Bishapur is an ancient city with ruins dating back to the Sassanian period. The Sassanids, who reigned from 224 to 651, were the last native dynasty to rule Persia before the Arabs arrived. King Shapur I build Bishapur in 266, using defeated Roman soldiers from the armies of Emperor Valerian.

Outside the city, Shapur and one of his successors used the steep walls of the Bishapur River Canyou as a gallery for enormous carvings depicting military victories and investitures. The place is called Tang-e Chogan. Although an ancient aqueduct which was finally pulled down in the 1970s damaged some of the rock reliefs, their size and scope are spectacular.