The Evolution TrendAnd Typology of Iranian City Walls From the Medes Up to the End of Qajar Era

The present paper aims atclarifying the trend of evolution and recognition of the city walls, with the aim ofdiscovering the reasons for their evolutionand classification. To that end, the socio-political structures of historical periods of Iran have been studied and classified into three general phases, based on their commonalities. Using historical interpretation method, the physical changes of the city walls over the studied courses were investigated. Ultimately, drawings and archaeological documents of each erawere interpreted considering the socio-political and military factors. The results show that three groups of the most important defensive cities in Iran are: castle towns, underground towns, and dense towns. The results indicate that city walls, in their own evolutionarytrend, have covered the distance from the peak to bottom positions. These physical changes have mainlyhad military reasons. The city walls, at the end of Qajar era, due to fundamental changes in the defense method, began to lose their initial value and significance. The final conclusion is presented through diagrams that show the physical characteristics of the city walls in each era, consistent with the military transformations.