57 kilometers from Zabol in Sistan and Baluchistan Province there is an ancient city known as Shahr-e Sukhte (Shahr-e Sukhteh, Shahr-I Sokhta) or Burned City that gave new insight to the life of people in Bronze Age. We are talking about the time that human became civilized enough no to bury dead bodies under the houses. Over 5 thousand years ago, the bank of the vast river of Helmand became the dwelling place of a group of people from Chalcolithic age. Being near a great body of water made the place a very fertile and green land with lush pastures and pleasant whether that was ideal for agriculture and animal husbandry. As the time passed, the small village became a city that in its zenith inhabited 5 to 8 thousand people. The magnitude of the city, its population, and the finds of archeological excavations displays that the life in Bronze Age was far more advanced than what we expected.

For the first time Sir Aurel Stein, the Hungarian-British archeologist known for his excavations in Central Asia, introduced this place as an archeological site, but the real excavation began 40 years later, in 1960, by an Italian Mission that worked on the Burned City. The city is one of the few Iranian historical sites that is presented in the Archeological Societies all around the world since it gives a lot of information about the life, religion, tradition and occupations of people in Bronze Age.

The magnitude of the city, its population, and the finds of archeological excavations displays that the life in Bronze Age was far more advanced than what we expected.

The city is scattered over an area of 150 hectares and is divided to 4 main sections. First, there is the broad central area that is 20 hectares, followed by the residential area with 16 hectares, and then the artisan area of the northeast, and at last the cemetery on the southwest. There is no trace of a building similar to a temple but there is a massive construct that was probably used as a public place and might have had religious use.

The architectural style of the city is best witnessed in the houses that are 90 to 160 m². The houses have 6 to 10 rooms built around a central yard; the houses lack any food storage that shows that the government did the process of saving crops for the colder months of year. The houses are built with bricks that are 12_*20_*40 cm and filled with mud, wood and mat.

The excavations on burial grounds of the city led to the finding of 310 graves. What the archeologists got from the grave shocked the world. In one of them the body of a woman with a glass eye was found, the woman is about 25-30 years old and biracial. Although the substance that the eye was made from is unknown, its decoration is magnificent. The capillaries are made from gold and the pupil is drawn in the center surrounded by diamond like shapes. A brainteaser game was derived from another grave that is similar to Backgammon; it consists of a board and about 60 beads. The most prominent of the findings of the city was from the grave of a 13-year-old girl that had the traces of a brain surgery on his skull. The girl suffered from Hydrocephalus and the physician of this ancient city successfully operated on her and save her life, she was alive 6-9 months after the surgery but died due to unknown reasons. Beside the mentioned items, the biggest collection of fabrics of prehistoric time and the oldest inlay work of Iran was retrieved from the graves.

The variety of burial traditions proves that people followed different traditions and the style of the city shows that it was one of the major trading centers of the world.

The variety of burial traditions proves that people followed different traditions and the style of the city shows that it was one of the major trading centers of the world. Numerous workshops were producing products used in barter transactions. The most common of these jobs are masonry, pottery, Mat weaving, Knitting, Sculpturing, Jewelry making, Hunting, Agriculture, and trading. Archeologists believe that one of the main reasons behind the city’s destruction was a fire that burned great parts of it. In UNESCO’s 38th session of committee held on July 22, 2014 The Burned City of Sistan was registered as a World Heritage.

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Darius the Great (reign: 522-486 B.C.) has referred to the Baluchestan region in the Behistun and Persepolis Inscriptions as “Mecca”. According to the mythological history of Iran, Sistan was the birthplace of Rostam, a character in the epic masterpiece of Shahnameh written by Ferdowsi. Rostam was the ruler of Sistan that encompassed Zabulistan, Bast, Ghazni, and Kabulistan regions. The natives called this area “Zarnak”, while after the invasion of the Scythians, the name was replaced by Sakestaneh or Sajestan meaning the Land of Scythians.

Ardeshir Babakan, the founder of the Sassanid Dynasty (224-651 A.D.), conquered the Sakestaneh region, and later in the aftermath of the conquests of Muslims, Yazdegerd III (reign: 632-651) escaped to Sistan after his defeat in Kerman city. Importantly, Sistan became a part of the territory of the Samanid (819-999), Ghaznavid (977-1186), and Seljuk (1037-1194) Dynasties. When the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736) came to the throne, Shah Ismail I seized Sistan.

After the death of Nader Shah (reign: 1736-1747) during the Afsharid Dynasty (1736-1796), a disagreement between Afghanistan and Iran over Sistan in 1835 led to the intervention of Britain and the establishment of a new border between the two countries.

Baluchestan was attacked several times since the advent of Islam in 651 through the Qajar Dynasty (1796-1925). For example, following the attack of Seljuk to Kerman, the Baluch people apparently migrated from Kerman to Makran district. In the Qajar period during which Baluchestan was totally inside the borders of Iran, this area came out of the authority of Khanate of Kalat (Baluchestan province in current Pakistan). In 1835, the Kalat border with Baluchestan of Iran was determined and a part of Baluchestan attached to Pakistan.

Of the historical attractions of the province include the remains of the early civilizations in Dahan-e Gholaman, Mount Khajeh, and other ancient hills distributed in the area. Furthermore, the natural attractions of the region include wetlands, deserts, Martian mountains, Taftan Summit (the only semi-active volcano in Iran), mud bubbles, Oman Sea coasts, rivers, and protected areas of Bahu Kalat as the habitat of the short muzzle crocodile (Gando). Chabahar Free Trade Zone, Hara jungles, pink lake, and Machi windmill are among other attractions of this province.

Meanwhile, the Lut Desert and Shahr-e Sukhteh (burnt city) have been registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The province’s handicrafts include different kinds of traditional jewels, musical instruments, Lenj (a form of a traditional boat), saddlebags, mat weaving, embroidery, coin, and mirror sewing, Balochi needlecraft, wall hangings, pottery (Village of Kalporagan), and curtain.

The most common souvenirs in the province are different kinds of tropical fruits like date, mango, bananas, papaya, olive, Indian white shrimp, lobster, and various fish. Local cuisine also includes Tanoorcheh kebab, yellow curd, Pekore, Shilanj, Kahli, Halkary bread, Qalifi, Zaboli curd, and Baluchi stews.

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