Iranian Cities

Abstract

During the lase three decades, there has been a growing interest among cholars of Iranian studies in examining the process of urbanization in Iran in it historical context as well as in light of contemporary developments. Usually, such works deal primarily with rhe history of major Iranian cities and their significance from the point of view of culture, religion, and politics, and in the broader context, of the model oflslamic City. Some scholars also have studied architectural, geographic, sociological, and economic aspects of certain cities in Iran. While most early work deal only with one particular Iranian city or another, in light of its role and function, or in response to the needs and requirements of Islam, this book attempts to rectify this deficiency by demonstrating that the fonnation and development of cities in Iran, as elsewhere, were the result of interactions between numerous interrelated physical, geographic, economic, historical, and cultural factors. Traditional Iranian City structure was a response to many factors, such as topography, climate, geography, religion, cultun:, defense, and political needs. Taking all these into consideration, Kheirabadi studies the processes of the formation and development of Iranian cities in relation to three sets of factors: the physical; the commercial and economic; and the religious and sociopolitical. Thus, the five factors are each given a chapter. The book is arranged in accordance with the priority and importance of factors that contributed to the emergence of Iranian cities. Numerous plates, pictures, aerial photos, and three useful appendices on Iran's irrigation system, structural elements of the bazaar and the mosque are also attached. Kheirabadi examines the spatial patterns and physical morphology of the Iranian cities, and analyzes the process of their development throughout Iran's history. Factors that played important roles in the emergence and development of Iranian urban centers ranged from physical environment of the Iranian plateau to trade, historical events, and the religious, social, and political structure of the country. The overall objective of the book, however, is to demonstrate the forms of the city as they relate to both the Iranian-Islamic structure and culture and the physical environment of the country ...