The Persian Gulf, as the gateway to Iran's maritime trade throughout history, took on a distinctive aspect from the Safavid era. Indeed, from this period, the region was seriously opened to European powers so that trade in the region entered a new era. With the fall of this dynasty, a comprehensive disruption was created in Iran, from which the Persian Gulf did not remain unaffected. The conflicts after the fall of the Safavids until the establishment of the Zand government in one of the political centers close to the Persian Gulf probably had a great impact on the trade of the Persian Gulf. This issue probably took on a distinctive form with the fall of the Zands and the rise of the Qajars. On this basis, this research seeks to examine the developments in the trade routes leading to the Persian Gulf from the critical point of the fall of the Safavids to the end of the Naseri era, its factors and consequences. This research has been conducted in a descriptive-analytical manner and by analyzing library resources.
The results of this study show that Bandar Abbas, Kong and Lengeh, which were the most important ports of communication with the interior of Iran through Lar-Shiraz and Kerman-Shiraz until the end of the Safavid era, began to falter in their position with the fall of the Safavid era. This issue, which was caused by the Afghan invasion, the turmoil related to their overthrow by Nader, and the rebellions of local rulers until the Zand era, gradually gave way to the port of Bushehr and its nearby ports. Bushehr, which had begun its growth during the Nader era, was neither within the Afghans' reach nor was it much involved in local insecurity. Therefore, in competition with the neighboring port of Rig and Bandar Abbas, which had now lost its position, it was able to become the first port of Iran, thereby changing the connection route from the Persian Gulf to the interior of Iran. However, until the early Zand era, the Bandar Abbas-Lar connection route still had