Origin of the name Khuzestan

Although Herodotus and Xenophon referred to the entire region as Susiana, the name Khuzestan is what has been referred to the southwestern most province of Persia (Iran) from antiquity.

In some instances, sugar 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 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, Tarikh-i Sistan, and Safar nama of Naser Khosrow, among many others. Hamdollah Mostowfi in his Nozhat ul-Qolub, for example, writes about Ardashir I 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 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 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.

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