Īlām Province

Īlām, also Elam Kurdish, is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Iraq. Its provincial center is the city of Ilam. Covering an area of 19,086 square kilometers, the cities of the province are Ilam, Mehran, Dehloran, Dareh Shahr, Shirvan and Chardavol, Aivan and Abdanan. It neighbors Khuzestan province in the south, Lurestan province in the east, Kermanshah province in the north and Iraq in the west with 425 kilometers of common border. The population of the province is approximately 540,000 people (2005 estimate).

History
Limited archaeological studies and discoveries indicate 6,000 years of tribal residence in Ilam. Historical evidence indicates that Ilam province was part of the ancient Elamite Empire.
In Elamite and Babylonian inscriptions, Ilam is called Alamto or Alam which means "mountains" or "the country of sunrise".By immigration of Aryans and establisment of Aryan kingdoms Ilam became a part of their teritory. It was also part of the Achaemenid Empire. Existence of numerous historical vestiges in Lurestan and Ilam provinces belonging to the Sassanid period indicates the specific importance of the region in that time.In this period Ilam province was divided into two regions,MEHRJANKADAK in the eastern part and MÂSABAZÂN at the western part.
In the late 11th century, Kurdish tribes governed the region till the early 13th century.
In 1930, in the division of the country, Ilam became a part of Kermanshah province, only later to become a province by itself. Ilam is still a tribal province in many ways, but in recent years the tribal relations have changed drastically.