Ali Rasoli

The Bandar Abbas-Lar trade route was one of the most important trade routes in southern Iran during the Safavid era. Due to its key role in economic, this route was a place for caravans and merchants, and the villages located on this route acted as vital centers in needs of the caravans. However, the location of these villages as one of the factors facilitating trade has been less studied. Therefore, an attempt has been made to examine the location of villages on the aforementioned trade route and its developments from the establishment of Bandar Abbas to the rise of the Zand dynasty using a descriptive-analytical method and by library data. The results of study show that these settlements, based on their geographical location and by providing the infrastructure needed by the caravans - which is reflected in the description of the caravanserais and water tanks of aforementioned villages - had a fundamental presence in advancing the trade of this route. With rise of Shah Abbas, the establishment of Bandar Abbas, and the boom in trade, these villages played a more prominent role, but later they were disrupted by political turmoil on fall of the Safavids and the invasion of the Afghans and other insecurities. With military interventions after fall of the Safavids by Afghans, Afsharid, and then the tension between local claimants and Zands in the early part of this period, aforementioned route was weakened. For this, the villages of this route suffered an unprecedented and irreversible stagnation.