13

SPACE LOCATION OF IRAN

6 E

• 35 N

XIIl

i .... , XX L.

1 BOYAR AHMED AND II BUSHEHR III CHAHAR MAHAL AND IV EAST AZERBAYE JAN

KOHGILUYEH B.AJ<HT lYARI

II ESFAHAN VI FARS VII GILAN Vlll HAMAOAN

IX HORMOZGAN X ILAN XI KERMAN XU KERMANSHAHN

XIII KHORASSAN XIV KHUZEST A N XV KORDESTAN XVI LORESTAN

XVll MARKAZI (TEHRAN) XVlll MAZANOARAN XIX SO~NAN XX SISTAN A NO BALUO!lSTAN . XXI WESl AZERBAYEJAN XXtl YAZO XXlll ZAN JAN

1!l0 L

Fig: ,.,

o 150 300 t.~0 603 ,I I

o 2S1) SOD I J

Km, .

16

IRAN'S SPACE REL14'IOt~SHD : .

Jran a~ a hatton state emerged through a series of event. 1n a geographical a~ea wbldl was tr8t!ltlonally the

clOss-road of the Ballt~est Influences. The ufteven

41stcltlltlon of mountain chains haa been and c01\ttnues to

be the key .le~t of the geography ~f Ir:a~ td.tb its

topographical varlations comprising of desert., dry lakes.

alluvial .,1a1". 8ft4 a serles of interlor b.1M.1 The

tcpographlcal 4lfferencea, the uneven distribution Of

rairlfall, the unfavourable temperature regimes end tbe

lack of lrrlgatlOl'l aIU1 uneven d18tl'1.bltlon of pop\Slatlcn,

bave not only given Iran e tUaunlfylno beterog ... lty but

a180 aocl0-ec0nomlc dl*paritt.2

Earller, the migrants roanlng al'OUnt! the mountain

slopes and foothills In searc:h of grazing gmuna, •• ttled

on the tootbl11. anc! valley. ""leb bave fertile aol1 end

2.

• W.8. Fisher, "Physical Giograpby", In W~B. flaher (ec!.), De Lane! 01 lao, cambridge, 1968.

-t.M, uptOft, Tb, H&'tqt~ 9£ Ml!m tran' an ,lotecpI.tat1cm. New York. 1 9 o.

15

Who lat.ec on devel~ea the technology of a.at.. 3 t~,tl\ tbe

supply of wat.er through Qanat.. theaborlg1nals started

monocultute of certels. sugar beet. fruit.. luc.,eft., vegetabl .. , tobaceo and cotton. Rice was gram pleat •• ly

on the caspian littoral.. Water remained the llfe of tran.

There 1s a auerenie saylng wbleb is quite appliCable ~

Xran "\fe made frCln wate1: every livlng thinO*.· The

.carcity of water 1n tbe dry seasOft. the long barah

winters specially in the aortb-west anG Central regione

and tbe untempsled natural beauty has belped tbe

abOrglnals to develop a a16e industry Which ,Jroduces tbe

worlt1ta beSt inc11gtnOusly made caq,et ad Which 'a a

major handicraft In(luotty of tran.

The c .scent ebep. pbysical conflgunlon had •

sizeable impact on ita systen. Tbe soft and elegant

cune8 of nor:tbem and southerD IteD pcesents a conteast

to tbe .t.a1~t anI! harsb wMtem ane! e.-em border l1nes

an4 this contrut may be teqatded as aymbob of the two

main elements of tbe Persian mind, viz •• a definite

masculine v1gou~ and creativeness ana a Jreftned ana

3. H.9. JOtles "Ag.lcultaze" in W.9~ Piatu~r, 9Q. 4 t ., f.n. 1, p. 11.

MIGRATION ROUTES OF IRAN

. -? ;Jf

~ ~.SHIZ ~'~.~::1f' p.op..O 7 .... · 'O~ ~G-I-BUS~AN~.' • , .... ~3t.~. '\

r ~ ..P:.. • BISTU~' --:, PARTHIA .~ .~ .. -Q ~.~

KHORASAN ~ AF G

fl ',\;.?' ARABIA

Source: C.IRVlt' CROSS ROAD OF CIVILIZATION PP. 23,61,81.99,131 And 163

Fig: 1·2

.. en

17

subtle delicacy in eR as well 88 1n the ettjoymMt of

life.5 The CIlysioal cCft'igure.t1m of the c:ountr:y iG ctetorroinec1 by tho twomoufttein ~ange9 Wbleb ate the wings

of Mt. ~arat, situated. at tbe noltb~eatem corne ... of

Iran. The Alburz mountain range Sluns parallel to the

caspian .ho~e ana the zaglOa mountain IUns parallel to

the ~e8tern bor6e~ of Iran. These two mountains bave

stood as the Cossack of Iran, guafcU.ng the Iranian heart

tbat 1" the .cent~a1 t>lateau·.

