Band-i Qīr lies on or adjacent to two earlier settlements. In the Sāsānid period, the town Rustam Kuwādh (also spelled Rostag Kavad) flourished at the site. Rustam Kuwādh was destroyed during the Arab/Muslim conquests of the seventh century CE.
Around this time, ʿAskar Mukram (Arabic: عسکر مکرم, whose name means 'Mukram's encampment') was founded nearby, near the confluence of the canal Āb-i Gargar and the river Kārūn. Although the early history of the settlement is obscure (with the early accounts of al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī conflicting), the tenth-century Ḥudūd al-ʿālam describes the town as large and prosperous, lying on both sides of the Āb-i Gargar. A Būyid mint was based there at the same time. Later in the Middle Ages, however, the town fell into disuse.[4][5] Noted inhabitants included Abū Hilāl al-ʿAskarī (d. after 1009).[6]
The extensive ruins of ʿAskar Mukram remain at Band-i Qīr.[4]
References
^M. Streck and L. Lockhart, 'ʿAskar Mukram', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, ed. by P. Bearman and others (Leiden: Brill, 1960-2005), doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0808.
^Band-e Qir can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3055187" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^ abMatthew S. Gordon, 'ʿAskar Mukram', Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3rd edn, ed. by Kate Fleet and others (Leiden: Brill, 2007-), doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24989.
