Evaluation and ranking of natural factors affecting the distribution of castle settlements in Ardabil province using the VIKOR model

The emergence of human settlements has always been based on natural factors, such as Proper water and soil. In the past, castle settlements as one of the centers of human collective life were affected by numerous natural variables such as distance from the river, the shape of the land, elevation, slope, aspect, climate, soil type and vegetation. In this regard, the present study, based on field and documentary data and using the WIKOR model, seeks to evaluate and ranking of natural factors affecting the distribution of castle settlements in Ardebil province. Based on data from field and documentary studies, 100 castle settlements were identified in the geographical range of Ardabil province, which constitute the statistical community of this study. The findings of the data analysis in the framework of the VIKOR model show that the elevation, distance from the river and the shape of the land (plain and mountainous) have the greatest impact on the spatial distribution of the castle settlements of Ardabil province.