Khuzistan

Khuzistan (anc. Susiana), a province of Persia, having Fars and the Persian Gulf on the south, is divided into two almost equal portions—the one, the north-east, very hilly, the other, the south-west, so level as to be almost a stagnant sea in the rainy season, and an arid waste in summer. Khuzistan contains extensive pastoral districts, on which vast herds of cattle are reared, and abounds in soil fitted for rice, maize, cotton, sugar-cane, indigo. Under the rule of the califs Khuzistan was one of the richest provinces of the empire, and Ahwâz, the capital, acquired world-wide reputation for its sugar, carpets, and silk manufactures. With the downfall of the califate of Bagdad Khuzistan ceased to be a rich province; the highway of commerce on the Kârun was shut up, and has been only recently reopened. See KÂRUN.