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Pole Dokhtar means "bridge of the daughter", after a daughter of the builder of this bridge, the Sassanid king Shapur I (241-272). However, the word dokhtar also expresses the wish that the construction remains pure and "intact" like a virgin. The bridge's dimensions are enormous: it is about 270 meters long and rises about 30 meters above water level.
Eight arches were necessary to span the river Kashkan, the upper course of the Choaspes (modern Karkheh). The Pol-e Dokhtar was part of the Royal road, which connected the Persian capitals Istakhr and Bishapur with towns in central and northern Mesopotamia, like Ctesiphon, Arbela, Hatra, Nisibis, and Edessa.
Although the bridge was repaired on several occasions, today, only one arch survives. It is wide enough to offer room for a modern road.