Band-e Gargar Secondary Canal (Shushtar Gargar Diversion Canal)
نهر گرگر · Gargar Canal Secondary · Gargar Diversion Shushtar
Sasanian (Shapur I post-Edessa 260)·Sasanian with Roman prisoner engineers·🇮🇷 Khuzestan Province, Shushtar County, Gargar Canal South of Band-e Mizan, Iran
About
About Band-e Gargar Secondary Canal (Shushtar Gargar Diversion Canal)
Secondary man-made diversion canal 2 km south of Band-e Mizan in Shushtar Hydraulic System UNESCO 1315 (70 m, Khuzestan plain). Gargar (Gargar Canal) is 12 km hand-cut canal diverting 40% of Karun through Shushtar city via cliff 45 m deep gorge, powering 32 medieval watermills cliff-hung on Gargar east bank. Canal intake at Band-e Mizan weir 250 m long, 8 m high; canal 7 m wide, 3.2 m deep with limestone-bank revetment and overflow spillway at Salasel Castle. Cut c.260 CE Sasanian Shapur I with Roman prisoners after Edessa 260, per inscription. Still water-supplies Shushtar; mills UNESCO component.
Why it mattersSignature Shushtar UNESCO gorge canal built by Roman prisoners for Sasanian Shapur I — cliff-hung mill colony.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Roman vs Sasanian masonry attribution in Gargar banks
Theories
- 01Roman legion engineering at Edessa captives
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.260 CE
- Period
- Sasanian (Shapur I post-Edessa 260)
- Culture
- Sasanian with Roman prisoner engineers
- Builders
- Shapur I Sasanian engineers with Roman legion prisoners (Valerian's army)
- Purpose
- Diversion of Karun 40% flow via Gargar gorge to Shushtar mills and oasis fields
- Abandoned
- still operating UNESCO 1315 component
- Rediscovered
- 2009 UNESCO inscription 1315; Smith 1970s Shushtar hydrology; 2018 cliff mill survey lidar
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
260 CE
Shapur I builds Band-e Mizan and Gargar after Edessa victory
2009 CE
Shushtar Hydraulic System inscribed UNESCO 1315
On the ground
Structures & features
Gallery