Origin of the name Khuzestan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Herodotus

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...

and Xenophon

Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...

referred to the entire region as Susiana, the name Khuzestan is what has been referred to the southwestern most province of Persia

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

(Iran) from antiquity.

"Khuzestan", origins

In some instances, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

and sugar cane have been given as the meaning of Khuz. The fertile soil of Khuzestan has a splendid potential for growing this plant, making excellent harvests for sugar cane possible here.

However, most experts believe the name Khuzestan to be derived from Ķūzī, the name of the original non-Semitic

Semitic

In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

people of the province, whose distinctive language reportedly survived until Sassanid times.

Every author of the early Islamic period, whether Arabic, Persian, or African, referred to the entire region as Ahvaz. This is verified by referring to texts such as those by Tabari, Abolfazl Beyhaghi

Abolfazl Beyhaghi

Abul-Fazl Bayhaqī , was a Persian historian and author.He wrote the famous work of Persian literature Tarikh-e Mas'oudi ....

, Tarikh-i Sistan, and Safar nama of Naser Khosrow, among many others. Hamdollah Mostowfi

Hamdollah Mostowfi

Hamdollah Mostowfi was a Persian historian, geographer and epic poet.Mostowfi is the author of Nozhat ol-Gholub , Zafar-Nameh , and the Tarikh e Gozideh . His tomb is a structure with a blue turquoise conical dome, at Qazvin.-References and notes:...

in his Nozhat ul-Qolub, for example, writes about Ardashir I

Ardashir I

Ardashir I was the founder of the Sassanid Empire, was ruler of Istakhr , subsequently Fars Province , and finally "King of Kings of Sassanid Empire " with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire...

in Ahvaz. The word "Khuzestan", however, seems to have been widely used to refer to the region by the 9th century.

Some scholars believe Ahvaz

Ahvaz

-History:For a more comprehensive historical treatment of the area, see the history section of Khūzestān Province.-Ancient history:Ahvaz is the anagram of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in Darius's epigraph...

and Khuzestan are related to the name Ooksin, a city established during the era of the Elamite civilization, and are the altered forms of the words Ooks, Ookz, Hookz, Huz and Khuz. Iraj Afshar

Iraj Afshar

Iraj Afshar was a bibliographer, historian, and an iconic figure in the field of Persian studies . He was a consulting editor of Encyclopædia Iranica at Columbia University and a full professor emeritus of University of Tehran.Iraj Afshar recorded the monuments of Yazd in his three-volume...

in his Nigāhī bih Khūzistān : majmū`ah´ī az awzā`-i tārīkhī, jughrāfiyā'ī, ijtimā`i, iqtisādī-i mintaqah states that Uxi was the Greek counterpart of the Elamite word Ūvja.

According to Jules Oppert, the word Ūvja, was pronounced as Xuz or Khuz in the Elamite language. The word Ūvja appears abundantly in many texts and on Achaemenid inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rustam

Naqsh-e Rustam

Naqsh-e Rustam also referred to as Necropolis is an archaeological site located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. Naqsh-e Rustam lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab....

, and on Darius

Darius I of Persia

Darius I , also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire...

's epigraphs at Persepolis

Persepolis

Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...

and Susa

Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

among others Ūvja, or its Greek counterpart Uxi, were names used to refer to the land or the peoples inhabiting the land of Khuzestan.

Furthermore, Ibn Nadeem

Ibn al-Nadim

Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq was a Shia Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian, but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb al-Fihrist...

, in his book al-Fehrest ("الفهرست"), mentions that all the Median and Persian lands of antiquity spoke one language. In his book, which is the most credible account of spoken languages of Iran during the early Islamic era, he quotes the great scholar Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa

Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa

Abū-Muhammad Abd-Allāh Rūzbeh ibn Dādūya/Dādōē , known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ , Ibn Muqaffa/Ebn-e Moghaffa , or Rūzbeh pūr-e Dādūya , was a Persian thinker and a Zoroastrian convert to Islam.-Biography:...

"The Iranian languages are Fahlavi (Pahlavi), Dari

Dari (Eastern Persian)

Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...

, Khuzi, Persian, and Seryani."

He then adds that Khuzi is the unofficial language of the royalty and comes from Khuzestan.

In Majma-ul-Tawarikh wa al-Qesas

Majmal al-tawarikh

Mojmal al-Tawarikh wa al-Qasas was a book written in Persia in 1126 CE by an unknown author. The title means "The Collection of histories and Tales"....

