A Study of the Great Khorasan Road in Markazi Province

The present study examines the Great Khorasan Road (Khorasan Highway) and its caravanserais in the Markazi Province. Through benefiting from historical and geographical sources and archeological studies and excavations, the researcher aims to answer the two questions of through which cities in Markazi Province this highway passed, and what the political and economic place of Markazi Province was during different periods in relation to Khorasan Highway. The findings of the study indicate that Markazi Province and, particularly, its northern regions in the present Saveh and Zarandieh counties played a significant role in relation to this highway from the pre-Islamic period until the Safavid era. The caravanserais in Dokan, Susan Naqin, Doudabad, Mosaddeqan, Rozeh, Darouz, Vabarveh, and Mashkuye, located before and after Saveh, were among the most important roadside inns which, based on the addresses given in related sources, must have all been located in Markazi Province and in Nowbaran, on Saveh Plain, and on the way between Saveh and the present day Tehran. Among them, four villages, including Mosaddeqan, Susan Naqin, Doka, and Darouz, can be located in Nowbaran region. Susan Naqin has remained under the same name there; however, Mosaddeqan, Dokan, and Daruz exist under the names of Mazlaqan, Dokhān, and Daruzan, respectively, all near the city of Nowbaran, on the way from Hamedan to Saveh. Following a descriptive-analytic approach, this research was conducted based on library and field studies.