Khonj ( fa, خنج, also known as Khunj and Khunji) is a city and capital of

Khonj County Khonj County ( fa, شهرستان خنج) is in Fars province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Khonj. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 37,978 in 7,025 households. Retrieved 30 October 2022 The following census in ...

, Fars Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. From the 2006 census, its population was 19,347, in 3,353 families. It is located at an altitude of . Khonj was traditionally part of the region of Irahistan. The people of Khonj are native Persians of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

origin who converted to Sunni Islam. Khonj is located south of

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

. Its history goes back to 2,000 years, and Khonjis were known to be followers of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

. Khonjis refer to themselves as Khodmooni, a term literally meaning "part of ourselves" but figuratively used to refer to people from Gerash, Lar, Evaz, Khonj and other neighboring cities that share the

Achomi language Achomi ( fa, اچُمی), also known as Larestani and Khodmooni, is a Southwestern Iranian Persian language spoken by people in southern Fars and western Hormozgan and by significant numbers of immigrant groups in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, ...

. The ancient names for Khonj were Hong and Konj (corner in Persian) and over time it has changed to Khonj. Its residents are Sunni, unlike most of Iran, and are famous as traders. The city has historical significance as it was the home for many Muslim scholars and great architects before and after Islam. Ibn Battuta, the great Moroccan explorer, wrote about his travels to Khonj in great detail. The agriculture in Khonj is primarily wheat, oat, and dates. Khonj has the least amount of rainfall than any other part of Fars. Gate of Khonj

References

{{Khonj County Populated places in Khonj County Cities in Fars Province