History and etymology of Harireh
After the earthquake in 366 or 367 AH in Siraf this port lost its importance and people fled to the seashore and most houses were destroyed. As a result, Kish Island gradually gained a new position in trade. Slowly the economic importance of Kish Island increased and based on some studies shipbuilding and seafaring came into the hands of the island's inhabitants and it became a safe place for trade for merchants and sailors of the Silk Road. In general, favorable political and economic factors, the island's special geographical position, exceptional natural factors including favorable climate, abundance of water and plenty of pastures, palm groves and orchards all provided a suitable environment for Kish's development and progress. The historical city of Harireh is located in the center of the northern coast of Kish Island and overlooks the southern shores of Iran. The results of archaeological excavations and references in historical sources have identified the city's heyday from the medieval Islamic centuries up to around the tenth century AH. The area of this site according to the approved map of 1378 in the registered file of the monument is 157 hectares excluding 48 hectares of Harireh's marine area ﴾.
Etymology of Harireh
There are three general hypotheses about the name Harireh.
First hypothesis: The word Harireh may be a corruption of jazireh (island) where perhaps a scribe mistakenly wrote jazireh with a dotless kaf and later the same mistake became common parlance.
Second hypothesis: This word with this spelling, with a damma on the first syllable and a fatḥa on the third, may be a diminutive of the word (hara) meaning heat and the letter (h) as a pluralizer (harireh) meaning a very hot place.
Third hypothesis: The last guess, which is closer to the truth, is that the words (har) and (har) in Sanskrit mean pearl, a string of pearls and a pearl necklace, and this name is not unrelated to Kish's pearl fishing grounds. If we accept this, (Harireh) evokes the place of pearls and their fishing grounds in the mind because pearl fishing was carried out on the coasts of Kish.
From 1352 SH when the first study step of the Harireh historical site was taken until today, over 47 years, 13 archaeological study projects and 8 conservation and restoration plans have been implemented at this site. The studies carried out and the results of these archaeological operations include: the noble mansion, the historic bath, the ancient mosque, the port complex, salvage trenches on the eastern side and other excavated spaces that can be seen throughout Harireh.