The gQOgr~blea1 locntlon of Iran a9 tbe br14ge

between tbe east ana the west makes the Iran1an -pl@ateau a

"erennlal nucl"8x region. The entire reglen of. centrol

tran remained leolate4 because the mlgratlOR ocoutl'e4

eltber along tho coast of the Caspian sea or along ~e

coast of tlte p ... lan CUlf (see lftg. 1.2). There wa~ no evlt!ence of hodaontal migration acroas tbG l~ngth an4

b .. aath of l~an. 6 Fut:thsr it t8 d1fflcult to deterltine,

to which ethmlogleol group the Ol'tginal inhabitants of

Iranian plateau belongd, because the migratlon8 ana

lftvaatlons wed a contlmous pbencmena since the pre-

t" ,., .....

s. w~s. HaGS, lroru. Nag YOl:k, 1946.

6. c. t mDO. CG~" RCQ§ 0& C.l.v.I.119at.1za. Lcrlt10n 1971.

18

bistC1'ic times." The ftatul'e of %lran has a dual chataeter.

It 18 teo klnt1 towa~ the SQuth west c.ncJ the caspion.

littorale end too buell towarda cent.ral and eutem Iran.

This dual eheracter of I len •• nature leaves a treftt!mtlou$

lmpact Oft the aocto-economle life of the settled as wall

U nGnada.e

'Ebe interaction of the mountaSns w1 ttl tbe

su~rcun8ing territory of Iran is totally motivat.Ed b'f nWlerous facton·. Plcstly, Iran·. clv11isatlcn newr:

dewlope4 in totQl tsolat1Qn due to 1ta oeostrategtc

location. Iran has been an intersection of tr~f) ti)Ut.

that 11nkQ4 Ch~a with we$t, ~nllvea l~an frcm Baetcta

l)etJsed ancldnt Ecb~anm nw Hamadt.m cr0.9s1n(J the! Zaqf(ls

paaa d<!ScanaaS into M.,opo1:am10. Ano~her ~ad eonnectlft9

s' I I I • ,. C.- IMng, gp. g11., p. 20'1.

Three dla~!nct ~ype of migration came thtougb tbe gap: the seat11ng mlgtat,1Qft of the %tt40-SulCrpttans, of whcrn t.he f4ecSas and the Perslan were a part, the aubV.ralve .,..S.gratlcm 1n WhiCh trlb51a oroupa £il tS19d into the plateau wi thcut aotuall'1 inwcU,ng it (they could never:tbelet!1s, ad\leve dominance 11ke the 'l'ur'kB bUe by tbe Abbadc1e); anC! tbo t1(tErtOl' migration 11l¢e the Mcmgols. The moot lGSt1nq marle was made b.{ the Turklah mlgCeftta·, exclutllng the ZhaznaV1aa, the Se1jUks the Sefaria. _4 Qaj4t'e,. Defore they mlar:ated frem the s~epP'" not all of the Turksbacl 'beeft pastOI'e1 noma4a. III cen'cal Asia the%O w@re soma camt)aet. caste Cult.u re Where intensive farming flodebed aftd Where a b1~ly culture&! city life aev~loped but ehey were vu1ne~&ble to the herds­men who over nsn tilem. Ideas and ekf,11 develqpec1 on these remote aett1etl out. ~t.. no c!oubt beceme part of the cultul's). spere into the plateau witb the TUrk.

e. J.M. upton, SP- Qit., p. 110.

