Bandar Siraf
Bandar Siraf (Persian: بندر سیراف), also Romanized as Bandar-e Sīraf; also known as Sīraf, Ṭāherī, and Tāhiri; as well as Bandar-e Ṭāherī and Bandar-i Ṭāhirī (Persian: بندر طاهری, romanized: Bandar-e Ṭāherī), is a city in, and the capital of, Siraf District of Kangan County, Bushehr province, Iran.
Bandar-e Siraf
بندر سیراف بندر طاهری | |
|---|---|
City | |
Beachfront in Siraf | |
Bandar-e Siraf | |
| Coordinates: 27°39′57″N 52°20′44″E | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Bushehr |
| County | Kangan |
| District | Siraf |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 6,992 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
At the 2006 census, its population was 3,500 in 722 households, when it was in the Central District. The following census in 2011 counted 7,137 people in 1,309 households. According to the census in 2016, the population was 6,992 people in 1,949 households.
Bandar Siraf and Taheri Rural District were separated from the district in the establishment of Siraf District.
According to legend, Siraf was an ancient Sassanid port, destroyed around 970 CE, which was located on the north shore of the Persian Gulf in what is now the Iranian province of Bushehr. Its ruins are approximately 220 km east of Bushire, 30 km east from Kangan city, and 380 km west of Bandar Abbas. Siraf controlled three ports: Bandar-e-Taheri, Bandar-e-Kangan and Bandar-e-Dayer. The Persian Gulf was used as a shipping route between the Arabian Peninsula and India over the Arabian Sea. Small boats, such as dhows, could also make the long journey by staying close to the coast and keeping land in sight.
The port was known as Tahiri until in 2008 the government of Iran changed the official name of the city back to Bandar Siraf.