("The Collection of histories and Tales") written in 1126CE, Khuzestan appears with such names as Hajuestan, Hobujestan, and Ajar, which seem to be derived from Hobujestan and Hujestan in Pahlavi language. According to Sir Henry Rawlinson, in Pahlavi, Ūvja is pronounced Hobuj and therefore both the names Ahvaz

Ahvaz

and Khuzestan derive their names from here.

The Old Persian word Hūjiya "Elam" appears abundantly in many texts and on Achaemenid inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rustam

Naqsh-e Rustam

, and on Darius

Darius I of Persia

Darius I , also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire...

's epigraphs at Persepolis

Persepolis

and Susa

Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

among others Hūjiya, or its Greek counterpart Uxi, were names used to refer to the land or the peoples inhabiting Susiana. In Middle Persian, Hūjiya "Elam, Susiana Province" became Huź "Susiana", and the modern form of this word is Xuz. As with Sistan, the common Persian ending -stan "land, region" was added at some point. The Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon by Roland G. Kent

Roland Grubb Kent

Roland Grubb Kent was the founder of the Linguistic Society of America. He was the first to translate Varro's De Lingua Latina into English. His 1903 doctoral thesis on the history of Thessaly traces the history of the country with particular attention to the times between 600 and 300 BC...

of the American Oriental Society

American Oriental Society

The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....

, lists the following chains of derivation:

Ūvja → Awaz → Xuz

Ūvja → Ux → Xuz

Ūvja → Xuz → Hobuj

Ūvja → Hobuj → Xuz → Hoz

Ūvja → Hobuj → Xuz → Hoz → Ahvaz

Whereas in some Iranian dialects such as Luri and Bakhtiari (also based in and around Khuzestan), the sound "h" is sometimes used for pronouncing Kh, the words oo, hoo and Khuz have in the process of time been added to the suffix -estan, and the word oojestan has gradually changed to Hujestan, forming the word Khuzestan. Such conversions derive from the fact that in ancient Persian dialects and in Pahlavi language, the sound "oo" was changeable to "hoo" as in such words like Oormazd --> Hoormazd or Ooshmand --> Hooshmand. And Hoordad has also been pronounced Khordad and Khoortat.

Arabistan

The Arabs of Khuzestan are not indigenous to the province. Most Arabs such as the Bani Kaab tribe, came from the west and southwest of the Tigris and Euphrates outside of Khuzestan, beginning in the 15-16th centuries.

In 1441, Muhammad ibn Falah

Muhammad ibn Falah

Muhammad ibn Falah was an Iraqi-born theologian who founded the Musha'sha'iya, a Shi'a sect. He received his theological education in the city of al-Hillah, and there came to believe himself to be the earthly representative of Imam Ali and the Mahdi...

, founder and leader of the Msha'sha'iya

Msha'sha'iya

The Musha‘sha’iyyah were a Shī‘ah sect founded and led by Muhammad ibn Falah, an Iraqi-born theologian who believed himself to the earthly representative of ‘Alī and the Mahdi...

, initiated a wave of attacks on Khuzestan, and the cities of Hoveizeh

Hoveizeh

Hoveyzeh is a city in and the capital of Hoveyzeh County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 14,422, in 2,749 families....

, Khorramshahr

Khorramshahr

Khorramshahr is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately north of Abadan...

, Ahvaz

Ahvaz

, Susa

Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

, and Dezful

Dezful

Dezful is a city in and the capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 228,507, in 55,711 families.The city houses a bridge that dates back to 300 BC.In 2006, the city had 235,819 inhabitants.-History:...

started seeing large increases in Arab populations. The term Arabistan thus came into use to refer to the Arab populated areas of this region. At this time, many texts started using both Khuzestan and Arabistan as the region's name. Examples are Majalis Al-Mumineen written by Ghadhi Nurollah Shushtari in 1585, Giti Gosha by Mirza Muhammad Sadigh Musawi, Nasikh Al-Tawarikh by Lisan Malek Sepehr, Muntazam Naseri and Mar'at ul-Baladan by Sani al-Mulk, Sharh Waghi'a by Ismail Mirza Dorughi, and the Afsharid

Afsharid dynasty

The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkmen origin from Khorasan who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. During Nader's reign,...

era work Jahan goshay-i Naderi. The Safavid era account Tarikh 'Alam Aray-i Abbasi speaks of dispatching troops to "Khuzestan wa Arabistan" during the 8th year of Shah Abbas' reign.

