Bakhsh (administrative division) in the context of "Administrative divisions of Iran"

Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces (Persian: استان Ostân), which are the first-level administrative divisions of the country. Each province is governed from a local centre, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: مرکز, Markaz) of the province. The provincial authority is headed by a governor-general (Persian: استاندار Ostândâr), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet. The provinces are subdivided into counties, districts (bakhsh) and villages.

Iran's counties (Persian: شهر,ستان, romanized as šahrestân) are administrative divisions of larger provinces (ostan). The word shahrestan comes from the Persian words شهر shahr (city) and ستان stân ("place, land"). "County", therefore, is a near equivalent to شهرستان (šahrestân).

Counties are divided into one or more districts (baxš بخش). A typical district includes both cities (šahr شهر) and rural districts (dehestân دهستان), which are groupings of adjacent villages. One city within the county serves as the capital of that county, generally in its Central District.