Historical Geography Information System

The lack of methodical research in historical geography and the mixing of local history with it, has always been opposed by historians in Iran, and a solution to this problem, has not yet been proposed. The present article tries to explain the problem in a descriptive-analytical way and then speaks about historical GHS (HGIS) as a solution for it. GIS is a newfound computer tool used in many sciences, including geology, geography, and mapping. Due to the usage of this system in geography and due to the commonality of geography and history in historical geography, this tool can be used in geographical studies related to the past. However, although this system has been used in many sciences for some time, until the last decade of the 20th century, many historians and researchers in the field of historical geography, did not know anything about its capabilities in historical studies. Aware of the ability of this system in the past geographical analysis, a new branch of it, was formed called the Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS). The system, by drawing fixed and dynamic maps as well as three-dimensional images and showing the topography of the scene and the elements involved in it, visualizes the geography of historical events in front of the view of the historian and thus, provides everything for clarifying historical events.