The name Arabistan, however, became more prevalent over time as the British

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

became gradually involved in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

region. By the time of the Qajar Mozaffareddin Shah, the name Arabistan was meant to completely refer to all of Khuzestan.

With the centralized Pahlavi

Pahlavi dynasty

The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...

government of Iran gradually strengthening, Reza Shah

Reza Shah

Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...

restored the name of the province to its original in 1923.

Supporting documentation

The following is a list of sources that specifically use, describe, or discuss the word "Khuzestan". Almost all are Arabic.

9th century and before

Khwarizmi's Mafatih Al-ulum.
The poetry of Al-Muzraji ibn Kulab, 699. (المضرجي بن کلاب)
Al-masalik wa al-mamalik by Abul Qasim Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah ibn Khurdad-bih a.k.a Istakhri, 864.
I'laq al-nafisah (اعلاق النفيسه) by Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Rasteh, 902.
Kitab al-kharaj by Qudamah ibn Ja'far, 879.
Mukhtasar Kitab ul Baladan (مختصر کتاب البلدان) by Ahmad ibn al-Faqih Hamadani a.k.a. Ibn al-Faqih
Ibn al-Faqih
Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani was a 10th century Persian historian and geographer, famous for his Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan .-References:...

.
Ajayib Al-aqalim Al-sab'ah (عجايب الاقاليم السبعه) by Ibn Sarabiyun d.945.
Tarikh al-Yaqubi by the famous historian Al-Yaqubi.
Sahih Bukhari
Sahih Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
Al-risalah Al-Wasiyah by Ala ul-dowlah Semnani, a mysticism treatise.

10th century

Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...

's Shahnameh
Sowar al-Aqalim Masalik al-Mamalik (صور الاقاليم - مسالک الممالک) by Ahmad ibn Sahl Al-balkhi 920.
Surat ul-Ardh (صوره العرض) by Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hawqal
Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal was a 10th century Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler. His famous work, written in 977, is called Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ ....

, 977.
Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat il-Aqalim (احسن التقاسيم في معرفه الاقاليم) by Shamsideen Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr Al-Shami, a.k.a. Al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...

, 985.
Moruj ul-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawahir (مروج الذهب و معادن الجواهر) written in 943 by Masudi.
Masudi's Al-tanbih wa al-ashraf (التنبیه و الاشراف).
Hodud ul-'alam min al-mashriq ila al-maqrib (حدود العالم من المشرق الی المغرب) written by an unknown author in 982.
Al-risalah al-thaniyah by Abu Dalf mas'ar ibn muhalhal (ابو دلف مسعر بن مهلهل).
Tabari's Akhbar al-rusul wa al-muluk, 922.
Tajarib al-umam by Ibn Miskawayh
Ibn Miskawayh
Abu 'Ali Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ya'qub Ibn Miskawayh, also known as Ibn Miskawayh or Ebn Meskavayh was a Persian chancery official of the Buwayhid era, and philosopher and historian from Rey, Iran...

.
Tajarib al-umam by Abu Shuja. d1002.

11th century

Nizam al-Mulk
Nizam al-Mulk
Abu Ali al-Hasan al-Tusi Nizam al-Mulk, better known as Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk Tusi ; born in 1018 – 14 October 1092) was a Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire...

's famous Siyasat Nama.
The famous Tarikh al-Yamini by Muhammad ibn Abdul-jabbar Otbi (محمد عبد الجبار عتبی), d1305.
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine is an encyclopedia of Galenic medicine in five books compiled by Ibn Sīnā and completed in 1025. It presents a clear and organized summary of all the medical knowledge of the time...

by Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...

12th century

Nizami Ganjavi's works.
Majmal al-Tawarikh wa al-Qasas
Majmal al-tawarikh
Mojmal al-Tawarikh wa al-Qasas was a book written in Persia in 1126 CE by an unknown author. The title means "The Collection of histories and Tales"....

(مجمل التواریخ و القصص) written in 1126 by an unknown author.
al-Ansab (الانساب) by Abu Saeed Abdulkarim al-Tamimi al-Sama'ani, written in 1166.
Rahat al-Sodur wa Ayat al-Sorur (راحه الصدور و آیه السرور) by Najmideen Abubakr al-Rawandi, in 1173.
Ajayib al-Makhluqat (عجایب المخلوقات) by Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Tusi.
Fars Nama by Ibn Balkhi, 1116.
Tadhkirat ul-Awliya by Farid al-Din Attar.

