Shushtar
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Shushtar شوشتر |
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| city | |
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 Shushtar
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| Coordinates: 32°02′44″N 48°51′24″E / 32.04556°N 48.85667°ECoordinates: 32°02′44″N 48°51′24″E / 32.04556°N 48.85667°E | |
| Country |
 Iran
|
| Province | Khuzestan |
| County | Shushtar |
| Bakhsh | Central |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 192,361 |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) |
Shushtar (Persian: شوشتر; also Romanized as Shūshtar and Shūstar, and Shooshtar) is a city in and the capital of Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 192,361.
Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately 92 kilometres (57 mi) away from Ahvaz, the centre of the province. Much of its past agricultural productivity derives from the irrigation system which centered on the Band-e Kaisar, the first dam bridge in Iran. The Mayor of Shushtar is Ahmad Asefi.
In the Elamite times Shushtar was known as Adamdun. In the Achaemenian times its name was Šurkutir. The modern name, Shushtar, is connected with the name of another ancient city, Susa (or Shush, in Persian pronunciation), 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 summer capital. The river was channelled to form a moat around the city, while bridges and main gates into Shushtar were built to the east, west, and south. Several rivers nearby are conducive to the extension of agriculture; the cultivation of sugar cane, the main crop, dates back to 226. A system of subterranean channels called Ghanats, which connected the river to the private reservoirs of houses and buildings, supplied water for domestic use and irrigation, as well as to store and supply water during times of war when the main gates were closed. Traces of these ghanats can still be found in the crypts of some houses.
The ancient fortress walls were destroyed at the end of the Safavid era.
The Band-e Kaisar ("Caesar's dam") is believed by some to be a Roman built arch bridge [since Roman captured soldiers were used in its construction], and the first in the country to combine it with a dam. When the Sassanian Shah Shapur I defeated the Roman emperor Valerian, he is said to have ordered the captive Roman soldiers to build a large bridge and dam stretching over 500 metres. Lying deep in Persian territory, the structure which exhibits typical Roman building techniques became the most eastern Roman bridge and Roman dam. Its dual-purpose design exerted a profound influence on Iranian civil engineering and was instrumental in developing Sassanid water management techniques.
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Wikipedia