Explanation and Analysis of Mechanism for the Formation of Urban Development in the Sasanian Empire (224-651 AD)

Abstract

Sasanian urban development has been continually received a lot of interest from the Sasanian kings and its importance can be realized by the naming of many current cities which still bear the names of some kings of this dynasty. The establishment and naming of cities based on a composition of the king's name or Iran with the term "Farr(ah)" indicate their national and religious tendencies and efforts to prove their own legitimacy. This study aimed to find appropriate answers for this question using library resources through a descriptive-analytical methodology that what are the effective factors for the mechanism of forming Sasanian urban development. The findings of this research demonstrated that the competition with claimants of the throne and defense of the state borders played important roles in the appearance of cities combined with demographic factors and the construction of water structures. These factors showed an interactive relationship with each other and also the formation of cities, as sometimes the construction of water structures made possible building a new city, and sometimes deporting populations provided the opportunity for habituation and construction of water structures, and consequently, the development of cities along the route of these structures, for example, in the central plateau of Iran.

Keywords

• sasanian
• urban development
• governance
• waterworks