19

tbe noi'thexn pan of the country 1n the aouth. what ia

new Kurdletan ana Fer., .kt~tln9 the Zagros mountaln.~ XJ:$l not 'only aequl,ea the Cbaracter of Cul-tle-eac but

stlmulatoc1 thla flow oS CQilmctJity from eMt to weat ana

vlce-versa.

secondly, the rice, tea and timber t>roducln;

fertile pro.1nces along t.be southern shore of the eesplan

oal end the south~_tem lean attracted the "onderlng

nemada to settle and develop the ag~leul tu~e-c\ID""'ancU.c~eft

~onomy. Sut th18 801dom attnct.ed a large population due

to 'tho ruUis by the t~1ba1 ctliefa ana VU lOllS invader ••

1)U$ to· these military c:ampaigns, tt.e economic efta cul ture1 llltcr:actiCRa becane very slgniflCaftt. Howevec,

this dia not d1sturb the <:lose6 system of Iran beCause

10tor en tbe Whole of Iran was ~eught undQ' Sbl1srn.10

10.,

••• Yahys Rsmajant, .lXGn. New Jersey, 1912, t>. S. Tho th~ee mal n r:Oiitis of the Attcient vorl a O'aGs ed througt~ %~an. 1bo nOJ:them loute, conrnoftly kn~ as tho sllk I'oad, connecte8 eMne ana Central 1\9,18 with. Asia Minor ana surope by paasing· through Ray (W'icient R\ages) and Tab~12. Tho Ceftt~a1 ~oute passea tb~ugb Ray and the Levant, arl6 ~be soutbem route used the waterways of the ~el:Q1Sn Gulf anfJ the M~lan sea. OVa. these ~outes flov04 ocmmeree sui tfealtb. But ·cenquerc!ts al., bave used thes$ rouus and have attael(~ Iran fran e&s1;, wett_ nOl'th and south. Ae late M the aecotld world wer, Item WarJ aalled the "bll«ige of v1eto~y", over: "bleb lan4-lease o\at~rlal went to the sovtet Union. ThouOb Yr. sr, 19 part of the Middle East, it cannot be sepe20ted from ~he lifo and dMtiny of the rest of ASia t)t: even o£ Europe. J. Ma.lowe, lEan, London, 1963.

20

Thirdly, many a time, Iran bad been under tremendous

pressure by the different empires from all the corners of

1ts territory, i.e., the ottoman emplr. from West, Tsari$t

from North and.·Mughal fr;.an Bast. Iran, however, was able

te retain its own identity. Iran's mental climate is

Characterised by an intense national pride - the result of

a fairly homogenous national stock of an almost unbroken

history of national existence extending over sane 2500

years of a tra~tion of splendid achievement derived from

Achaemenian,seasanid and Safavid dynasties. But .'

sanetimes Iran had serious internal problems with its own

tribes i.e., Azer~janli Bakhteyari, Kurd, Ba1uchis and

Ujbegs who not only threatened the nation's sOlidarity

but tried to disintegrate it.11

Fourthly, though the country is aelf-sufficient but

"life in Iran is dominated ahove all by disparity between

the nanadic people and those Who are setUec1." 12

Interestingly enough, nomadism 1s oomparatively recent

in the long history of I ran. In ancient times there were

more settled ar:eas .than in recent years. Appar~ntly there

were few nomads When Herodotus was writing Iranian History.

They made up only one-tenth of the aEmY of Zerxes·. Present

11. Y. Ramajani, !!2!l, NEW Jersey, 1972.

12~ lE!S, p. 13.

li

21

nomadic life goes back to the advance of the Arab Bedouins

from the south west and the Turks and Mongols ffOm the

north east. These invaders destroyed many of the settled

areas of the country and continued their way of life in

the isolated mountain of Iran. "

lcnong today's nanada, for: example, the OUashquai

t~ibe eame into being in 1415 A.D. and the BakhtYari tribe

was formed in the seventeenth century.13 They migrate

regularly between the mountains and the lew lands in

search of fodder for their: flocks. They are governed by

their leader called.!$hWl. They have bir own territory

and own system of operation. They are almost self

sufficient but in order: to aoquire few necessities, Which

they cannot pr:oduce;,,~ they s ell or exchange their products

which includes sheep, milk, butter, cheese and wood,.

These tr1bemen are more loyal to their tribes than to

the central govetnment" Their territory 1s confined

between the mountain slopes and the piedmont.

Further, most of Iran's population is engaged in

ag:iculture with a combination of cash crops and paddy .•

Apart from this, the tribals are rich with wool, meat and

, milk obtained from sheep and goats. These canpris e about

13. Ibid, p. 113'.

THESIS 915,5 K452 Re

III 1111111111111111111111 TH1364

zz 85 ptt~ cent of Iran', popula~lon of aomest1c animals.

