The International Journal of Humanities
Volume:23 Issue: 3, 2016

In the Safavid era, cities played a decisive role in the activities of urban social life, especially with regard to commodity, distribution and exchanging system between urban and rural society as well as defining the role of organizations in the commercial process. This paper is based on historical analyzing method where the authors could utilize primary sources to study social and economic states of urban life in Persian cities during Safavid. Farah Abad, Isfahan and Bandar Abbas in North, Center and South of Iran have been examined. These cities were selected considering their functional nature as producer, industrial (processor) and exporter centers.
The outcome of the study shows that the cities founded and developed during Safavid, specially on Silk Road, during the reign of Shah Abbas I (996-1038 AH), played the role of producer, distributer and exporter in north, center and south of Iran. Based on their functional capacities, cities of that era are divided into three types: producer of raw materials, intermediary and processing, and finally exporter (port) cities. The analysis of economic relations of those cities indicates that the king had despotic monopolization of all aspects of the cities where the urban economy deeply on agricultural economy of countryside.

An insight into the geomorphological characteristics of Holeylan as well as its suitable environment in the Central Zagros convince us that it has a capacity, more than ever shown, in presenting Paleolithic sites. Thus, the necessity of doing an intensive archaeological survey in this valley with the aim to explore the Paleolithic sites became apparent and was achieved only in the autumn of 2015.
The research questions are mainly based on the number of sites, their type and size, geographical variables influencing the site selection patterns among the Paleolithic societies, tool making techniques and identifying raw material sources in Holeylan.
During the survey, 103 sites, including 24 caves and rock shelters as well as 79 open air sites were identified with utilities such as residential compounds, seasonal camps and hunting ambushes. Among them, only one of the rock shelters was situated in the eastern most part of the valley. The open air sites formed on the natural hill tops with terraces overlooking Seymareh and Jezman Rivers and their tributaries. Climate and tectonic features seem to be the two main reasons that made Holeylan as one of the most important valleys of central Zagros during the Paleolithic era. Moreover, water resources and its elevation above the sea level were the most important components which led settlements access to raw materials. Chert pebbles and cobbles accumulated in the bed by rivers were resources of tool making in Holeylan Valley during the Paleolithic period.

The Islamic religion is a global phenomenon and keeps expanding rapidly. Muslim law, like personal laws of other religious groups, is today facing several challenges from within the community as well as from outside. This is but natural in an era of unprecedented changes in societies everywhere. As a matter of fact, Islamic law like any other law is in need of reform. The urgency lies in the application of contemporary standards of principle of legality, equality, dignity and individual rights in matters relating to criminal law and marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardianship, maintenance and other social contemporary problems. Although religious scholars effectively terminated the practice of ijtihad five hundred years ago, the principles of interpretation are well established and hence; the need for contemporary interpretation is compelling. The practice of the Companions, the Successors and the leading Mujtahidun of the past tends to suggest that they enacted laws and took measures in pursuance of maslahah (issues) despite the lack of textual authority to validate them. Egypt is often taken as an example for a distinctively Islam nation and in the Western world it is often assumed that its legislation is based on Islamic principles. In recent years, the Iranian system has established the Exigency Council to resolve conflict between bodies like the Guardian Council and the Islamic Consultative Assembly, with regard to Islamic and criminal law's contemporary issues.

One of the essential problems of urban planning and management in Iran is the failure of implementation and execution of urban development plans. The studies show that lack or poor level of citizen participation is one of the influential reasons to that. So, it is evident that there is a need for “bottom-up” and “community based” sustainable solutions for urban problems. Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), as an alternative to the commonly need-based approach, is based on identifying and mobilizing assets and capacities (although not being very much) in communities and emphasizes on participation in order to accelerate development. This paper would review the application of ABCD approach and evaluation its efficiency in a residential deteriorated neighborhood of Tehran (Emamzadeh Hassan Mohalla), with specific spatial characteristics and religious background, which is now housing the low class of blue collar workers and losing its population due to deteriorationof social condition and physical quality. The results, based on survey, random sampling and statistical analysis, show that social and physical capitals (as the main community assets) have increasing effect on organized participation tendency (as the main goal of ABCD). Subsequent analysis showed that social capital is a direct factor to increase organized participation tendency and consequently neighborhood development, and physical capital, as an indirect factor, serves to increase social capital. Therefore by applying this approach for development, people-based strategies (to enhance participation) and place-based strategies (to enhance social capital), should simultaneously be considered.

E-business Governance is the decision-making framework within which decisions about relationship, accountability, compliance, direction, and control in e-business activities are made. This structure make the e-commerce organization manage itself more effectively and prevent failure that take place by having not adequate attention to governing elements, risk of e-business, dynamic of standards, and rules. In this research by using literature review and interviews with experts, a questionnaire was designed and by analyzing the gathered data through surveys, the e-business key success factors such as e-business enablers, corporate and IT governance, the best practices, management and strategy were extracted. Then these key factors were presented as the e-business governance models. The results of statistical analysis confirm that the model might be helpful in handling the process of e-business in Iran.

The history of Tabaristän, from the late Sassanid era through the middle Islamic age, underwent significant social and political changes the result of which were independence seeking movements leading to some semi-independent local governments. Each of these governments claimed political and social governance over a particular region. Castles, as important and influential military bases, were means at the disposal of the commanders and governors to maintain their sociopolitical power. Among the known castles in the mountains of Mazandaran province, Pouläd Castle in Nour, the capital of Nour County, is one of the symbols of territorial defense. It is located on a tall mount off the city of Baladeh in Nour County. Being built on an elevated location and overlooking the important surrounding regions and strategic ways has made Pouläd Castle one of the important centers in the sociopolitical changes. The present study follows a field work method as well as a library research method to investigate the defense structure of Pouläd castle and its geopolitical and geostrategic role in the power distribution pattern over the region of Rouyän in Tabaristän during the Islamic middle ages. The results show that the builders had tried their best to enhance the stability of the castle by building several layers of walls, utilizing the slope of the mountain, building several defense towers, and using rocky and impervious points as natural forts. Architectural analysis shows that Pouläd Castle, with both its military and political functions, has had a prominent role in the political changes of western Tabaristän.