Dezful
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Dezful (Dezh-pol, Persian: دزفول Fortress Bridge) is a city in the Khuzestan province in southwestern [[Persia(Iran)]]. It had an estimated population of 1,156,927 in 2005.[1]
Dezful is 6000 years old, but the most famous ancient structure of the city is a bridge that dates back to 300 BCE.
The name "Dezful" has been derived from the two words "Dez" (fortress)+ "Pol" (bridge), that in combination can stand for 'the bridge to the fortress' or 'fortified bridge.' The bridge was built during shapur I and it is the oldest full functioning brigde in the world. When the Roman Empire Valerian was defeated in Battle of Edessa, remain of his captured army was used to finish the bridge. It's believed that the brigde was made over the ruin of a much older bridge, built during Elamite dynasties.
It is also believed that a fortress protected the strategic bridge across the Dez river, whence the name, although no trace of this castle remains. Interestingly, the old part of the city adjacent to the bridge is known the "Qaleh" (castle).
In the middle of the river, close to the bridge you can see remains of several water mills built ca. 300 BCE. The most of the were actually used up to beginning of 20 century. The last one was in use to 1985.
The city lies on the high east bank of the Dez River, 469 feet (143 m) in elevation, and close to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains.
The people of Dezful (Dezfulis) speak a Persian dialect distinct to their group.
Dezfūl, city in southwestern Iran, located near the Iraqi border on the west bank of the Dez River, in Khūzestān province. Dezfūl is the primary commercial center for northern Khūzestān and a market for the agricultural products of Lorestān province. The city also contains a large cotton textile mill and many small- and medium-scale industries. The Dez Dam, 203 m (666 ft) high, completed in 1963, is 32 km (20 mi) upstream from Dezfūl; the dam provides water and electricity for the city, as well as irrigation for nearby sugarcane farms. Dezfūl sits on the main north-south highway from Tehrān to Ahvāz, the provincial capital of Khūzestān. The main rail line from Tehrān to the Persian Gulf is 15 km (9 mi) from Dezfūl, on the opposite side of the Dez River.
The area around Dezfūl has been settled for more than 5000 years, though the origins of the city are unknown. Many historical monuments from the period 1250 bc to ad 600 are in the area. The city's most notable attraction is an arched, 410-m (1345-ft) bridge spanning the Dez River; historians believe the bridge dates to the 4th century ad, although most of it may have been rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. The city also contains several mosques and tombs dating from the 16th to 19th centuries. Dezfūl has been a regional market center since the Sassanid dynasty (224-651), although its fortunes fluctuated with the level of security in Khūzestān. The period from the early 18th to the early 19th century was generally a period of economic decline, but the city began to prosper and develop after 1925. Dezfūl was bombed several times during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and suffered extensive damage, most of which had been repaired by the mid-1990s. Population (1994) 902,004.