Apart from the agricult.ural aector, Iran has caJ:Pet veevltt"

potteKY _4 other 4craestic in4uatrJ.ee. 1ft ~eeelt yea •• ,

tile 011 ln4wttry hae given a phenanenal boost to %rao*.

eocnomlc and social development.

In order to atu4y the .pace location of tean on a

maClfO level, one has to start with a mlClO lewl analy,t.,

keeping in 'View tb.a political realm of the Ifaeat Asia. 01'

in other vor68, the macro level study cannot be done as

long as micro lewl atutly ie not atte:npted. Th. micro

lfWel studv may be analysecl in tbr:ee aectiona .14

The Zagros are CDmposed of numerous parallel ranges

8uetobing about 1400 ~s. in len~h from AZerbayejen to

north east of Ban4a~ Al:bM. The ranges are of moderate

elevatlon 1n the north and high 1n the central section ana .pread Olat again 1ft ltoutbem Fare and L@~estQn. In places

the ZaglOs eMtentls upto 320 lcms. til width.

Springe .. r~e frcm the l'Ooufttalns and w1ttter .now

f_a the ,ivera eat) streams. The major I'lven al'. the

t(a~lceb, Whldl J:Ise. in l<U~alatat\ OIl" flews lnt.o the Tigris.iS

W.B. Fisher, sp, s;lt.., pp. 3-10.

G.B. ~e.s.y, jrs!' 13ft_, LandMd Life 9f sgutb jeot hllg, (Ch oago, ., PI'. so.so ~

23

The Karun ri'ler which rises from Bakhteyari mountains joins

the Dez Shatitat and flows into the Shatt-al-A~ab.

Vegetation occurs 1n the valley. Tr1:bals like the

Bakhteyatl and the Qashgui migrate seasonally between the

uppe~. land and low land.

The Khuzestan plain 1n the south west, though

enjoys little rainfall, is watered by numerous rivers

including the Zohrek, Karkheh, Dez and Karun. Irrigation

sdlemes are turning this region into an 1mportant

agr1dultural area. cotton is the main industrial crop

Which is grown in Gutgan and Azerba'~jan. This region is

not only rich in food crops but also in mineral resouroes,

i..e., oil, copper, molybdenum, and other preciCllS metals. 16

The northern highland is constituted by Alburz and

Talish system. On the l')orthern side many torrential

streams flow to the low lands below. The Caspian coast is

as much as 40 kms. and sanet1mes as little as 3 kIna. wide.

The nORhem slope is covered with c1eciduous forest. Arr1;>le

rains help the cultivation of a variety of crops which

includes tea, tobacco, cotton and c:1trus fruits. The

16. J.V. Harrison, HMinerals M in W.B. Fisher (ed.), cambridge Historx of Iran, Oxford, 1968, pp. 489-517.

ZI Alburz has n\IDerous i>eaks r:ising about 3900 tnt. but. Wh1<::b

declines ln height to the east. '!'he majen: rivera flowing

into the Caspian cure theSefla R,ud, The Haraz, The GUz~an,

-' and the Atl'ak.

The north-eastern h1~lancl enjoys beavy 3ra1nfall and

subtropical cl!imate whicb makes the ec()I¥)m1~ condition of! . -

ths people lit.tle easler in comperison to o~h*,r 'north east

and eastem portions of Irian. Tehran the capital of Iran

18 1ccatea on the southern -part of the Northern highland. 17

Many of the major towns and cities of the country,

including Es fahen and Kerman 8l'e located on the ce~trel

plateau fed ~ the riven and the seasonal streams. These

settlement have often been 11kened to an oas1s. The two

great dese~ts, Daeb~-l-K8Ylr and Da$ht-l-Lut ocoupy the

easte·rn ana south eastern parts of the plateau. The

Of!Sertsoz:s largely uninhabltateCl wutes. Human settlement

baa tended to ooeur: 1n a r1ng along the southe~ an4 .'

western edge of the Kavlr .18

r '" 7 - •

17. ~, p. 7. 18. ~, p_ 29.

25

The interior area experiences only lOW amounts of

rainfall with an average between 26 mm. and 154 mm.

annually. Its incidence is sharply confined to the six

winter months. 19

The whole of interior desert basins is rich with

iron ore, gold and lead. 011 is-seen on the southern part

6f th~s basin. Agriculturally this area can be called the

area of restrictive faxming. This is the only geographical

region where the tribal people are not seen with their

Khans. This may be due to the flat topography Which does

not attract the mountain warriors. Because the mourtain

warriors move with their herds in search of gEazing 'grasses

which 1s not found in this area.

