The result of this research shows that the founded and developed cities in Safavid Iran, specially expanded on Silk Road in Shah Abbas I’s reign (996-1083H.), played the role of producer, distributer and exporter in North, Center and South of Iran. According to this produce and exchange system, the functional cities in Safavid era are divided in to three types: producer of raw materials, intermediary and processing and finally exporter (port) cities. | Journal of Anthropology & Archaeology 1(1); June 2013 pp. 28-40 Taghavi, Farzin & Zoor Function of Iranian Cities in Safavid Erapolitical Cities or Commercial Cities Abed Taghavi Department of Archaeology University of Mazandaran Iran Saman Farzin Department of Archaeology University of Mazandaran Iran Maryam Zoor Student, Department of Archaeology University of Tarbiat Modares Iran Abstract History of City and Urbanization in Safavid dynasty is one of the most active as well as complicated social category. Distribution and function of each city in accordance with their political, economic, social and cultural role indicated their various functional changes. Besides the political origin of Iranian cities in this era, the economic relations that are depended on urban society, is one of the most important functions of the city as a social phenomenon. In Safavid Iran, this has played a decisive role in the activity of urban social life regarding to an organized definition of commodity, distribution and exchanging system between urban and rural society as well as defining the role of organization in commercial paper is based on historical analyzing method, utilizing historical sources, and social and economic studies on urbanization defining Persian cities economic structure in Safavid era. Farah Abad, Isfahan and Bandar Abbas in north, center and south of Iran are examined to realize the developments which are logical and documentary. These are selected because of their functional nature which was producer, industrial (processor) and exporter cities. The result of this research shows that the founded and developed cities in Safavid Iran, specially expanded on Silk Road in Shah Abbas I’s reign (996-1083H.), played the role of producer, distributer and exporter in North, Center and South of Iran. According to this produce and exchange system, the functional cities in Safavid era are divided in to three types: producer of raw materials, intermediary and
