History
The Karun River valley was once inhabited by the Elamite civilization which rose about 2,700 B.C. In several points in history, Mesopotamian civilizations such as Ur and Babylon overthrew the Elamites and gained control of the Karun and its surroundings in modern Khuzestan. However, the Elam empire lasted until about 640 B.C., when the Assyrians overran it. The city of Susa, near the modern city of Shush between the Dez and Karkheh rivers, was one of their largest before it was destroyed by the invaders.
The first known major bridge across the river was built by the Roman captives that included its emperor Valerian, whence the name of the bridge and dam Band-e Kaisar, "Caesar's dam"--at Shushtar (3rd century AD).
In two of several competing theories about the origins and location of the Garden of Eden the Karun is presumed to be the Gihon River that is described in the Biblical book of Genesis. The strongest of these theories propounded by archaeologist Juris Zarins places the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, fed by the four rivers Tigris, Euphrates, Gihon Karun and Pishon (Wadi Al-Batin).
The name of the river is derived from the mountain peak, Kuhrang, that serves as its source.
Famous silent film documentary Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) tells the story of Bakhtiari tribe crossing this river with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals.
It was here during the Iran–Iraq War that the Iranians stopped the early Iraqi advance. With its limited military stocks, Iran unveiled its "human wave" assaults which used thousands of Basij (Popular Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers.
In September 2009, three districts of Basra province in southern Iraq were declared disaster areas as a result of Iran's construction of new dams on the Karun. The new dams resulted in high levels of salinity in the Shatt Al-Arab, which destroyed farm areas and threatened livestock. Civilians in the area were forced to evacuate.
Read more about this topic: Karun
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