13th century

Wafiyat al-A'yan wa anba' ul-Zaman (وفیات الاعیان و انبا الزمان) by Abul Abbas Shamsuddin Ahmad Khalkan a.k.a. Ibn Khalkan, written in 1282.
Al-mu'arrib (المعرب) by Abu Mansur Marhub ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khizr ibn Hasan ibn Jawalighi Al-Baghdadi, d1247.
Mujem al-baladan (معجم البلدان) written in 1226 by Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...

.
al-Mushtarak wadh'āa wa al-Muftaraq Sa'qāa ( المشترک وضعا و المفترق صعقا ), also by Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...

.
Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad (آثار البلاد و اخبار العباد) by Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Qazwini.
Uyun al-Anba' fi Tabaqat al-Atba (عیون الانبا فی طبقات الاطبا), by Ibn Abi Asiba'ah, written in 1230.
Al-Kamil fi Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir
Sirat Jalaliddin Minakbarni (سیرت جلال الدین مینکبرنی) by Shahabiddin Muhammad Nasawi.
Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini
Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini
Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini is a detailed historical account written by the Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni describing the Mongol, Hulegu Khan, and Ilkhanid conquest of Persia as well as the history of Isma'ilis...

by Ata al-Mulk Juvayni
Ata al-Mulk Juvayni
Atâ-Malek Jovayni was a Persian historian who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled Ta' rīkh-i jahān-gushā .He was born in Juvain, a city in Khorasan in northeastern Iran...

.
Tarikh Shahi Gharakhtaian (تاریخ شاهی قراختائیان) by an unknown author.
Tarikh Mukhtasar al-Dawal (تاریخ مختصر الدول) by Ibn 'Ibri.

14th century

Lisan ul-Arab (لسان العرب) by Muhammad ibn Mukrim ibn Ali ibn Ahmad Ansari Ifriqi Misri aka Ibn Manzur d1311.
Diwan Nizari by the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...

poet Nizari Quhistani, d1320.
Taqwim al-Buldan (تقویم البلدان) by Imad al-Din Ismail ibn Ali ibn Mahmud, a copy of which was printed by Reinaud in 1848.
Nezhat ol-Qolub by Hamdollah Mostowfi
Hamdollah Mostowfi
Hamdollah Mostowfi was a Persian historian, geographer and epic poet.Mostowfi is the author of Nozhat ol-Gholub , Zafar-Nameh , and the Tarikh e Gozideh . His tomb is a structure with a blue turquoise conical dome, at Qazvin.-References and notes:...

.
Tarikh Gozideh, also by Hamdollah Mostowfi
Hamdollah Mostowfi
Hamdollah Mostowfi was a Persian historian, geographer and epic poet.Mostowfi is the author of Nozhat ol-Gholub , Zafar-Nameh , and the Tarikh e Gozideh . His tomb is a structure with a blue turquoise conical dome, at Qazvin.-References and notes:...

.
Suwar al-Aqalim (صور الاقالیم) by unknown author. Written in 1347, this geographic treatise was dedicated to the Muzaffarid
Muzaffarids
The Mozaffarids were a family that came to power in Iran following the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 14th century.-Rise to Power:The Mozaffaris were a family that settled in Khorasan from the beginning of Caliphal rule there. They stayed in Khorasan up until the Mongol invasion of that province,...

ruler Amir Mubarizeddin Muhammad.
Marasid al-Ittila' ila Asma' al-Imkanah wa al-Bagha (مراصد الاطلاع الی اسما الامکنه و البقاع) by Safideen Abdulmumin al-Baghdadi.
Nukhbat ul-Dahr fi Ajayib al-Bir wa al-Bahr (نخبه الدهر و فی عجائب البر و البحر) by Shaikh Shamsuddin Abi Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abitalib al-Ansari, a copy of which was printed in 1928 by A. Meher in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

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Tarikh Fakhri by Safiddin Muhammad ibn Ali a.k.a Ibn Taghtaghi, written in 1301.
Jami' al-Tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani.
Rawdhah Ulā al-Albab fi Marifah al-Tawarikh wa al-Ansab (روضه اولی الالباب فی معرفه التواریخ و الانساب) by Fakhriddin Abu Suleiman Dawud al-Banakuti, written in 1317.
Shiraz nama by Abul Abbas Mo'in-uddin Ahmad Shirazi, written in 1356.
Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyah al-Kubra (طبقات الشافعیه الکبری) by Tajiddin Abi Nasr Abdul wahab ibn Ali ibn Abdul Kafi Asbaki a.k.a. Ibn Sabki, d1326.