In marked contrast to north west, where the highland

is wide and extremely Eegular in structural pattern, the "

east and eouth east Iran consist of a number of upland

masses separated by almost basin like formations of differing

width and va~1ed alt.itude. Sane of t.hem resemble the

basins. Their minimum altitude 1s 900 m. above sea level.

It is eonven1ent in the present instance to define eastern

Iran as beginning of the water shed between the Gutgan and

Atrek rivers, from where it extends upto the border of

19. Ibid, p. 91.

26 sistan basin, to the west till the main Zagros. This region

extends over 1288 lems north to south,' and horizontally

extends' from east to west as little as 96.6 kIns to an

average of about 322 kms. The conditions are inhospitable

which results in a sparse nanadic population. To its east

lies the desolate sistan basin at the terminus of Helmand

River and south of it tWe frontier rail road town of Zahedan

next to paklstan. 20 The low intensity of rainfall and the

rugged terrain have effectively isolated human movement in

this reg10n. Though big city like I(hotassan, Meshhad and

Sistan exist since historical times.

The Helmand basin offers a cogen1al place to the

aboriginals of that atea. In winter they cultivate quite

a good deal of cereals, some beans and fodder ctops, cloves

and Lu·cetne. In sumner they grOJI sorghum, vegetables and

cotton. 21 Lead and oil are the important minerals seen in

this regicn rut they are not exploitee! commercially, probably

due to lack of necessar~ transport linkages and the lack of

full knowledge about the quality and quantity of these

minerals. Baluch who ate the important tribes live in

Makran bas in on t he extreme south east borde r of I ran

adjol ning Pakistan.

20. Cressey, gR_ cit., p. 123.

21. Jones, gp. cit., ·PP. 565-599.

Zi

I¥an situated in soutb w~t of ABle wu popularly

JmOt1l\ as Pam (perala) but in 1936 A.D. it uss metamorphoseS

into %rm. Anene;, the Gouth west kJ:ian COU.Qtties it Sa the

aeo'on8 lugeat in 8r~a, a,ftel' Smd!. Arabia. The geogtaphlcal

extent of this count¥Y 19 appS'OJC1mately fl'em 250 to 40° north

latitude e.m1 44° to 630 east longitude. The eoUlltry 1s

surrounded by U!;SR Gnd caspian sea in tbe nortb. Afghani,tan.

and paklatan in the ectt while tl'aq an4 Tu rkey bOrdet it

1n tbe west.

According to the 191' census, tbe total population

of th~ count.ry I.a 31.2 millions (63 per reeGnt egtimate tbe

total populat!cn 1s ebcut 38 millions) and the density is

19 persons pel: e~. tern. TebJ:an 1s the capital of the

countty. Iran having an uea of 2.62 mil11_ 8cauar~ lema

CQmpr1ees, 1/2$ of that of ~la'1 contlfte'!t. o.r more tbaft·

dOUb14 the Ilee of the TUi'ltey and ftve timet! that of Gteat

Britain. Its horizontal elCtenston frem east to wM't is

abOut 2200 _ at\4 from north to south it is 1413 km9

app""lmately. The countcy has natural .. boun~arlea' of

mountain rangeB of Khul'assan ent1 8lb\lJn in the noxth and

HintlUkUiJh aft 8 suletmaft 1n the nortb ea9t anti Ctlllt,

t@SpeoUvely.. The zaqros ana hillc of Kur41ata in the west.

and the coaetal hills of the Persian Gulf ~e t)romlnent, and

t§lthtn thia mountain frane, tbere lies the desert dep~91on.

Z8

The deeert:8 of Oasht-l-Ksvif ana Duht.-l-lAlt cove.

1/3 of tbe total ol~a of the countq-. The idea of tb.e

im-portance of the plateau c:oU1c! _ ;attia net by the faot Of

location$ of the moat of Iranian cities at the helgbtof

1200 to 900 m. The clty of Hamatlan (1820 m). Kerman.bah

(1630 m.), Shiras (1600 m.), Salaban (1430 m.) ~4 c1tyof

'l'abr1z '400 m. 'lhe tranian p~awau i.flat. with tbe centre

.levat«l. It is highly uneven in nature and ens eom~

aoroB9 mountain ,_gee even within the plateau reglon Which

meke it hicJhly inaccessible.

