The Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System ( fa, سازه‌های آبی شوشتر) is a complex irrigation system of the island city

Shushtar Shushtar ( fa, شوشتر; also Romanized as Shūshtar and Shūstar and Shooshtar) is a city and capital of Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province ...

from the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

era. It consists of 13 dams, bridges, canals and structures which work together as a hydraulic system. Located in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

.Shushtar
, world heritage sites, retrieved on 1 May 2010. It was registered on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's list of

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 2009 and is Iran's 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nations' list. This engineering masterpiece is unique both in Iran and in the world.The Sassanids, whose economy was mainly dependent on agriculture, developed extensive irrigation systems in this region. infrastructure included

water mills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, dams, tunnels, and canals. Gargar Bridge-Dam was built on the watermills and waterfalls. Bolayti canal is situated on the eastern side of the water mills and water falls and functions to supply water from behind the GarGar bridge to the east side of water mills and channel the water to prevent damage to the water mills. Dahaneye shahr tunnel (city orifice) is one of the three main tunnels which channeled the water from behind the Gargar Bridge-Dam into the water mill and then run several water mills. Seh kooreh canal channels the water from behind the GarGar bridge into the western side. In the

and water falls, we can see a perfect model of haltering to run mills. The

Band-e Kaisar The Band-e Kaisar (), Pol-e Kaisar ("Caesar's bridge"), Bridge of Valerian or Shadirwan was an ancient arch bridge in Shushtar, Iran, and the first in the country to combine it with a dam. Built by the Sassanids, using Roman prisoners of war a ...

Caesar's Caesar's is a restaurant on Avenida Revolución in Tijuana, Mexico, famous as the home of the Caesar salad. Restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant, opened the restaurant in 1923, and it is now under chef Javier Plascencia, leading ...

dam"), an approximately long Roman

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

across the

Karun The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable river. It is long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as t ...

, was the key structure of the complex which, along with the Mizan Dam (Band-e Mizan), retained and diverted river water into the irrigation canals in the area. Built by a Roman workforce in the 3rd century AD on Sassanid order, it was the most eastern

Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ...

and Roman dam and the first structure in Iran to combine a bridge with a dam. Parts of the irrigation system are said to originally date to the time of Darius the Great, an Achaemenian king of

. It partly consists of a pair of primary diversion canals in the Karun river, one of which is still in use today. It delivers water to the

city via a route of supplying tunnels. The area includes Salasel Castle, which is the axis for operation of the hydraulic system. It also consists of a tower for water level measurement, along with bridges, dams, mills, and basins. Then it enters the plain south of the city, where its impact includes enabling the possibility of farming over the area called Mianâb and planting

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s.Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System

, Retrieved on 1 May 2010. In fact the whole area between the two diversion canals (Shutayt and Gargar) on

river is called Mianâb, an island having the

city at its northern end. The site has been referred to as "a masterpiece of creative genius" by

Sites

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is a complex of dams, bridges, canals and structures which consists of 13 sites which work together as a hydraulic system.https://whc.unesco.org/document/152341 1. Mizan Dam 2. Kolah-Farangi Tower 3. Gargar Canal 4. Gargar Bridge-Dam 5. Watermills and Waterfalls area 6. Borj Ayar Bridge-Dam and Sabein Sanctuary 7. Khoda-Afrain Bridge-Dam 8. Salasel Castle 9. Dariun Canal 10. Shadorvan Bridge-Dam 11. Band-e Khak Dam 12. Lashkar Bridge-Dam 13. Sharabdar Dam

Gallery

Panoroma of the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System 02.jpg File:Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System Panorama.jpg File:Electrical Biuld 03.jpg File:A asiyab.jpg File:Sazehaye Abi (3).jpg File:Sazehaye Abi (5).jpg File:شوشتر۱.jpg File:Sushtar Bridge.jpg File:Shoshtar 1.jpg File:Shushtar Waster Structure1.jpg File:Shushtar Abshar.JPG Kolah Faranghi Tower-Shooshtar- Khozestan-ID2611- برج کلاه‌فرنگی شوشتر.jpg

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* Livius.org
Shushtar
* UNESCO
World heritage site
{{Khuzestan Province History of Khuzestan Province Sasanian architecture Science and technology in Iran Buildings and structures in Iran Water supply and sanitation in Iran World Heritage Sites in Iran Buildings and structures in Khuzestan Province Tourist attractions in Khuzestan Province