Zaranj in the context of "Afghanistan–Iran border"

The various states and civilizations in Iran (Persia) have had numerous capital cities and royal centers throughout history.

• Ahar; Pishkinid dynasty
• Anshan; pre-Achaemenid era
• Ardabil; early Safavid era, Sajid
• Asaak; Parthian era royal center
• Astara; Ispahbads of Gilan
• Alamut Castle; Nizari Ismaili state
• Amol; Ziyarid, Alavid, Marashis, Dabuyid, Bavandid, Chalavi, (Parthian Empire climate capital)
• Babylon; Achaemenid era
• Baghdad; caliphates, Jalayerid, Buyid
• Balkh; in legend, the governmental center of the Kayanian dynasty
• Bardsir; Banu Ilyas
• Basra; Jalayerid
• Bukhara; Samanid era
• Ctesiphon; Parthian, Sasanian era
• Damavand; Masmughans of Damavand
• Dinavar; Hasanwayhids
• Diyarbakır; Aq Qoyunlu
• Fuman; Dabuyid
• Farim (Perim); Bavandid
• Firozkoh; Ghurid
• Firuzkuh; Chalavi
• Shahr-e Qumis (Hecatompylos); Parthian era
• Ghazna; Ghurid, Khwarazmid, Ghaznavid
• Gor (Firuzabad); Sasanian era
• Gorgan (Astarabad); Ziyarid, Alavids
• Herat; Ghurid, Kartids, Timurid Empire
• Hulwan; Annazids
• Ij (Ig); Shabankara
• Isfahan; Ziyarid dynasty, Kakuyid Emirate, Injuid dynasty, Seljuk era, Safavid era
• Istakhr; Sasanian era
• Izeh (Idaj); Hazaraspids
• Ecbatana (later Hamadan); Median Empire, Achaemenid era, Eldiguzids, Seljuks (Greater and Iraq Seljuks)
• Kerman; Muzaffarid, Qutlugh-Khanids
• Khorramabad; Khorshidi dynasty
• Kunya Urgench; early Khwarezmid era
• Lafur; Qarinvand dynasty
• Lankaran; Talysh Khanate
• Lahijan; Karkiya dynasty
• Maragheh; Ilkhanid, Ahmadilis, Sajid
• Mashhad; Afsharid
• Merv; capital during al-Mamun's caliphate, and Taherid era, Seljuk Empire
• Mosul; winter capital during Qara Qoyunlu
• Nakhchivan; Eldiguzids
• Nishapur; Ilkhanid, Seljuq, Taherid eras
• Nisa, Turkmenistan; periodical capital of the Parthian era
• Pasargadae; Achaemenid
• Persepolis; Achaemenid ceremonial capital
• Rey (Rhagae); Median, Ziyarid, Buyid, Seljuk Empire
• Rudbar; Justanids
• Qazvin; early Safavid era
• Sabzevar; Sarbadars
• Samarkand; Samanid, Khwarazmid, Timurid era
• Shiraz; Buyid dynasty, Injuid dynasty, Muzaffarid dynasty, Salghurid dynasty, Zand dynasty
• Soltaniyeh; Ilkhanid
• Susa; Achaemenid, Parthian era
• Tabriz; Ilkhanid, Khwarezmid, Rawadid, Chupanid, Jalayerid, Eldiguzids, Kara Koyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu, early Safavid era
• Tarom; Sallarid
• Sari; Qajar, Dabuyid, Alavid, Bavandid, Marashis
• Yazd; Kakuyid, Atabegs of Yazd
• Zaranj; Saffarid Empire, Mihrabanid, Nasrid
• Tehran; Qajar era, Pahlavi era, Islamic Republic of Iran 1796–present

Nimruz or Nimroz (Pashto and Dari: نیمروز, lit. 'Half-day'), also Nimroch (Balochi: نݔمرۏچ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also bordering the Afghan provinces of Farah and Helmand. It has a population of about 186,963 people, in which the majority are Baloch. The province is divided into five districts, encompassing about 649 villages.

The city of Zaranj serves as the provincial capital and Zaranj Airport, which is located in that city, serves as a domestic airport for the province. The recently built Kamal Khan Dam is located in Chahar Burjak District.

Ya'qub ibn al-Layth Saffar (Persian: یعقوب لیث صفاری; 25 October 840 – 5 June 879), was a coppersmith and the founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan, with its capital at Zaranj (a city now in south-western Afghanistan). Under his military leadership, he conquered much of the eastern portions of Greater Iran consisting of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan as well as portions of western Pakistan and a small part of Iraq. He was succeeded by his brother, Amr ibn al-Layth.

National Highway 01 or NH01, formally called the Ring Road (Pashto: د افغانستان حلقوي سړک; Dari: شاهراه حلقوی افغانستان), is a 2,200 km (1,400 mi) two-lane and four-lane road network circulating inside Afghanistan, connecting the following cities (clockwise): Kabul, Maidan Shar, Ghazni, Qalat, Kandahar, Delaram, Herat, Qala e Naw, Maymana, Andkhoy, Sheberghan, Mazar-i-Sharif, Puli Khumri, Charikar, and back to Kabul. It has extensions that connect Jalalabad, Bamyan, Khost, Spin Boldak, Lashkargah, Zaranj (Route 606), Farah, Islam Qala, Torghundi, Ymamnazar, Hairatan, Kunduz, and Fayzabad. The Ring Road is part of AH1, the longest route of the Asian Highway Network. National Highway 01 consists of four major sections, NH0101 to NH0104, linking the major economic centers.

Zaranj Airport (Pashto: زرنج هوایي ډگر; Dari: فرودگاه زرنج; IATA: ZAJ, ICAO: OAZJ) was an airport located in the city of Zaranj, Nimruz Province, Afghanistan. It was replaced by the newly constructed Nimruz Airport, located 17 kilometres (11 mi) east of the city. As of 2020, Zaranj Airport is no longer listed in the Afghan Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).

Sitting at an elevation of 1,592 feet (485 m) above sea level, Zaranj Airport has one gravel runway measuring around 2,000 by 60 metres (6,562 ft × 197 ft).

Kamal Khan Dam (Dari: بند کمال خان; Pashto: کمال خان بند) is a gravity dam on the Helmand River in Chahar Burjak District of Nimruz Province in south-western Afghanistan. It is located about 95 km (59 mi) to the southeast of Zaranj. Work on the dam officially began in 1974, but after the 1978 Saur Revolution the project was abandoned. The work resumed in 2017 during the Presidency of Ashraf Ghani.

The hydroelectric plant produces up to 9 MW of electric power in addition to providing irrigation to about 175,000 ha (430,000 acres) of agricultural land. Its reservoir has the capacity to store up to 52 million cubic meters of fresh water.