DIZFUL, a town and district in the province of Khuzistan, Persia, in 32° 2 5' N., and 48° 35' E., anciently known as An damish. It is 65o ft. above sea-level on the left bank of the Ab-i Diz, tributary of the river Karun, here crossed by an imposing bridge 43o yards in length in large part dating from Sasanian times and recently repaired under British auspices, the central span now being of the suspension type. The population is esti mated at 15,000 and includes Persians, Lurs and Arabs. The roads to Shushtar, 35 m. to the south-east and Ahwaz 85 m. to the south are passable by motor cars and a motor road to Khur ramabad and Burujird is under construction (1928).
The town is on conglomerate cliffs some 7o ft. above river level, in which cool and dry underground chambers are extensively cut for use in the hot weather. The ruins of Susa (q.v.) are distant about 15 m. to the south-west. The industries peculiar to Dizful are the preparation of indigo, the dyeing of cloths and the making of felts. It is the principal southern market town of the nomad population of Luristan. Indigo was first introduced here in the early 19th century, but has since been almost entirely displaced by imported dyes. Dizful reed pens are celebrated in the East and extensively exported. The streets are narrow and crooked and the sanitary conditions bad. In the river bed above the bridge are several flour mills worked by water power. Several canals take off below the bridge and irrigate some 20,000 acres on either bank, but a far greater area was once served by similar canals and could be again fertilized if the dam, on which the original bridge stood, were reconstructed.