in progress between William Knox D'Arcy representatives and Bakhtiari Tribe leaders(Khans).
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   31°57'10"N   49°16'44"E
This article was last modified 17 years ago