Band-e Amir (Amir Dam) & Kor River Cascade (Marvdasht Plain, Fars)
بند امیر · Kor River Sasanian Dams · Band-i Amir Buyid dam · Marvdasht Bridge-Dam
Sassanid to Buyid (4th c CE to 10th c CE)·Sassanid → Buyid Islamic·🇮🇷 Fars Province, Marvdasht County, Kor River, between Persepolis and Istakhr, Band-e Amir village, Iran
About
About Band-e Amir (Amir Dam) & Kor River Cascade (Marvdasht Plain, Fars)
Buyid–Sassanid bridge–dam cascade on the Kor River, Marvdasht plain below Persepolis: Band-e Amir (Buyid Amir Adud al-Dawla 970 CE reuse of Sasanian foundation) 75 m long, 12 m high with 13 arches over the Kor, plus 5 upstream Sasanian diversion weirs stretching 18 km to the Kur–Pulvar confluence. System diverted Kor waters south to irrigate 20,000 ha of Marvdasht, feeding Persepolis satellite estates and later Buyid Isfahan–Shiraz economy. Vitte 1980s showed lower course is Sasanian (Ardashir II) ashlar reused by Buyids — two-phase epigraphy with Pehlevi and Kufic. Extraordinary for 1,300-year continuous reuse bridging Sassanid–Islamic hydraulic transition.
Why it mattersTextbook Sassanid–Islamic hydraulic continuity with bilingual epigraphy — Persepolis plain model.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Sasanian foundation date
Theories
- 01Buyid legitimacy via Sasanian hydraulic claim
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Sasanian foundation c.360 CE (Ardashir II), Buyid rebuild 970 CE
- Period
- Sassanid to Buyid (4th c CE to 10th c CE)
- Culture
- Sassanid → Buyid Islamic
- Builders
- Sassanid engineers, rebuilt by Amir Adud al-Dawla (Buyid)
- Purpose
- Persepolis–Istakhr plain irrigation and Marvdasht flour mills
- Abandoned
- After 1970 Dorudzan Dam superseded
- Rediscovered
- 1935 Herzfeld; 1988 Kiani survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
360 CE
Sasanian weir ashlar with Pehlevi
970 CE
Buyid Adud al-Dawla Kufic bridge-dam inscription
On the ground
Structures & features
30.0200° N · 52.7200° E · 1620 m · 2 mapped features
Buyid Kufic Inscription Panel
inscriptionKufic inscription of Amir Adud al-Dawla 970 CE on north pier
30.0220° N · 52.7220° ESasanian Diversion Weir Upstream
weirSasanian ashlar weir 6 km upstream with Pehlevi fragment
30.0180° N · 52.7180° E