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Shushtar
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HistoryThe old name of Shoushtar, dating back to Achaemenian times, was Šurkutir. The name itself, Shoushtar, is connected with the name of another ancient city, Susa (or Shoush, in Persian pronunciation), and means "greater (or better) than Shoush."
During the Sassanian era, it was an island city on the Karoun 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 Shoushtar 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 CE. 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. This complex system of irrigation degenerated during the 19th century, which consequently led to Shoushtar's decline as an important agricultural centre until revitalisation efforts began under the reign of the last king of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1973.
When the Sassanian Shah Shapour 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").
The ancient fortress walls were destroyed at the end of the Safavid era.
People and cultureLike other Persian ethnic groups, the people of Shoushtar, called Shoushtaris, maintain a unique cultural heritage stretching back to ancient times, and a Persian dialect distinct to their group.
Shoushtar New TownIn 1973, the Pahlavi dynasty initiated efforts to revitalise the economy of Shoushtar, which had stagnated since the deterioration of the waterways in the 19th century, and to further develop agricultural resources in the province. The Karoun Agro-Industries Corporation built a satellite town across the river from the old city, naming it Shoushtar New Town. The primary purpose of this new development was to house the employees of a nearby sugarcane processing plant, while also intending to stimulate interest in the old city and to provide additional housing necessary to accommodate industrial growth in the province.
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