SHUSTER, the principal district of the province of Khuzistan, in Persia, and composing a separate government. It constitutes the finest portion of Susiana, being watered by four noble rivers, and a multitude of smaller streams, by which means the land is fertilised, and rendered productive. But the bounties of nature are here blasted by the oppression and malignity of man, and the ignorant and rapacious rulers of Persia, causing devastation and ruin over all the territories subject to their sway. This wealthy province, accordingly, which was formerly rich in its productions of cotton, sugar, rice, and grain, is now a forsaken waste; from the Abzal to the Tigris, and the river which Colonel Kinneir considers the Gyndes, on the western side, and from the banks of the Karoon to those of the Shat-ul-Arab, all is dreary and desolate; and upon the east side of Shuster, a lonely wild, upwards of sixty miles in length, extends from that city to the entrance of the valley of Ram Hormuz. Even in the most flourishing parts of the country, namely, between Bundekeel and Dezphoul, the corn is reared by the officers of the government, and the richer citizens of Shuster and Dezphoul, the original cultivators of the soil being all ruined by the heavy contributions imposed upon them, and which had been exacted with such severity, as to drive them from their habitations. Ram Hormuz, which forms part of this district, is one of the most romantic valleys in Persia. It is ruled by five hostile chiefs, four of whom are brothers, and have each a castle, from which they make frequent sallies, and carry off the corn and cattle of their rivals.

Shuster, a city of Persia, the capital of the province of Khuzistan, and the residence of a Beglerbeg, is situated at the foot of the mountains of Bucktiari, on an eminence overlooking the rapid course of the Karoon, across which is a bridge of one arch, upwards of eighty feet in height; from the summit of which the Persians frequently throw themselves into the water without sustaining the slightest injury. The streets, as in roost eastern towns, are narrow and dirty, though the houses are good, being principally built of stone; it is defended on the western side by the river, and on the other sides by the old stone wall, which is now fallen into decay. The ruins which still remain attest the former magnificence and extent of this city. Those most worthy of attention, are the castle, the dike, and a bridge. Part of the walls of the former, said to have been the abode of Valerian, are still standing on a small hill at the western extremity of the town. It is on two sides defended by a ditch, and on the other two by a branch of the Karoon. It has but one gateway, built in the Roman fashion, and formerly entered by a chain-bridge. Not far from the castle is the dike, built by Sapor, across the Karoon, twenty feet in breadth, and four hundred yards in length, with two small arches in the middle. It is built of culstone, bound together by clumps of iron; and having, from want of care, given way to the torrent, Prince Mahomed Ali Meerza, governor of Kermanshaw, has rebuilt it. Over the artificial canal, formed by the building of this dike, is a bridge built of hewn stone, consisting of thirty-two arches, twenty-eight of which are yet entire. This city is generallly believed to have been the ancient Susa, though Colonel Kinneir, and Major Rennel, both good authorities, rather assign the ruins of Shus as the site of this renowned capita). Long. 48.59. E. Lat. 32. N.