The Role of Haji Abdulghaffar Najm Al-Mulk’s Civil Plans and Measures in Renovation of Khorramabad-Dezful Road in the 1880s (Kialan Route)

ThoughNajm Al-Mulk is better known for his scientific character and experience in various sciences, his practical actions related to roads and buildings have not received much attention. However, one of his most important civil works, whose essential part is documented and available, was carried out during his two trips to Khuzestan and the renovation of Khorramabad-Dezful road.The ignorance of this important historical road in past studies has doubled the neglect of his role in this path. This matter has encouraged some researchers to attribute many of the important works to his travels to other historical periods. This research seeks to answer the question that What measures, including improving the road and creating the necessary buildings and fortification, were taken to increase the quality of Khorramabad-Dezful road by Najm Al-Mulk? What effect did all these measures have on the quality and transportation of this route?

This research attempts to examine the civil plans and measures of Najm Al-Mulkfor renovating Khorramabad-Dezful road and explain its consequences.

This research is a qualitativesystematic literature review using historical interpretive analysis.Data includes historical documents and maps in travelogues, books, articles, reports, and archives, some of which have been published for the first time.

The results showed that Najm Al-Mulk’s plans and their implementation significantly improved the quality of the roadbed, especially in its critical points. On the other hand, with designing new caravanserais (inns) based on modern spatial needs, he played a significant role in changing the type of these buildings in this region, which are quite different from what existed before, especially in the Safavid period.These measures provided the conditions for a safe and secure passage of this route, which was lost due to the disturbances of the last years of the Qajar period.