PERSIA the ANCIENT IRAN


Shushtar: ( ÔæÔÊÑ ) the old name of Shushtar, Achaemenian times. The name itself, Shushtar, is connected with the name of another ancient city, Susa, and means "greater (or better) than Shush". During the Sassanian era, it was an island city on the Karun river and selected to become the winter capital. The river was channelled to form a moat around the city. Several rivers nearby are conducive to the extension of agriculture; the cultivation of sugar cane, the main crop, dates back to 226 CE. When the Sassanian Shah Shapur I defeated the Roman emperor Valerian, he ordered the captive Roman soldiers to build a vast bridge and dam stretching over 550 metres, known as the Band-e Qaisar ("Caesar's bridge") which is now mostly destroyed. Irrigation system for agricultural, urban and industrial purposes, comprising dams (Shadurvan, Gargar, Mahi Bazan, Khak, Lashkar, Ayyar, Qir), water distribution dikes, manually dug channels (Dariun), aqueducts and water-mills are now remained.