'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎15v] (35/1278)

100 yards bf6kd and very rapid. It rushes through a gotge at iU rate
of about 10 miles an hour.
There is a route from Pul-i-Kul to Dizful of eight stages. The path lies
along the edge of the water on slippery slate-stone rock, sometimes scarcely
broad enough fot a Ulan to get a foothold. The Hats say that they lose
a considerable number of their animals yearly along this route when going
to and from their summer quarters. There are two ruined bridges here
about l mile apart.
Soon after leaving Pul-i-Kul this branch of the river leaves the mountains,
and after another 2 miles in a south-westerly direction, or a total course of
some 160 miles, unites with the other parent stream of the Ab-i-Diz.
The united stream continues south-west along the foot of the mountains
for some 23 miles, when it turns south, with a sHght bend to the west
round Kaleh Shahid. The Ab-i-Diz now enters ’Arabistan, and after a
course of some 180 miles from the birth of the chief parent stream above
Burujird, reaches the populous town of Dizful, standing on the left bank
of the river. The name Dizful from “ Diz-i-Pul, ” i.e., the “ Fort of the
Bridge, ” is derived from the splindid bridge, doubtless of Sassanian struc
ture,°which here spans the stream. Its lower part is of stone, and evidently
of greater antiquity than the superstructure which is of brick. It is 430
yards in length and contains 24 arches of Varying shap6 and span, but
is in a dilapidated condition. Some of the arches have fallen in, and one
arch built of brick by the townspeople, to replace one which collapsed
about 1903, is of inferior workmanship. Communication, however, exists
over the river by this bridge, which is described more fully in this Gazetteer
under Dizful town. At a little distance above the town a number of flour
mills are worked by the current of the Diz river. The river here is swift,
of no great depth, and is obstructed by rocks. For further details regard
ing Dizful —vide this Gazetteer—Dizful town.
Below Dizful the bed of the river is broad and shingly, and the stream
flows in several arms. The adjacent country is depressed to its level, and
small canals leave both banks as it flows for some 12 miles to the south
west. At 191 miles the Bala Bud from the north joins the Ab-i-Diz, and
soon afterwards the river turns south ^south-east. At 198 miles the river
becomes more united above Kut ’Abd-ush-Shah, and at 201 miles the rhins
of Susa are passed standing some 6 miles west of the right bank. Opposite
this point the left bank of the river is heavily irrigated. The direction of
the river continues generally to the south-south-east to a point within
8 miles of the bank of the river Karun below Wais ; but the course of this
section is extraordinarily serpentine and at Ilm Kathir or Khaneh-i-Farhan
about 2 miles by land above the important point known as Kut Bandar,
it is only about 16 miles from Shushtar. It is said to be so excessively
tortuous that frequently in its windings it recoils upon itself within a few
yards, and then suddenly diverges for some miles. In one instance a bank
little more than 9 feet in breadth, separates the two reaches of the river,■
which after a circuitous course of about 10 miles, returns to the same spot.
This fact makes its length difficult to determine even approximately : the
distance from DizMl to Band-i-Qir is only about 60 miles in a direct line,
but on the basis of a rough survey of the portion between Band-i-Qir ani