15th century

Al-Qamus Almuhit (القاموس المحيط) by Muhammad ibn Yaqub ibn Muhammad Firouzabadi, d1414.
Kitab al-ibr by Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
Zafar nama by Sharafiddin Ali Yazdi.
Anis ul-nas (انیس الناس) by Shuja', written in 1426.
Majmal al-Tawarikh (مجمل التواریخ) by Faish-iddin Ahmad, written in 1441.
Matla al-Sa'dayn wa Majma' al-Bahrain (مطلع السعدین و مجمع البحرین) by kamaliddin Abdal-razzaq Samaqandi, d1482.

16th century

Sharaf nama by Abul Barakat Muniri, 1596.
Lubab ul-Albab
Lubab ul-Albab
Lubab ul-Albab is a famous anthology written by Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi in the early 13th century in eastern Persia.It is considered as the oldest extant biographical work in Persian literature and the most important collection of biographies of Persian poets.As an example of the diversity...

by Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi
Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi
Sadiduddin Muhammad Aufi was a Persian historian, scientist, and author.-Biography:Born in Bukhara, Aufi grew up during the apex of the Islamic Golden Age, and spent many years traveling, exploring, and lecturing to the common folk and the royalty alike in Delhi, Khorasan, Khwarizm, Samarkand,...

.
Habib ul-Sayr fi Akhbar Afrad Bashar (حبیب السیر فی اخبار افراد بشر) by Khandmir, written in 1520 by for Khajah Habibullah Savoji.
Ahsan al-Tawarikh by Hasan Beyk Romlu, d1577.
Tafawut al-Athar fi dhikr al-ikhyar (تفاوه الآثار فی ذکر الاخیار) by Mahmud ibn Hidayat al-Natanzi, written in 1589.
Sharaf nama by Amir Ashraf-khan Badilisi, written in 1596.

17th century

Majma 'ul-Bahrain wa Matla 'ul Nayrein (مجمع البحرين و مطلع النيرين) by Fakhroddin ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Tarihi, d1674.
Farhang Burhan Qati (فرهنگ برهان قاطع) by Muhammad Husayn ibn Khalaf Tabrizi of India, 1672.
Jami' Mufidi by Muhammad Mufid Mostowfi Bafghi, written in 1066.
Firdaws dar Tarikh Shushtar by Ala'ul Mulk Husayni Shushtari Mar'ashi.
Khulasat al-Baladan (خلاصه البلدان) written by Safiddin Muhammad ibn Hashim Husayni Qumi, in 1668.

18th century and after

Taj al-Arus Min Jawahir al-Qamus (تاج العروس من جواهر القاموس) by Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul-razzaq Hussayni Yamani Zubaidy, 1790.
Farhang Anandraj (فرهنگ آنندراج) by Muhammad Padhsha ibn Ghulam Muhyiddin, India, 1888.
Lughat Nama of Ali Akbar Dehkhoda
Ali Akbar Dehkhoda
Allameh Ali Akbar Dehkhoda was a prominent Iranian linguist, and author of the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language ever published.-Biography:...

.
Haqayiq al-Akhbar Naseri (حقایق الاخبار ناصری) by Mirza Sayyid Jafar.
Dareh Na Darreh (دره نا دره) by Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, d1759.
Da'irat ul-Ma'arif al-Qarn al-Rabi' al-Ashar (دائره المعارف القرن الرابع العشر) by Muhammad farid Mustafa Wajdi, b1878.

Further references used

Najafī, Muhammad Bāqir. Khuzistan dar manabi' Iran-shinasi. Tehran. 1983. Library of The National Museum of Iran. This study documents in 5 chapters and 162 pages, the sources of the names Khuzestan and Ahvaz in the most extensive detail.
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...

"Khuzestan", origins

Arabistan

Supporting documentation

9th century and before

10th century

11th century

12th century

13th century

14th century

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century and after

Further references used

See also