The Bazar of Savojbolagh Mokri as the Most Important Commercial Center of Qajar Period in Northwest Iran

Savojbolagh Mokri )the present-day Mahabad( is one of the most important Kurdish- inhabited regions in Iran which was a part of Kurdish Province in this land called Makriyan for four centuries. The Bazar of Mahabad is one of the most prominent historical urban spaces of the region. Based on available historical evidence, the Bazar of Savojbolagh was built towards the end of the Safavid period and, later, turned into the most important commercial center of the northeast of Iran during the Qajar period. In the present paper, the authors investigate the process of the turning of this Bazar into the commercial center of this region during the given period. In other words, they have tried to provide a response to the following questions: what were the most important factors underlying the growth and development of this Bazar, and what were the reasons behind its turning into the commercial center of Iran in its region in the Qajar era? It is assumed that some of the main reasons in this regard were the particular spatial and connecting status of Mahabad among its neighboring regions, such as North Iraq, Anatolia, Russia, and the interior of the plateau of Iran; its vicinity to one of the side roads of the Silk Route, and its role as the bridge connecting Tabriz and Baghdad. The findings of this study, which was conducted using the field and library methods, demonstrate that, in addition to its specific connecting features, some environmental and natural factors, including the forests of Sardasht and Baneh areas and the cultivation of tobacco and animal husbandry in the rich pastures of this region, played a significant role in choosing the Bazar of Mahabad as the commercial center of the northwest of Iran during the Qajar period.