Mizan Dam or Band-e-Mizan, ( fa, بند میزان) is a historic dam 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 and a part of

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System The Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System ( fa, سازه‌های آبی شوشتر) is a complex irrigation system of the island city Shushtar from the Sassanid era. It consists of 13 dams, bridges, canals and structures which work together as ...

, located in 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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Mizan Dam 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 UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 2009 and is Iran's 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

' list together with the 12 other historical bridges, dams, canals, and buildings as

.https://whc.unesco.org/document/152341 SHUSHTAR HISTORICAL HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, World heritage nomination document,2008

History

As in its present form, it dates from the 3rd century CE, probably on older bases from the 5th century BC. The dam was built by Roman soldiers and engineers who were taken into captivity along with

Valerian (emperor) Valerian (; la, Publius Licinius Valerianus; c. 199 – 260 or 264) was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. He persecuted Christians and was later taken captive by the Persian emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the fir ...

(reign 253–260 CE) after his defeat by

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

(241-272 CE).

Function

Mizan Dam is located upstream of a manmade canal called Gargar which was dug in order to divert water from the

Karun River 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 a ...

. The dam regulates water for Gargar (a tributary stream branched from

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 ...

) and this way, Mizan is considered a regulatory dam

Material

The elemental materials of this site are stone, Saruj mortar and sandstone in foundation that all of them have maintained their authenticity, and there aren't any interventions. But there are differences in some part of site due to different restoration periods.

Threats

Due to the location and nature of Mizan Dam, this dam is sometimes submerged. Severe flooding has occurred during previous decades which affected the dam.

Sources

{{reflist Dams in Khuzestan Province World Heritage Sites in Iran Buildings and structures in Khuzestan Province