The ,ties of its inGee_sibilSty coull!! be gatborecs

by seeing the ·circulation of zig-zag lOads ccnftactln~ these

urban eentr:ea. The city of Shlraz 'OfhiCh 18 locat.eS 500 IOnS

away '.an Esfeban £8 joined by & c1~culer lOad of abOut

800 lQ'fts.. Anoth~r exenpla of lnaCllesatb111ty 18 the rod

connecting 'tehran to the c1 ty of Kemenshab. It fellows the

alg-~ag maJ:qins of the zagros mountain end it ttake8 a lone}

time to cover the smell distance betw~n them. tft 1910

Claude Antes gave e ciGar pictu~e of lftacce~albl11ty 1n

Iran. He said tbat the journey from Tebrsn to the Caspian

l1ttol'elS k a bard one and it is ve.ry difficult even £01'

a4ven\uc.,r to CCOSB 'he Iranian ple~eau. Due to t.bis it. has

vulnel'll.bl" location of tbe Central Plateau an~ttbe geo.e~~1cal unit aurr~ndea by eivl11satiO'l. The

Z9 whirlwind effects on its civilisation and the advent of.

various invaders are seen historically on the fringe of

Iran. The movement was only possible through north or south

west and south east. The interior plateau did not allow

civilisation or 1nt~uders· to match in due to· its determinant

geogtaphical condition existing through the ages.

The arid climattic conditions, uneven d1st~ibut10n

of land, mountainou$ soil, lack of water and the highly

winderoded barren tracts hindered migration towards the

Central Plateau of Iran. The major axis of movenent was

along the ea,pian littoral frem west to east via Bacteria

and ancient Eebatana (now Ramadan). This continuity of

human migration on the periphery ftom north east to north

west has resulted in a comp0site re11giC!Jn, a canpo$ite

culture and soc1o~eeonomie advancements, thus making this

region eulturally and socially much more advanced than the

< Iranian plateau. It was hecause these pefipheral

areas had interacted with the civilisations of M~sopotamia,

China and Mohenjo--Daro and Harappa. On the other hand the

Central Plateau was unable to attract the major axis of

human migration due to hOstile physldal conditions i.e.,

deserts, plateaus arid climate. s011 erosion. At present

also one will find the tegion thinly populated with

minimum eoonomic activities, maintaining still this

geographical unit an isolated region of Iran.

30

1hrougtl the aqC!. Iran has hod a tu~buleftt bisto~.

The steese. and .tcaini c:ontiftUe4 Oft Il'anien polity.

Mat'ly a tlmea the history of tran cevealec5 the inte, Md

intra persQlal fight. between the Khans, chieftains ad

the empero.. The ctynattles .. re of 8uCll a MOMfttery 1n

ftatur~ that thQ' appeered Oft the dawn anti 4t.sapPtaced at.

dust. ThU 41stuJ:be6 ana unstable history is having G

ttGDen()ous amount of psychological impact on the inbabltatlts

of lCeft. 22

The bClunc1al'les of II'M ace aurl'OUn4ed by the USSR,

Afghans'en, pald.8tan, Iraq and Turkey. Unfortunatel, ell

theae ceuntrlee do not bave political neuti'al1ty. sanebov

Of othor they are tnfluet1ced br the power pollt1Cth Jton

bas only cne out .. let tbat is towacds the persian aulf,

""ere the USA has -.tabl1abed bet naval baGes thMatentfto

t1te neutrality of Iran. The bor:4er:& of Iran are cl'ltlca11y

located. Bolder di.put_ may give else to a war any moment.

Many of i_ bol'dQ~ dispute. are ye' to be solve4.23

X~en'8 strategic ~atlcn 18 realiseS seriously Wheft

011 1. cormnerclalise4. The power: ~1w1~ conttnue4 to 0'11:

claims Oft the 011 resehe and gained concession in 1920'$

22. W.S. Haas. SUb ,clt:., I>P. 10-15.

23. 1:'0~ bO.der dtaQUt.es please ceter to Chapter 11.

31 and 1930·s. Intially, the rivalry was between the British

and, the Russians. Later: on British impetialist domination

was teplaced by American imperialism. The Persian 'Gulf

became the area and the pivot for the power rivalry between

the USA and the nationalist ~ Iran.

Thus from the ancient times to the present, the

gee-strategic importance of Iran is being maintained. It

1s the location of Iran which has influenced the space

relationship of Iran within the context of the west As'ian

region, which has recently emerged as a significant zone

of conflicting power systems dominating the contemporary

world order.

*