Policies and Challenges of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in Developing Mazandaran Carriageway

The development of road construction in Iran began from the Qajar period. The role of intellectuals, foreign powers and Iran's joining the global economy was very evident in this transformation. From the second half of the nineteenth century and during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, with the growth of the West world economic and political currents and the ever-increasing integration of the economy and politics of the nations, the Iranian government noticed the need for new roads. In this regard, the Qajar king encountered serious problems and challenges for the creation of such roads. Political and military concerns was most notable challenges. In order to overcome such concerns, Nasser-al-Din Shah take a policy of gradual and warily development of the roads. He made his first serious attempt towards the construction of the Mazandaran carriageway. In this article, the problems and the process of road construction in Mazandaran with an emphasis on internal and external policies of Naser al-Din Shah are discussed and explained.