Gavmishan Bridge is a historic bridge in

Darreh Shahr County Darreh Shahr County () is in Ilam province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Darrehshahr. History Darehshahr County consists of two parts: Central and Majin. Demographics language Population At the time of the 2006 census, the county ...

Ilam Province Ilam Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Ilam. The province is in the western part of the country in Region 4 and covers . It shares of the border with Iraq, and also bordering on the provinces of Ke ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The bridge was built in the late

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

era on

Karkheh River The Choaspes River (Iran) or Karkheh or Karkhen (Persian: کرخه) (perhaps the river known as the Gihon Ancient Greek: Γεῶν Book of Genesis 2:13 —one of the four Rivers of Paradise in the of Garden of Eden/Paradise in the Bible and a ...

, parts of which constitute the modern-day border of Ilam and Lorestan provinces. It is in length and about in width. It has the longest arch span among the ancient bridges in Iran and the world. Many experts consider it an engineering feat, considering the time when it was built, the material used and the floods it has withstood during its age of 1,400 years. It is believed that the bridge was intentionally destroyed by the Persian army to stop or slow down the invasion of Arabs during the

Muslim Conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

in the 7th century.

Location

The bridge passes Karkheh river, which is the confluence of Seymareh and Kashkan rivers. Nowadays, Seymareh and Karkheh indicate the eastern border of Ilam Province. It is 20 km east of Darreh Shahr, and 30 km from Pol-e Dokhtar, near the modern bridge.

Restoration

According to texts, the bridge was once restored by Vaali of Posht-Kooh about 200 years ago. Being on the border of Ilam and Lorestan provinces has resulted in many disputes regarding ownership of the bridge. Nevertheless, the latest restoration took place between 2005 and 2008 with funding from Ilam province.

References

{{Bridges in Iran Bridges in Iran