Geometrical principles of Streets in Safavid cities Case study: Isfahan, Qazvin and Mashhad

Pathways, like alleys and passages, had an important and significant role in the spatial organization and development of cities, during the history. In the Safavid era, “street” as a functional element, was derived particularly from the Persian gardens’ pattern, and was used in the urban spaces as a spatial ordering and organizing element. In this era, Safavied sultans’ interests in showing authority and magnificent of their reign, on one hand, and concentrates on designing with nature in urban development, on the other hand, led to design and utilization of different types of street in the main cities of this period, like “Qazvin”, “Isfahan” and “Mashhad”, so that the street had a wide and extended impact on urban development processes. In the meanwhile, the significant and important point is that; the design was the way of conserving olden historical zones of city, in this era. So this article tries to distinguish the influential geometric dimensions of street in arranging and ordering of the city form, by analytical- descriptive method. Therefore, the first part of this paper explains the values and importance of geometrical order, and different aspects of the concept. This research uses descriptions of travelers who observed and wrote events during traveling to Iran in this period. The method of study is based on studies and highlights, mentioned in travelers’ itineraries, and analysis of their contents as the most important historical sources about “Safavied Street”. Second part of the study as an analytical divide, expand illustrations in case studies. As conclusion shows, the special geometric order of Safavied’s street, had reasoned to the creation of meaningful wholeness and regularity in urban structure. This significant wholeness has diverse dimensions which have impact on foundation of its quality and also it’s ordering role. To the extent of this proposition, different implications like: joints, direct, axis, voids, positive spaces, gradient and hierarchy, incorporation, union and others had been considered and straight streets and streetscape in Qazvin (khiaban), Isfahan (Char Bagh) and Mashhad (kheiyaban) had these features of geometry and order. This idea influenced on urban design and was important in creating continuity of historical and prebuild urban spaces and new ones as correlation and unity in urban components.